The profession of snake charmers was outlawed in India in 2003
Jayanta Dey/Reuters
The BBC Pop Up has invoked the wrath of Indian twitterati over a
question on snake charmers. The BBC asked: "Should India erase its snake
charming culture to embrace modernity?"
The BBC Pop UP is a travelling bureau covering stories across India
and its latest topic was snake charming. When criticism emerged against
one of its promotional videos which showed Indian men charming snakes,
the channel went on to investigate whether the snake charmers offend the
country's cultural identity.
Amid a backlash from vibrant twitter users, BBC Pop Up issued a
clarification and said no offence was meant. The practice of
snake-charming was outlawed by the government in 2003.
16-year-old Ty Greer, a teen in Alberta, Canada, suffered second degree
burns and broken teeth after his e-cigarette spontaneously exploded just
inches from his mouth while he was using it in his car.
“It lit my kid’s face on fire, busted two teeth out,” Perry Greer, Ty’s father, told the Canadian Press.
“It burned the back of his throat, burned his tongue very badly. If he
wasn’t wearing glasses, he possibly could have lost his eyes. … He
wanted to die. That is how much pain he was in.”
The defective vape was a Wotofo Phantom, which is produced in China.
Online reviews of the product on the marketplace Eciggity were mostly
positive with no indication of such defects.
In a statement to Mic by the Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association,
the industry shot back at the implication that e-cigarettes
are dangerous.
“Electronic cigarettes and vapor products are electronic devices and do
not combust. They should be thought the same as other rechargeable
electrical equipment such as laptops and cell phones, in terms of being
battery powered,” the statement read.
“We cannot speak to user error or on behalf of a manufacturer for their
device. If there is truly an issue with a specific device, similar to a
laptop or cell phone manufacturer, inquiries should be directed toward
the individual company."
Yet Ty Greer is not the first to fall victim to such a disaster. In
November, a Colorado Springs man suffered a broken neck when an
e-cigarette exploded in his face. And earlier this month, an Orange
County, California, teen also suffered burns after an e-cigarette
exploded in his pocket. In October 2014, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency officially acknowledged the phenomenon, publishing a
study investigating the matter.
Stacey Dash has received lots of harsh feedback after making some
controversial comments regarding the all-white Oscars, Black History
Month and BET.
Former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actress, Janet Hubert, did not hold back
when it came to her feelings regarding Dash, slamming her during an
interview with The Huffington Post on Friday.
"Somebody needs to slap the little bit of black she got on her off of
her, okay?" Hubert said. "Because girlfriend has worked on BET more than
most actresses have. I think she's just saying this kind of bull
because she wants sensationalism."
Hubert continued, "She's working for Fox, and she needs a job, and she's
making a check, and she's bringing controversy to herself. Stacey is a
bit of a media ho."
"I don't feel anything for Stacey because she absolutely puts the
struggle way back, way back. It's just rude and wrong," she said. "If we
didn't have BET, if we didn't have those kinds of awards, we'd have
nothing. We'd have nothing to honor those wonderful performances…And as
far as Black History Month is concerned, I don't even need to touch that
because it's so stupid."
Finally, Hubert has one very clear message for the Clueless actress: "Stacey, just dash away, honey."
Dash has since clarified her divisive comments. In her blog,
she explained that black history should be an integrated part of
American history, rather than be relegated to a specific month of
celebration. Regardless, Hubert added that Dash's ideas are a serious
setback in the movement for racial equality.
