08.18.07
Black notched ball spiral barbell
Shown: 12mm twister with 6mm balls.
Material: black steel
Gauge: 14
Type: twister
Diameter: optional
Ball size: optional
08.14.07
Teens to need parents consent under piercing bill
FOR teenagers, getting a note from your parents to go on a school excursion is one thing. But getting written permission to have your nipple pierced is a whole other story.
Under a controversial plan soon to come before Parliament, people under 18 would be banned from having any part of their body pierced without the written consent of their parents or guardian.
The bill, introduced by Nationals MP Damian Drum, has the backing of the Liberals and the qualified support of the Brumby Government.
Mr Drum said parents have been horrified to find their children coming home with metal rings through their lips and their tongues, which have been proven to damage teeth. He said other piercings had resulted in blood poisoning and serious infections.
Piercing studio owner Peter Sheringham said many unprincipled operators would pierce nipples and genitals of those under 18. If the parents were involved, then the operators would make sure the parents looked after the piercing, he said.
“I could pierce the tongue on a six-year-old today and it doesn’t matter who jumps up and down about it, no one can do a thing,” he said.
Mr Sheringham said his business, Piercing Urge, required teenagers aged from 16 to 18 to produce a note from parents with a phone number included. It did not perform nipple or genital piercings on anyone under 18.
Australian Medical Association president Rosanna Capolingua said she supported the concept of informed consent because there were inherent risks associated with piercing. Infection was the biggest concern, and tongue and mouth rings could cause dental damage.
But Dr Capolingua questioned whether the parent or the child would be responsible for any repercussions of a piercing performed without consent.
The Nationals and Labor are negotiating over the composition of the bill, which is to be debated in Parliament this week.
A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Rob Hulls said the Government understood concerns about body piercing and was “keen to address the issue of an appropriate regulatory framework”. “There are substantial flaws in the Nationals’ current proposal and we will work through those issues over the next few months,” she said.
But Greens upper house MP Sue Pennicuik said if the point of the proposed laws was the health of young people, they should be warned of the dangers rather than being told what to do.
Opposition spokeswoman on children Andrea Coote said the Liberals would support the bill because children saw the glamour in body piercing without understanding the full health ramifications, particularly of tongue and genital piercings.
“I fully understand that this may cause some additional paperwork for communities who culturally pierce ears and noses,” she said.
The chief executive of the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, Georgie Ferrari, said parental consent would not guarantee safer piercing procedures.
Elizabeth Field, 18, of Doncaster, believes the proposed law is “kind of stupid” for ear or facial piercings and an infringement on rights.
“If it is a major piercing like the tongue, the genitals or the nipples or any major surface, then there should be parental consent because you can get infections,” she said.
Sporting a ring through her lip, Ms Field said: “I’ve had a few friends go to dodgy places and they’ve got infections and had growths.”
Her mother accompanied her when she had other piercings done a few months ago, when aged 17. Her nose, eyebrow, neck and nipples were pierced.
Drum calls for tighter piercing controls
Teenagers would need written permission from their parents to get any part of their body pierced under a push by the Victorian Nationals to tighten the law.
Northern Victorian Nationals MP and former Fremantle Dockers coach Damian Drum said parents have approached his party, distressed that their children received body piercings without their consent.
Mr Drum said he wanted to fix an anomaly in Victorian law that makes it an offence to tattoo anyone under 18, but does not control body piercing of children.
“It’s mainly about a health issue, it’s not necessarily a body image thing for the future, we’re not trying to be too much of a big brother,” Mr Drum said.
Requiring parental consent would keep a tighter rein on the piercing industry and deter children who knew they would never get permission, he said.
Making parents aware of a piercing would help maintain it safely, to prevent infection, Mr Drum said.
“It brings it all out into the open. Mum and dad know that the kid’s just had his belly-button pierced … and they’ll just tend to it a bit better and make sure it’s cleaned.”
Liberals leader Ted Baillieu supports the plan.
“I think it’s not an unreasonable ask to have parents’ permission,” Mr Baillieu said.
“Eighteen is the age for many licence situations and there are clearly some risks attached to piercing. It ought to be done in a friendly and safe environment, and I think parents’ permission is reasonable.”
Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the government would examine the legislation, but did not agree with parts of it.
“We understand the concerns about body piercing and we are keen to address the issue of an appropriate regulatory framework,” a spokesman for Mr Andrews said.
“There are substantial flaws in the Nationals’ current proposal and we will work through those issues over the next few months.”
08.13.07
Pierce my ride??
Body piercing for cars. Some of the lamest crap I’ve ever seen.
Get piercing for your Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, Boats, Snowboards, ATVs and more!!
This goes out to all the lovers of ink, showing us there life. To the tribal pain lovers of body piercing…
read more | digg story
How Body Piercing Works — The Ins and Outs of this Cutting Edge Process
Body piercing (defined as any piercing beyond the standard earlobe piercing) has become such a popular form of body modification that between five and ten percent of the population of the United States has indulged in at least one form of it at some time in their lives.
read more | digg story
08.11.07
Circular barbell with spiral spike balls
Shown: 13mm circular barbell with 5mm balls.
Material: steel
Gauge: 12
Type: circular barbell
Diameter: optional
Ball size: optional
Door knocker straight barbell
Material: steel
ring diameter 3/8″ (10mm)ring gauge - 14
Gauge: 12
Type: straight barbell
Length: 5/8″ (16mm)
Ball size: 1/4″ (6mm)
08.09.07
Broward County: Health officials to teach body-piercing safet
Hoping to prevent illness or injuries from unsafe body-piercing practices, the county Health Department will teach a class on proper methods.
Environmental health specialists and public health nurses will cover safety, sanitation and sterilization requirements, as well as record keeping, precautions for preventing transmission of infectious diseases, and after-care instructions for clients. A formal safe-practices class is required of piercing operators before a body-piercing salon can be licensed.
Police nab teens after alleged stealing spree
Five local teens went on a five-hour stealing spree throughout the city, nabbing a tattoo machine, body piercing equipment, snacks and liquor from various businesses, according to Brownsville police.
When they were caught, one told police detectives he didn’t have money to buy back-to-school clothes and decided to steal business as a last resort.
Now, Neptali Robles, Tyler Eugene Herton and Erick Cardenas, arrested early Tuesday on charges of burglary of a building and engaging in organized criminal activity, said Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique, spokesman for Brownsville police.
Two other teens, both under the age of 17, have been arrested and charged in connection to the burglaries, Manrrique said. He could not release their names because they are juveniles.
Robles and Herton each face five counts of burglary of a building and five additional counts of engaging in organized criminal activity, according to a police report. Cardenas faces two counts of burglary of a building and two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity.
Six additional charges are pending against Cardenas, Manrrique said.
The first burglary happened sometime before midnight Sunday, with the last one wrapping up about 5 a.m. Monday, Manrrique said.
The teens gained entry to the Jorge Flores Pediatric Clinic, 1885 Price Rd., and were able to enter Complete Rx Pharmacy next door through a sliding door. There, they allegedly stole CornNuts, as well as other snacks, over the counter medication and prescription drugs, Manrrique said.
The teens then hit Jade’s Beauty Salon, 3638 Boca Chica Blvd., where they allegedly stole body piercing equipment, as well as a cash register with an unknown amount of money in it.
The teens are also believed to have burglarized Ol’ Skool Tattoo, 5905 S. Padre Island Hwy., where they allegedly stole a tattoo machine.
Manrrique said one of the teens confessed that he committed the act because he wanted to ink his own tattoo.
Finally, the teens broke into Feldman’s Liquor, 2501 Paredes Line Rd., according to a police report, where they stole liquor bottles.
“The group was charged with a total of 40 counts of burglary of a building,” Manrrique said Wednesday morning in a prepared statement. “The group operated by method of smash and grab.”
Manrrique said the same hammer was used to break into the pediatric clinic, the beauty salon and the tattoo parlor, where police detectives observed broken windows.
“The burglary task force is continuing to investigate other burglaries in which this particular group might have been involve,” he said.
Police detectives believe the teens were on drugs and high when they committed the burglaries, Manrrique said.
Wednesday afternoon, Robles, Herton and Cardenas were being held at the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito in lieu of bonds ranging from $50,000 to $130,000, according to jail logs.
The two other teens were being held at the Darrel B. Hester Juvenile Justice Center in San Benito, where they are expected to go before a magistrate judge for a formal hearing.
“All (teens are) facing heavy, heavy bonds,” Manrrique said. “They probably won’t see high school next year.”
08.05.07
4 U.S. soldiers killed, 3 by armor-piercing bomb
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military announced the deaths of four American soldiers today, three of whom were killed by a sophisticated, armor-piercing bomb in eastern Baghdad.
An explosively-formed penetrator, or EFP, detonated near the soldiers’ patrol during combat operations Tuesday, it said. Six other soldiers were wounded.
Another soldier was killed by small arms fire Tuesday in a separate incident, the military reported. All of the victims’ names were withheld pending family notification.
That brought to 76 the July toll of U.S. deaths in Iraq. It was the lowest monthly count in eight months, as the U.S. military said it was gaining control of former militant strongholds.
Still, it was the deadliest July for U.S. troops since the war began. For the previous three years, the month of July saw a relatively low death toll. In July 2006, 43 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq, and 54 died in each of the previous two Julys.
By contrast, July was the second-deadliest month for Iraqis so far this year, according to an Associated Press tally.
In other news, Iraq’s largest Sunni Arab political bloc announced its withdrawal from the government, undermining efforts to seek reconciliation among the country’s rival factions, and two bombing attacks in Baghdad killed at least 67 people.
In one attack, 50 people were killed and 60 wounded when a suicide attacker exploded a fuel truck near a gas station in western Baghdad. Another 17 died in a separate car bomb attack in central Baghdad.
Rafaa al-Issawi, a leading member of the Front, said at a news conference that the bloc’s six Cabinet ministers would submit their resignations later in the day.
Al-Issawi said the decision to pull out from the government followed what he called Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s failure to respond to the Accordance Front. It gave him seven days to meet its demands, and the ultimatum expired Wednesday.
Among the demands: a pardon for security detainees not charged with specific crimes, the disbanding of militias and the participation of all groups represented in the government in dealing with security issues.
“The government is continuing with its arrogance, refusing to change its stand and has slammed shut the door to any meaningful reforms necessary for saving Iraq,” al-Issawi said.
“We had hoped that the government would respond to these demands or at least acknowledge the failure of its policies, which led Iraq to a level of misery it had not seen in modern history. But its stand did not surprise us at all,” he said, reading from a prepared statement.
The Accordance Front has 44 of parliament’s 275 seats. Its withdrawal from the 14-month-old government is the second such action by a faction of al-Maliki’s “national unity” coalition.
Five Cabinet ministers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr quit the government in April to protest al-Maliki’s reluctance to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Meanwhile, a fuel tanker exploded near a gas station in western Baghdad’s primarily Sunni Mansour neighborhood, killing at least 50 people and wounding 60, police said. Two police officers, both speaking on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said it was the work of a suicide attacker.
Earlier, a parked car bomb killed 17 civilians and left a gaping crater in a busy square in central Baghdad, police said. Another 32 people were wounded by the blast, another police officer said on the same condition of anonymity.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said the explosion ripped a hole five feet wide in the asphalt. Three minibuses and six cars were damaged by flames and flying debris. Blood pooled in the street.
A gas station and a popular ice cream parlor also suffered damage. Windows were shattered and benches lay toppled outside. Shrapnel scattered 200 meters from the blast.
The explosives had been in a vehicle in al-Hurriyah square in the mostly Shiite Karradah neighborhood, and detonated around 10:15 a.m., the police officer said.
The bombing occurred nearly a week after a cluster of explosions, including one from a massive truck bomb, hit the same neighborhood. Karradah had previously been thought to be one of central Baghdad’s safest areas. Last Thursday’s blasts killed more than 60 people.
In other violence Wednesday, Iraqi police said a parked car bomb killed three people and wounded five in southern Baghdad in a mostly Christian area.
The U.S. military said its forces had killed three suspects and captured 27 others in raids targeting al-Qaida in Iraq on Tuesday and Wednesday.
