Mother-of-Five Posts Photo of Visible Stomach Stretch Marks on Facebook After Being Bullied — and the Support is Overwhelming

“All of a sudden I heard, ‘oh my god, look at that, that’s f--king nasty,
that’s disgusting, look how gross that is.”
That’s how Tanis Jex-Blake recalls the moment three young strangers
reacted to her body while she sunbathed with her family at Alberta
Beach in Edmonton, Canada on Tuesday. It was the first time she put on
a swimsuit since giving birth to her first child 13 years ago.
And it only got worse from there.
Jex-Blake opened her eyes to see two men and one woman pointing at
her and pretending to kick her as she innocently tried to enjoy her day.
At that time, she ignored them. On her drive home, however, it all set in
and she couldn’t help but break down.
But then she mustered up the strength to share her story on Facebook.
Little did she know the story, along with a photo of her stretch marks,
would go viral.
“I’m sorry if my first attempt at sun tanning in a bikini in public in 13
years ‘grossed you out’. I’m sorry that my stomach isn’t flat and tight.
I’m sorry that my belly is covered in stretch marks,” she wrote.
“I’m NOT sorry that my body has housed, grown, protected, birthed and
nurtured FIVE fabulous, healthy, intelligent and wonderful human
beings. I’m sorry if my 33 year old, 125 lb body offended you so much
that you felt that pointing, laughing, and pretending to kick me.”

She continued, “But I’ll have you know that as I looked at your ‘perfect’

young bodies, I could only think to myself ‘what great and amazing feat

has YOUR body done?’. I’ll also have you know that I held my head high,

unflinching as you mocked me, pretending that what you said and did

had no effect on me; but I cried in the car on the drive home.

“I can only hope that one day you’ll realize that my battle scars are

something to be proud of, not ashamed of.”

A local radio station shared the photo, which has been viewed by more

than 12 million people.

Tons of Facebook users came out in support of the 33-year-old.

“My wife has four kids… and we call her stretch marks ‘love stories’.

It’s beautiful! Real men appreciate those stretch marks.”

Another user added, “Tanis there is nothing wrong with your body it’s

beautiful and yes you went through the miracle of child birth and those

are your medals for doing it.”

China offer bonus for mother's moniker

Beijing - Chinese parents are being offered cash rewards to give their
newborn children the mother's last name, a report said on Friday, in
an unusual attempt to address the traditional preference for sons.
Women who marry in China keep their own surnames, but their children
almost invariably take the father's name and ensure its continuation
into the next generation.
Now officials in Changfeng county in the eastern province of Anhui
are giving $162 to couples who take part in the "surname reform"
plan, the Jianghuai Morning Post reported.
They hope the move will help to gradually change the common
perception that giving birth to a son is preferable to having a
daughter, it said, and nearly 30 couples have already volunteered.
China suffers from a huge gender imbalance as a result of sex-
selective abortions and the strict family-planning law known as the
one-child policy. Female infanticide and the abandoning of baby girls
have also been reported.
In most countries, males slightly outnumber females, with between 103
and 107 boys born for every 100 girls, but China had nearly 118 male
births for every 100 females in 2012.
In Changfeng county, that ratio has reached nearly 130 boys for every
100 girls, according to the Jianghuai Morning Post.
"Our goal is to promote an idea, for families to give their newborn
child the surname of whoever they want", Gong Cunbing, deputy
director of the county population and family planning committee, told
the paper.
China's has tens of millions more men than women, experts say, one of
the worst distortions in the world.
Many of those men are now unable to find Chinese brides, a
phenomenon that has become a key driver of trafficking of women
from Southeast Asia to China, according to campaign groups.

Ebola: Man's body quarantined

Lagos - The body of man who died in Liberia has been quarantined by
authorities in southeast Nigeria as a precaution amid growing concern
over Ebola, an official said on Friday.
The man's relatives repatriated his remains over the weekend for
burial in the Oyi area of Anambra state.
There was no immediate evidence that Ebola caused his death, but
panic broke out in Oyi when locals learned that he had died in Liberia,
one of three countries ravaged by the deadliest known outbreak of the
virus, an Anambra government spokesperson Emeka Ozumba, told AFP.
"The government decided to keep the corpse away from relations and
the public until we are sure of the cause of death since the body was
flown in from Liberia," Ozumba said.
The length of the man's stay in Liberia or the precise day he died
were not immediately known.
"The step is precautionary," Ozumba said, adding that tests would be
run on the body before it would be released.
Scores of people are thought to have contracted Ebola while burying
relatives who died of the virus.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has said the outbreak in her
country, where 156 people have died, was "nearing a catastrophe".
The only confirmed Ebola death in Nigeria was that of Liberian
government official Patrick Sawyer, who contracted the virus from his
sister before travelling to Lagos on 20 July.
He was visibly sick upon arrival at the airport, placed under quarantine
and died on 25 July.
Global concern has soared in recent days over the outbreak which has
infected more than 1 300 people and killed 729 since the start of the
year, in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with one death recorded in
Nigeria.

Rihanna flaunt her sexy body in a bikini

Hmmmmm.  She sure got some nice curve....

Bodybuilder Forced to Give Up Career Because of Bowel Disease is Now a Model Who Proudly Displays Colostomy Bag

He was down, but never out.
Meet 33-year-old Blake Beckford. The former bodybuilder was forced
to give up his career after he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis,
which is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes irritation in
the lining of the rectum and colon.
Blake was about to compete in a bodybuilding competition when he was
delivered the awful news.
For 10 years, the doctor’s office became his second home. He took
several different medications and was forced to give up his strict
exercise routine.
Last October, his health took a turn for the worse when he needed
surgery and had his entire colon removed. And that’s when he was
fitted with a colostomy bag as an alternative way for the father-of-
one to pass feces.
Physicians told him he’d never be able to train at the level he once used
to.
“They said to start lifting weights and training to be a physique model
would be very unattainable and unlikely,” he says. “I was warned there
was a risk of hernias and other problems.”
But guess what? He proved them wrong.

His journey began last January. Six months later, he gained an incredible

amount of muscle and just appeared in Men’s Fitness .

Today, he’s a personal trainer who — like this aspiring model — wants to

inspire others with the same disease not to be ashamed of his/her

Hot Mama Alert!: Pregnant Christina Aguilera Poses Naked in Scandalous New Photo Shoot

Give pregnant Christina Aguilera some really good lighting and lack of
clothes, and this is what you get!
The 33-year-old songstress has bared all and put her growing baby
bump on full display for the new issue of V Magazine .
Shot by photographer Brian Bowen Smith, Xtina looks nothing short of
beautiful in the jaw-dropping shoot.

"As a woman, I'm proud to embrace my body through all stages of life,

staying fearless and confident in surrendering to the unknowns the

future has in store,” the “Beautiful” singer told the mag.

One black-and-white image features The Voice coach arching her back

as her right hand clutches her right breast. Another photo shows her

holding both of her breasts with her hands behind a grainy effect.

Though she’s wearing clothing in the last two shots, they’re equally as

racy.

The blonde bombshell rocks a completely see-through white dress, while

holding her belly. In one pic, Xtina’s fiancé and soon-to-be baby daddy

Matthew Rutler poses shirtless and looks as if he’s about to kiss her.

(Notable mention: he also gives plumbers everywhere a good run for

their money.)

This will be second child for Xtina, who's expecting a girl with Matthew.

The pair got engaged last Valentine’s Day after dating three years.

She’s also mom to 6-year-old Max , her son from her previous marriage

to Jordan Bratman.

Ebola: a timeline of a ruthless killer

Dakar - Below are the main developments since the worst-ever
epidemic of the haemorrhagic fever Ebola emerged in west Africa at
the start of the year, fuelling fears it could spread to other
continents.
March, 2014
22: Guinea identifies the Ebola virus as the source of a highly
contagious epidemic raging through its southern forests, as the death
toll rises to 59.
Experts had been unable to identify the disease, whose symptoms were
first observed six weeks ago, but scientists studying samples in the
French city of Lyon confirmed it was Ebola.
27: Ebola spreads to Guinea's capital Conakry.
31: Liberia confirms two cases of the virus.
April
5: West African countries mobilise against an epidemic of haemorrhagic
fevers, including Ebola. The measures include the deployment of
medical teams at Conakry airport.
8: The UN's health agency, the World Health Organization, says the
Ebola outbreak is among the "most challenging" for health workers
since the deadly disease emerged elsewhere in Africa four decades
ago.
10: International aid organisations launch a series of emergency
measures across west Africa in a bid to contain the outbreak.
15: Mali says it is clear of Ebola.
30: Guinea's Ebola outbreak is under control, but the death toll could
rise above the current 74, President Alpha Conde says during a visit to
Geneva.
May
26: Sierra Leone confirms its first death from Ebola and said it is
restricting travel in some areas to stop the fever from claiming more
lives.
June
18: Fresh data from the WHO confirms the outbreak to be the
deadliest ever, with 337 deaths since January, a 60 percent increase in
two weeks.
21: The WHO says the recent rapid spread of Ebola in the three
countries has come in part because efforts to contain the deadly virus
have been relaxed.
23: The outbreak is now "out of control" with more than 60 outbreak
hotspots in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the medical charity
Doctors Without Borders says.
July
3: The WHO says at the close of a regional summit of health ministers
on the crisis it expects the Ebola outbreak to continue for at least
"several months".
25: The virus spreads to Africa's most populous country Nigeria, as a
Liberian national dies in quarantine in Lagos. A day later the country
places its ports and airports on alert.
27: A woman suffering from the first confirmed case of Ebola in
Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, dies.
29: After Nigeria's main airline Arik, pan-African airline ASKY
suspends all flights to and from the capitals of Liberia and Sierra
Leone.
30: Doctors Without Borders warns there is a risk of Ebola spreading
to other countries.
Liberia announces it is shutting all schools and placing "non-essential"
government workers on 30 days' leave.
31: Countries across the world announce stringent new security
measures to contain the epidemic.
Sierra Leone declares a state of emergency.
The WHO raises the death toll by 57 to 729.