Teenage girl escapes crucifixion in exorcisms in France

On October 19, 2013 By A.P.In Antoinette, Crime, crucifixion, Crucifixtion, Crucify, demon, devil, Eric Deron, exorcism, France, Jacque Bourdais, Paris, Protestant church, Religion, Seventh Day Adventist ChurchLeave a comment

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A quartet of former Seventh Day Adventist Church members went on trial in France this week for nearly killing a 19-year-old girl they tied up during a crucifixion-like exorcism.

Three men — including the teen’s boyfriend, Eric Deron — and a woman allegedly bound the girl to a mattress and hung her in the position of Christ on the cross when they believed she was possessed by the devil in 2011, the Agence France-Presse reported.

Police found the girl, identified only as Antoinette, in the Grigny housing estate just south of Paris after she had been tortured for seven days. Officials said the girl was emaciated, dehydrated and showed signs of being beaten, the AFP reported.

The teen told investigators that the four religious fanatics had kept her alive by feeding her small amounts of oil and water.

Prosecutors said Deron, who had delusions of being a prophet, had instigated the disturbing act as part of a divine mission.

But all four, who are of French Caribbean origin, claim the girl consented to the exorcism after she allegedly pounced on her former boyfriend while babbling incoherently.

“To them, she was possessed. That is why they did not call a doctor,” their lawyer, Jacque Bourdais, told the AFP. “You call a doctor when someone is sick. When someone is possessed, you exorcise them.”

Antoinette met Deron and the three others through the Seventh Day Adventist Church about three years before the alleged attack.

The Protestant church, based in the United States and boasts 17 million followers throughout the world on their website, said they expelled the people involved a year before the exorcism — which they claimed could not be justified by any of their teachings.

Deron and the three others face a litany of charges that include kidnapping, acts of torture and barbarism.

Inside a Paris apartment that has been untouched for 70 years

On May 18, 2013May 15, 2013 By A.P.In George Clemenceau, Giovanni Boldini, Marc Ottavi, Marthe de Florian, Olivier Choppin-Janvry, Paris, world war 2, World War IILeave a comment

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Caked in dust and full of turn-of-the century treasures, this Paris apartment is like going back in time.

Having lain untouched for seven decades the abandoned home was discovered three years ago after its owner died aged 91.
The woman who owned the flat, a Mrs De Florian, had fled for the south of France before the outbreak of the Second World War.
She never returned and in the 70 years since, it looks like no-one had set foot inside.

The property was found near a church in the French capital’s 9th arrondissement, between Pigalle red light district and Opera. Experts were tasked with drawing up an inventory of her possessions which included a painting by the 19th century Italian artist Giovanni Boldini.

One expert said it was like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty, where time had stood still since 1900. ‘There was a smell of old dust,’ said Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who made the discovery.

But he said his heart missed a beat when he caught sight of a stunning tableau of a woman in a pink muslin evening dress.
The painting was by Boldini and the subject a beautiful Frenchwoman who turned out to be the artist’s former muse and Mrs de Florian’s grandmother, Marthe de Florian, a beautiful French actress and socialite of the Belle Époque.

Marthe de Florian was an actress with a long list of ardent admirers whose fervent love letters she kept wrapped neatly in ribbon and were still on the premises.

Among the admirers was the 72nd prime minister of France, George Clemenceau, but also Boldini.

The expert had a hunch the painting was by Boldini, but could find no record of the painting.

‘No reference book dedicated to Boldini mentioned the tableau, which was never exhibited,’ said Marc Ottavi, the art specialist he consulted about the work.

When Mr Choppin-Janvry found a visiting card with a scribbled love note from Boldini, he knew he had struck gold. ‘We had the link and I was sure at that moment that it was indeed a very fine Boldini’.

He finally found a reference to the work in a book by the artist’s widow, which said it was painted in 1898 when Miss de Florian was 24.

The starting price for the painting was £253,000 but it rocketed as ten bidders vyed for the historic work. Finally it went under the hammer for £1.78million, a world record for the artist.
‘It was a magic moment. One could see that the buyer loved the painting; he paid the price of passion,’ said Mr Ottavi.

More HIV ‘cured’: first a baby, now 14 adults

On March 18, 2013March 15, 2013 By A.P.In AIDS, Andrew Ball, antiretroviral drugs, ARV, Asier Sáez-Ciri, France, HIV, Medicine, Paris, Pasteur Institute, PLoS Pathogens, Science, WHO, World Health OrganizationLeave a comment

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A drug-free life beckons for some people with HIV

Two weeks after the revelation that a baby has been “cured” of HIV, reports suggest that a similar treatment can cure some adults too. Early treatment seems crucial, but does not guarantee success.

Asier Sáez-Cirión of the Pasteur Institute’s unit for regulation of retroviral infections in Paris analysed 70 people with HIV who had been treated with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) between 35 days and 10 weeks after infection – much sooner than people are normally treated.

All of the participants’ drug regimes had been interrupted for one reason or another. For example, some people had made a personal choice to stop taking the drugs, others had been part of a trial of different drug protocols.

Most of the 70 people relapsed when their treatment was interrupted, with the virus rebounding rapidly to pre-treatment levels. But 14 of them – four women and 10 men – were able to stay off of ARVs without relapsing, having taken the drugs for an average of three years.

The 14 adults still have traces of HIV in their blood, but at such low levels that their body can naturally keep it in check without drugs.

On average, the 14 adults have been off medication for seven years. One has gone 10-and-a-half years without drugs. “It’s not eradication, but they can clearly live without pills for a very long period of time,” says Sáez-Cirión.

Last week, a baby was reported to have been “functionally cured” of HIV after receiving a three-drug regime of ARVs almost immediately after birth. Sáez-Cirión warns that rapid treatment doesn’t work for everyone, but the new study reinforces the conclusion that early intervention is important.

“There are three benefits to early treatment,” says Sáez-Cirión. “It limits the reservoir of HIV that can persist, limits the diversity of the virus and preserves the immune response to the virus that keeps it in check.”

Further analysis confirmed that the 14 adults were not “super-controllers” – the 1 per cent of the population that are naturally resistant to HIV – since they lack the necessary protective genes. Also, natural controllers rapidly suppress their infections, whereas these 14 mostly had severe symptoms which led to their early treatment. “Paradoxically, doing badly helped them do better later,” says Sáez-Cirión.

The researchers are trying to identify additional factors that could explain why early intervention only works on some people, hopefully extending the scope for more functional cures.

“This whole area is fascinating, and we’ve been looking very closely at issues of early initiation of treatment, and the potential for functional cures,” says Andrew Ball, senior adviser on HIV/AIDS strategy at the World Health Organization in Geneva.

“The big challenge is identifying people very early in their infection,” says Ball, adding that many people resist testing because of the stigma and potential discrimination. “There’s a good rationale for being tested early, and the latest results may give some encouragement to do that,” he says.

Journal reference: PLoS Pathogens, DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003211

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23276-more-hiv-cured-first-a-baby-now-14-adults.html

Tycoon offers HK$500 million to wed his lesbian daughter

On September 27, 2012September 27, 2012 By A.P.In Cecil Caho Sze-tsung, Gigi Chao, homosexuality, Hong Kong, Human Behavior, lesbian, Marriage, Paris, Ray Gaudette, Relationship, Sean Eav, Wealth and Power, weddingLeave a comment

The daughter of the tycoon who on Tuesday offered HK$500 million (US$64 million) to any man who would marry her found the proposal “quite entertaining,” she told CNN.

Gigi Chao said her father, property developer Cecil Chao Sze-tsung, “loves her very much” and was aware of the cash offer before it was first reported Tuesday by local Hong Kong media.

The tycoon’s offer came after Chinese media reports last week that she married another woman, her long-time companion Sean Eav, in a civil ceremony in Paris last week. Asked by CNN to confirm her civil union, Chao said she was “not in a position to verify that.”

Her father, however, was unequivocal, telling CNN “reports of Gigi being married is not true, it’s a rumor.” However, he did confirm that he is offering the multi-million dollar bounty for a future son-in-law: Any nationality or wealth of the suitor is fine, the only requirement is that the man “loves my daughter, and she loves him.”

Asked if she would consider her father’s offer, Chao said, “we will see.”

The 76-year-old tycoon himself has never married, and has long earned a reputation on the pages of local newspapers and magazines in the arms of beautiful women, having once bragged of having had 10,000 girlfriends, the South China Morning Post reported.

Gigi Chao is an executive director of Cheuk Nang Holdings, a luxury property development company run by her father.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/business/hong-kong-tycoon-daughter-reward/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Thanks to Ray Gaudette for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

It's Interesting

Category: Paris

Teenage girl escapes crucifixion in exorcisms in France

Inside a Paris apartment that has been untouched for 70 years

More HIV ‘cured’: first a baby, now 14 adults

Tycoon offers HK$500 million to wed his lesbian daughter