Fact of the Week

By: Sara Daher

The artificial Palm Islands of Dubai was imported with enough sand that could fill approximately 2 Empire State Buildings, in which the project required 94 million cubic meters of sand, where an Empire State Building requires 37 million cubic meters.

imgkid.com 

Skinny Girl Problems - No Cushion for the Pushin’

By: Diala Ziadeh

“One large, thick crust, with extra cheese pepperoni Pizza and potato wedges to go,” says the lady behind the counter as she repeats my order at Pizza Hut, whilst I enjoy the hateful looks women by the salad bar are showering me with.

According to a study conducted by CNN, close to 6 out of 10 women are battling their weight, which would explain the detestable looks I receive from women on a daily basis. Though 60 percent of women are struggling with obesity and health risks due to the extra weight, an estimated 2 percent of the world’s women population is also at risk for being underweight.

“There are a lot of shows about losing weight, but they really don't have anything for people who are underweight," says Amanda, an interviewee from a CNN article regarding weight gaining. "It's just as frustrating for people who are trying to gain weight.”

I happen to be one of the very few unlucky people dealing with being underweight. Unfortunately, I have an extremely fast metabolism, which is defined as the amount of calories the body needs while resting; meaning that I lose weight more than I ingest.

My struggle began at a very early age, when I was only 3 years old my mother started realizing that my body loses weight faster than it gains it; regardless of the endless methods my mother tried, from appetite openers to fattening diets, nothing seemed to make me gain the weight.

Until the year 2013, I was referred to as Olive, the cartoon character Popeye’s wife, she is a stick. That year I decided to gain weight and look healthy, I figured that eating a lot was not helping me reach my goal and that doctors only cared about me being healthy than having the body I deserved.

Every year during my annual checkup, the doctor would show me my charts and how healthy my body is, how I am as healthy as it gets; and comforts me over the fact that I look like a starved human being. According to the various doctors from most of my annual checkups, my body burns 1830 calories per day while at rest, so you can only begin to imagine how much it actually burns given that I am an active human being, who happens to do more than just sit in bed all day. Although doctors have declared me to be healthy, some did voice their concerns regarding being underweight; “how about a shot of rice with lemon chicken” said Ali Al Serafi, jokingly, regarding my weight.

Being underweight puts me at high risk of constant headaches and dizziness, most times leading to migraines. It affects my liver, kidneys, and last but not least is one of the main reasons for constant fatigue. In fact, I suffer from migraines twice a month at the least, I have had liver problems and was forced to live on a strict soy diet for six months, not to mention have had kidney stones at a very young age.

Other than the various health risks, being underweight is not as glamorous as portrayed everywhere. For instance, shopping for clothes is extremely difficult given that most stores either do not sell the skinniest sizes or get limited pieces of them; seriously, most of my clothes have to get tailored after being bought, that is if not bought at a kid’s store. Another embarrassing point, is not being able to flaunt your body because you simply do not have one. Being underweight comes with the unfortunate advantage of being flat, as flat as a ruler; no man wants flat.

July 2013, I took it upon myself to gain 5 kilos, to become 50 kilograms; I am 163 inches long should at least be 55 kilos; but hitting 50 for me was a dream far from ever happening. I joined a gym, followed famous gymnast bloggers, and bought protein shakes with weight gainers and high calories, as high as 1830 calories per scoop; I was having 3 scoops per day.

My journey to gaining the weight began. The first three months I would gym 5 days a week, eat as much as 7 meals a day in addition to the protein shakes. I would lift weights that were half as much as I weighed. Though it was exciting and fun, I will not deny the pain I felt every time I stepped onto the scale and saw my weight remain constant.

I began to educate myself further about weight lifting, hoping to find the glitch that would make me gain the weight. Most exercises out there are used to losing the weight, aimed at making people slimmer; turns out the only way for me to gain the weight is to work twice as hard at the gym, and eat four times as much as the normal person. Five months into working out, lifting extremely heavy, and eating everything I could get my hands on; I finally gained my first two kilograms.

Ladies, the feeling you get when you hop onto the scale and find yourself two kilos less, was the feeling I experienced gaining it…

By July 2014, I hit my goal; I was at last 50 kilos of hard work and stuffed food. Though some of you might mock the fact that I am complaining about having to stuff my face with fattening yummy food; trust me when I tell you the eating experience is not as pleasant when you are forcing your stomach to hold more than it can; when you try and stop yourself from vomiting, and especially not enjoyable when you have to endure the stomach aches caused by the protein shakes and excessive eating.

It is now February 2015, I am 22 years old, 163 inches, and I weigh 53. I now can proudly flaunt my body knowing that not only do I feel healthy but I look it too; not to mention I actually have the body I deserve now. Also, just the other day I broke my record, I deadlifted 70 kilograms; more than some of the men at my gym. I am well aware of the fact that I can never stop going to the gym or else I will lose the weight; but now I can eat normally because my body is used to taking in just the amount it needs to burn. My metabolism rate hasn’t gone down at all, in fact it has become a little faster due to working out but at least tamed and controlled.

My new and final goal is 57 kilos. And even after I gain the weight, I intend on maintaining it and keeping my body in shape.

Do not hate me for trying to gain the weight people, you do not see me hating you for trying to lose it.  I understand the struggles of a woman trying to lose weight, and after this article I am hoping that my struggles to gain the weight are as equally understood rather than looked down on. Being skinny and underweight should never be a woman’s goal, instead being healthy and having the body deserved is what every woman out there should aim towards. At least that is what my experiences have taught me. 

Blazing Fire in Dubai’s Marina Torch Tower

By: Mirna Alsharif

           

            An aggressive fire broke out at approximately 2 am yesterday morning in the Marina’s Torch tower. Torch residents were evacuated in a hurry and forced to seek shelter elsewhere while many stood in the streets to watch the unbelievable inferno.

The Torch is an 87-floor residential tower, making it one of the highest in the world. The fire was said to have originated from the 51^st or 52^nd floor; the cause behind the blaze is under investigation.

Firefighters and Police were immediately on the scene, attempting to put the explosion out. Large pieces of metal scraps were falling off of the Torch tower and landing on surrounding surfaces. Fortunately, firefighters were able to put out ignitions caused by the dangerous debris.

Alia Abdelkader, a resident of the Torch tower, now finds herself having to check into a hotel. “This was a terrifying experience.”

The harsh, windy weather spread the flames quickly throughout the building, making it exceptionally difficult for firefighters to tame the inferno. It took about three hours until the fire was finally subdued, rendering all Torch residents homeless for at least a couple of days. Residents in neighboring buildings, such as the Princess tower, were also evacuated from their homes due to the risk factor.

Waiting in the streets, people were crying, praying and trying to stay calm. Some even napped from exhaustion.

The aftermath of the blaze is heartbreaking: the fire had spread below and above where the ignition had started, leaving two sides of the Torch in ashes. There is metal debris scattered all over the Marina area as a reminder of the unfortunate explosion that ensued.

“I’ve lived on the 19^th floor for about two years and I never expected something like this to happen,” said Abdelkader. “I’m still shaking. Evacuating the building was so stressful, especially because no one knew how bad the fire was. I remember smelling smoke then running down the stairs.”

Authorities will announce the cause behind the flames very soon; no foul play was suspected. Torch tower residents are currently being escorted back to their homes by security to pick up the pieces of the mysterious fire. 

Quote of the Week

“Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.”

                    Charlie Chaplin

AUD Does Zumba

By: Akram Khoja

 

Moving along, every Sunday and Tuesday of the semester, the University organizes a one-hour Zumba class to help the AUD community stay fit.

 

Set to Latin music, the instructor combines dance movements with regular exercise movements. Zumba is an effective workout that is very different because the instructor creates a fun and easy way to get into shape. People can also benefit from the class mentally because they’ll feel relief from everyday stresses.  

 

Zumba combines cardio training with weight lifting to energize people. The class uses high energy and motivating music to make the class more enjoyable and entertaining. The class practices three different dance movements: unigee movement, merengue, and rigatonis.

 

“I enjoy doing it and I put my energy and happiness to the class,” Dalia the instructor says. “People want to come to move more and rebuild the shape of their body and gain full flexibility,” she adds.

 

There are no requirements for the class, so anyone can join. The class is open to everyone, including students and faculty. AUDians can burn approximately about 700 calories per session.  Classes are from 6:15 pm till 7:15 pm in the C building, 2^nd floor.

Epic night as Ivory Coast Breaks Spell of the African Cup with Penalty Shootout

By Mohamed Zerari

 

 

 The picture is taken from the telegraph.co.uk

 

The crowd went wild when Boubacar Barry scored on the ninth attempt on February 8th for Ivory Coast and finally broke a long lasting dry spell by securing the African Cup of Nations for his team for the first time since 1992.

The conditions were extreme: very hot temperatures accompanied by unforgiving humid weather. This is how it feels in Equatorial Guinea, a country that did not even qualify for the African Cup of Nations but hosted the event after Morocco cancelled due to their fear of having Ebola spread across the nation. The two Arab teams, Tunisia and Algeria, were disqualified earlier in the cup due to scandal and inexperience of new athletes.

The hungry rivals- Ghana and Ivory Coast- met in the final round with exhausted hopes. The goalless game carried on for 120 minutes. Yaya Toure, the godfather of the Ivory Coast team after the great Didier Drogba, showed the great skill of a leader despite his obvious exhaustion during the match. On Ghana’s side, superstar player Asamoya Gyan played with an injury.

Defense on both sides was open but the attackers from both teams were unable to score and the game ended in a frustrating tie. Everyone was anticipating the penalty shootout in order to witness some long-awaited goals. Two missed attempts from the Ivory Coast and two successful goals from Ghana made audiences easily predict the potential winner. When Ivory Coast’s goalkeeper finally blocked a penalty shot attempt from Ghana, things started to turn around. Ghana’s costly miss was accompanied by yet another; the penalty shootout suddenly became a lot more interesting.

Yaya Toure said to the BBC, “When you win with your club, it's quite amazing. With your country, it's unbelievable.” This marked Ivory Coast’s second African Cup victory.

Atletico Madrid Crushes Real Madrid in a Historical Win of 4-0

By: Mohamed Zerari

 

 

Picture taken from the independent.co.uk

Real Madrid was mauled again after a painful loss against Atletico Madrid in the Vincente Calderon Stadium on February 7th.

The match was expected to be a heated, gruesome clash of two great talents of the Spanish League. However, Real Madrid seemed to have been lost in translation since the game started. Real’s defense line was not as sturdy as expected, making it easy for the hungry rivals to shower them with attacks until a goal was scored 15 minutes in by Atletico’s Tiago Mendes. Four minutes later, Saul Niguez scored an unbelievable over-the-head kick, deepening Real Madrid’s wounds and forcing the game’s tempo to speed up.

Real Madrid’s unease at the exceptional level of their opponents was evident since the beginning of the match. Cristiano Ronaldo attempted to score or at least make a decisive pass but all of his attempts were thwarted by the rigid defense of Atletico Madrid. The fragile defense line of the “meringue” remained the same in the second half when Antoine Griezmann scored the third goal for Atletico Madrid, making it almost impossible for Real Madrid to make a come back. It was clear that Atletico Madrid players took advantage of the absence of major defenders such as Pepe, Sergio Ramos, and Marcelo from Real’s defense line. Atletico’s coach, Diego Simeone, led the team to victory against Real Madrid twice in a row: in the Copa Del Rey and then in La Liga.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said to the BBC, “We were a mess and lost all our aerial battles. None of our players had a good game.”

Nevertheless, the joy of football is never forgotten when exceptional athletes are given the opportunity to demonstrate exclusive skills and pure talent, making La Liga one of its own kind. Despite the harsh loss to Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid is still leading the ranking with 54 points. The next game, on February 14th, against Real Club Deportivo will determine whether or not Real Madrid can continue to keep their heads up.

Watching the Gambler, is a Gamble of Your Time

By ELAF PATEL

 

 

Mark Wahlberg’s latest movie, directed by Rupert Wyatt, fails to impress the audience for several reasons. The biggest problem with this movie is its timing. While blockbusters inundate the cinema such as Theory of Everything or The Imitation Game, movie goers are disappointed by the slow paced repetitive movie that will someday make an amazing drinking game – "Every time Jim Bennet hits rock bottom do a shot."

 

The story follows the main protagonist; Jim Bennett played by Wahlberg, as he spirals downward and loses all his money. He then makes a series of bad decisions and borrows money from various people without any real means of paying them back. A backstory of Bennett being a bad professor and compromising a young athlete’s career as well as dating one of his students is at best, forgotten.

 

The one saving grace the movie has is that it acutely portrays the kind of addictive problem gambling can become. If viewers do not pick up on this by the multitude of problems the main protagonist encounters because of his gambling addiction, they can rest assured, because Wahlberg compares his addiction to alcoholism and drug addiction ATLEAST ten times. Similarly viewers are told repeatedly that Bennett is an awful professor while he sits at the front of the class in glasses sulking, telling his students how bad a professor he is.

 

While the romantic interest played by Brie Larson could have been a Hail Mary for this movie the lack of chemistry and banter between the two characters ensures no one cares when his gambling comes between him and his lady love. Even if the pair had sizzling chemistry the montages of her watching Bennet lose TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS makes her one of the most apathetic characters in this movie.

 

Towards the end of the movie the action picks up and against better judgment viewers root for “Marky Mark” to win and pull himself out of the sinking debt and a vortex of self-pity, his eventual victory is too predictable and hence hollow.

 

Once he wins, viewers can heave a sigh of relief because the movie is finally over. But, instead the protagonist is seen running and continues to run for an awful long time. Where could he possibly run after divesting himself of all worldly goods one wonders? Could it be to his student who he is inappropriately dating? That would be too clichéd. Yet, there is exactly where he runs.

 

Robbie Collin from the Daily Telegraph said on Rotten Tomatoes, “It's hard to know what to make of Mark Wahlberg's character in The Gambler - but at least that puts you on an equal footing with Wahlberg himself.” While Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian feels like “Mark Wahlberg's designer-suited performance is shallow and self-admiring.”

 

The most authentic part of the movie is the loan shark played by John Goodman who is a guru of sorts; he gives Wahlberg the kind of real talk one wishes someone had given him before he started this production. With a star cast of Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, Jessica Lange and John Goodman and a promising story, one wishes the movie had done a better job.

 

However, watching it is more tiresome than losing your last tenner on a bad hand of poker.

It's parents' Call of Duty to Save Their Kids from Videogame Addiction

By: Karim Abo Faraj

One of the most acknowledged problems with today’s youth is the development of extremely aggressive behavior, enhancement of vulgar vocabulary, lack of respect towards adults, as well as other disciplinary problems associated with the growing trend of interactive entertainment that is online gaming.

            While this can be said about any videogame, the largest contributor to today’s generation of troubled and edgy teens is Activision’s blockbuster series of military shooting games, Call of Duty.

            The biggest problem with playing Call of Duty is the kind of incredibly harmful acts it can lead to. The most controversial of which is a type of prank dubbed “swatting.” This scary, reckless, costly  “joke” involves a person calling the SWAT team under false accusations to the real life home of one of his opponents in an online match. The latest example of this heinous act, according to gaming news website, Kotaku, involves Max and Victoria Zeisberg, a Tennessee couple who share a mutual interest in games and often spend their Friday nights playing together.

After watching many gamers on Youtube streaming themselves playing games, Max and Victoria got inspired to do the same, seeing as the latter said "People enjoyed watching other people and interacting with one another. A lot of times people would say 'I'm playing this game and watching you guys at the same time!'" Due to the ease of being able to stream games nowadays with the simple press of a button on Playstation 4 and Xbox One, the Zeisbergs saw this as the ideal opportunity to get into this trend. The problems started after Max received nasty comments calling him a Nazi. The night took a turn for the worse once Victoria started receiving threatening messages on her phone, causing her to insist that they end their live stream. It was already too late to do anything though, as the eldest daughter had spotted police cars outside their home. While the Zeisbergs thought that their girl was merely overreacting, a SWAT unit suddenly broke into their home claiming they received a report stating that, Max was a “heroin” user who took the drug that day and used an AR-15 rifle to kill his wife. Soon, the entire family was forced to hold their hands up outside their home with a large number of guns pointed at them. After the situation was cleared, Max and Victoria were relieved that their family emerged from the situation unscathed, yet they were also angry at the fact that it had a tremendous psychological effect on the children. Even though it may be blatant that there is no crime taking place whatsoever, it is the police force’s duty to investigate any alleged crime scene no matter how ridiculous or fictitious it may seem.

            However, arguably the most disturbing act that Call of Duty has brought about is something so wrong and vile, merely thinking about it is too much of a strain on the brain. According to the Daily Mirror, Noah Crooks a 13-year-old boy in the United States was charged with first-degree murder and attempted sexual abuse after he killed his own mother with a .22 caliber rifle, which he did once he failed to rape her. The reason this pathological child committed a crime of such high degree stems from the simple fact that Noah’s mother, Gretchen Crooks, took away his Call of Duty game after she discovered that he was getting bad grades in school. On the night of the murder, Noah called 911 and told the operator, “I feel crazy and I know I'm not. I tried to rape her but I couldn't do it. Who tries to rape their own mom? My life is down the drain now.”

Once the police arrived they found Gretchen’s bullet-ridden, partly nude body lying on a couch. Noah’s lawyer stated that a child psychiatrist will testify whether or not the boy has Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which is a mental illness marked by repeated episodes of impulsive, aggressive or violent behavior. Regardless of the reason, this kind of sheer anarchy and chaos cannot go unpunished, and the fact that this homicidal teen did this unspeakable act to his own mother shows the kind of mental deterioration that ensues after children become to addicted to their obscene levels of exposure to the violent images of killing virtual avatars of other player in Call of Duty.

                With all that said, parents need to stop turning a blind eye to the potential of their own kin suffering from unfathomable obesity, lack of empathy towards others as well as downright psychosis. It may seem tempting for some parents to keep a friendly relationship with their children, but sometimes tough love is not only the best gift a father and mother can give to their kids, it can also be a lifesaver.

Nobody Kills With Fire Except The Lord of Fire

By: Rima Al Jareh

Skip the old-fashioned Hollywood horror movies; ISIS has now taken over the screen with their “based on a true story” videos.

ISIS terrorists released a video that appears to show a captive Jordanian pilot being burned alive while standing inside a cage. The pilot, Moath Al-Kasasbeh, was captured when his F-16 plane crashed during a bombing mission against ISIS in Syria in December, 2014. ISIS killed the pilot in violation by Islamic teachings, and any Muslim you ask will tell you that only God decides who dies and how.

Dr. Pamela Chrabieh, an associate professor in Islamic Studies at the American University in Dubai stated that the general meaning of Islam is closely linked to peace. “Following the immolation of Jordanian pilot by ISIS, many Muslim scholars such as in Egypt, Al Azhar, denounced this violent and savage act, stating that Islam prohibits the taking of an innocent life, as well as the immolation or mutilation of bodies, even during wartime.”

The video shows a man standing in a cage wearing an orange jumpsuit that is doused in fuel. A line of gasoline leads to the cage, which is then ignited by what appears to be an ISIS terrorist, causing the man to burst into flames. One can see how the man is suffering from the pain. After almost three minutes of suffering, the man is stepped on to ashes with a tractor. It is a horrible video and an even more horrible way to die.

In response, Jordan, who had earlier vowed an “earth-shattering response to the killing”, executed two militants as a response to the horrible killing of the pilot. Moreover, Jordanians were horrified after seeing the hair-raising video.

Rula Tarawneh, a Jordanian TV-presenter in CNBC Arabia writes on her Facebook page, “I say to you today that you have fallen away from the rank of being normal human beings. The sick person, who instead of condemning the terrorist acts of ISIS describes the killing of Al-Kasasbeh as a natural reaction to those who fight against the Islamic State, I say to you today: Kasasbeh’s shoes is more honorable and pure than you and your honor. […] Honor is the homeland, and whoever defends their land and soil has protected his own honor and the honor of his country […]. Yes, we [Jordanians] do love life but we love our land more.”

The pilot's father has urged his government to "take revenge for Al-Kasasbeh’s death and to take revenge for the country". Because nobody should be killing with fire expect for the Lord of Fire!

However, there are still some people who believe that the video of the killing of Al- Kasasbeh is spurious. According to an article in Civilian Intelligence Agency, Shepard Ambellas stated, “In every single report posted by mainstream sources you will see that they use the words “apparently” […] or “unconfirmed” […], signifying that the video is nothing more than a sham. But even more sadly they all know it’s a sham, but yet continue to report on it, running with it as if it’s real.” Furthermore, Ambellas explains why and how the video could be an ugly setup by ISIS; to ignite more fear in people’s brains. Ambellas also mentioned that the U.S president Barack Obama himself mentions that the video is “unconfirmed” and may not be “authentic.”

According to The Christian Post, 10,733 civilians were killed violently in Iraq by ISIS between November 2013 and November 2014. In addition, about 5,000 Yazidi girls and women were taken captive by ISIS to be sold or given to fighters as slaves.

According to John Hall, a journalist at Daily Mail Online, he stated, “A sickening video showing cheering crowds of ISIS supporters watching the barbaric murder of a Jordanian pilot on specially erected giant screens also features a smiling child telling an interviewer: 'I would've burnt him [Moath Al-Kasasbeh] with my own hands.’”

Islam is a beautiful religion that would never do shameless acts like this. It is a huge mistake to call ISIS for Muslims. But their existence raises many questions. We need to think about who is behind ISIS and where they have got their very strong weapons from? Also, we must consider how they suddenly could become so compelling and powerful and why they create so much fear in the people around the world. Whatever it is ISIS is doing, it is against God and Islam, because all that ISIS is doing is not even human, how can it be religious? Islam does not accept this, not in a million years! God is the Almighty who created us, and God is the ONLY one who decides when we will die, nobody else!

“Even a cursory reading of the Qur’an will draw the reader’s eyes to hundreds of scriptures extolling tolerance, conciliation, inclusiveness and peace. Murder violates this fundamental principle, as well as Islamic values and humanity”, said Dr. Chrabieh.