France returns first Maori head to New Zealand
by Vicky Buffery
Published : May 9, 2011

Spiritual leaders chanted traditional laments to celebrate the restitution and rubbed noses with officials in Rouen, where the relic or “Toi Moko” had been kept since 1875 when it was given to the Natural History Museum by a private collector.

The head, believed to be that of a Maori warrior killed in battle, is the first of 16 that are to be sent back to New Zealand by next year after France passed a law in 2010 stating the remains should be allowed to return home.

“While Toi Moko have been curiosities for the public to enjoy, they are still our ancestors,” said Michelle Hippolyte, a Maori spiritual leader and co-director of the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in Wellington where the head will now be transported.

“This journey is about reuniting the Toi Moko with his homeland,” she told reporters.

In a sign of respect, the head was kept hidden during the ceremony, and draped with a Maori ceremonial cloak, but a 3D digital model was displayed to show the markings, thought to symbolize status and nobility.

First discovered by explorers in the 18th century, Toi Moko became the object of a particularly barbaric trade in subsequent years due to the curiosity of European collectors and explorers.

While the markings were typically reserved for free men and warriors, in some cases Maori slaves were tattooed and immediately decapitated in order to meet a growing illicit demand for the exotic oddities.

“This is a great step forward in a vital ethical debate over our museum collections, and above all over human remains that were at times acquired illegitimately,” said Valerie Fourneyron, Mayor of Rouen.

New Zealand first began its quest to recover the heads in the 1980s, but the dispute came to the fore in France in 2007 when the city of Rouen voted on its own initiative to hand its Toi Moko back.

The decision sparked years of wrangling and discussion, with French cultural officials opposing the move saying it would mean the departure of prized archaeological treasures.

Meanwhile, a number of countries, including Germany, Switzerland and Australia, all agreed some years ago to hand the sensitive artefacts back.

“Today is a fabulous moment where we have at last recognized the history and story of the Maori people. France has been very slow in doing this,” said Fourneyron.

The head will be flown back to New Zealand where experts will attempt to interpret the markings and determine whether it is the head of a warrior, or whether the tattoos were applied post-mortem to feed the illicit trade.

It will then be buried in its native land in a traditional Maori funeral ceremony.

Source : Reuters

Taxpayers fund jobseekers’ tattoo removal
by James Kirkup
Published : May 9, 2011

UNITED KINGDOM – Jobcentre staff have been told that they are free to use public money to fund tattoo removal if the inking is preventing a jobseeker taking up employment.

At least one person has already benefited from the policy and been given money to fund laser removal treatment.

Darra Singh, the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, said that his staff are permitted to fund removal “in exceptional circumstances”.

Mr Singh said: “There is no automatic entitlement, but where an adviser deems the removal of tattoos as necessary to facilitate the take-up of a specific job offer and the cost represents good value for taxpayer’s money, an award could be made. I envisage this only being in exceptional circumstances.”

Mr Singh said that his organisation does not keep detailed records on how many times public money has been used to fund tattoo removal.

However, he said he was aware of a case in 2002 where a benefits claimant was “allocated financial support to have tattoos removed.”

The payment was made after a Jobcentre manager decided that a jobseeker should qualify to make use of “funds available to provide additional support to help customers overcome things standing directly in the way of securing employment”.

Mr Singh revealed the policy in a letter to David Ruffley, a Conservative MP.

Mr Ruffley said that recipients should be asked to contribute towards the costs of any removal treatment.

“Tattoos are very expensive to have done in the first place so I think it is completely reasonable from the taxpayer’s point of view to get individuals to help pay for the removal of unsightly tattoos,” he said. “It is spending like this does really raise the eyebrows of the average taxpayer.”

Once regarded as the preserve of sailors and criminals, tattoos have grown in popularity and are now seen as socially acceptable in some circles.

Several members of the House of Commons, for example, sport tattoos, as does Samantha Cameron, the wife of the Prime Minister.

Some surveys have suggested that as many as a quarter of the adult population of Britain now have some form of permanent tattoo.

The number of licensed tattoo parlours is said to have grown from barely 50 in the 1970s to around 1,000 today.

However, many employers still have reservations about people with prominent or extensive tattoos.

The British Army, for instance, rejects would-be recruits who have tattoos visible on the head and neck. Many other employers reject applicants with tattoos on their hands.
In recent years, a number of charities have been set up to help people remove tattoos that make it hard for them to get or keep jobs.

Skin Clinics, a private firm providing laser treatment to remove tattoos, last year claimed that around 25 per cent of people who have tattoos later regret the decision and consider removal.

Private treatment sessions can cost around £100, with large or stubborn tattoos commonly requiring at least 15 sessions.

Some reports suggest the National Health Service is now spending around £40 million on tattoo removal treatments.

According to the Department of Health, tattoo removal may be available on the National Health Service, subject to local primary care trust policies and if a doctor decides that an individual patient’s health requires the treatment.

Since last year, a number of health trusts are understood to have stopped funding for “cosmetic” treatments including tattoo removals, in order to save money.

Source : Telegraph

Demi Lovato Mom Gets Tattoo
by Effie Orfanides
Published : May 9, 2011

Demi Lovato’s mother got a tattoo in honor of her daughter. The Disney star’s quest to “stay strong” has become a worldwide trend that gives kids the motivation to heal themselves and to not allow bullies to bring them down. Demi’s mom got a “stay strong” tattoo to show her support for her little girl.

“My mom surprised me with it when I was in treatment because that’s how all you guys were showing support.. And she wanted to show me how proud she was of me for getting help and changing my life.. I love her so much,” the star wrote on Twitter.

It is not every day that your mom will get a tattoo for you! It was a beautiful thing for Demi to share with her fans on Mother’s Day. Her battle with an eating disorder and depression has become very public, but so many people (including her mom!) continue to show their unconditional love and support for her. How sweet.

Source : Gather

Woman in moko discrimination case ‘humiliated’
Published : May 9, 2011

A hospitality worker who has taken her former boss to the Human Rights Commission after he allegedly made her cover up her moko says she was left humiliated.

Claire Haupini, 32, worked for Graham Peet at the Spit Roast Catering Company in Auckland, but seven months into the job she says she was told to wear a three quarter sleeve shirt to cover her tattoo on her left forearm.

She also alleges that on May 17, 2010, she was told she should not have been hired because of the moko.

She says the alleged incidents left her feeling like her identity had been trampled on.

“I felt very angry, distressed and humiliated by the defendant’s treatment of me because of my moko. I am so proud of what my moko signifies for my family and my husband’s family,” Haupini said at the hearing.

She said the incident had her in tears.

“I cried when I saw my co-workers and had to explain that I had to change because of what Graham had said about my moko. They all disagreed and gave me words of support.”

But under cross-examination, Haupini was told other staff who have been spoken to do not remember her distress over the incident.

Peet denies any discrimination and plans to fight the case. He will give his version of events tomorrow.

Haupini claims she did not get any more work from the company and is now seeking damages for emotional harm and loss of income. If she wins her payout could be up to $10,000.

Moko expert Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, who is giving evidence at the tribunal, says some moko wearers experience stigma and can become “targets of invasive, hostile or offensive behaviour.”

Source : TVNZ

Sheriff’s office busts illegal tattoo parlor
by Wesley Brown
Published : May 9, 2011

NORTH CAROLINA – A tattoo artist operating an illegal salon in a Kinston hotel was busted last week when undercover officers raided the unlawful business during an appointment to request some Chinese body art.

Acting on a report an unlicensed tattoo artist had opened a secret salon in a hotel on U.S. 70 East, deputies with the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office made an appointment with the suspect — 29-year-old Shelton Julian Boyd of Raleigh — to receive some Chinese body art they learned Boyd offered, said Maj. Chris Hill, chief of administrations with the sheriff’s office.

Hill said Joey Huff, director of the Lenoir County Health Department, and two of Huff’s staff first approached sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday with information of Boyd’s operation.

North Carolina law requires those wishing to tattoo to acquire a permit from their local health department.

Hill said around 5:45 p.m., an undercover officer entered the hotel room and observed Boyd tattooing another person with several people in the room waiting to be tattooed.

“Because of the number of patrons in the room, the undercover detective was asked to come back,” Hill said.

Detectives came back to the room, knocked on the door and were allowed in the room, Hill said.

Hill said in the meeting, Boyd admitted he had arrived in Kinston to do a few tattoos, but was not permitted by the health department to do so.

The deputies then proceeded to seize all of the tattooing equipment that Boyd possessed.

Another patron in the room, 17-year-old Jashaun King, of 105 S. Orion Street, Kinston, was cited for simple possession of marijuana.

Source : ENC Today

Cher Lloyd shows new butterfly tattoo to Twitter beside ‘uncle Boo Boo bird’
by Kavi Shah
Published : May 7, 2011

The 17-year-old, who now has eight tattoos in total, posted a picture of the new additions to her sixth tattoo on Twitter.

She tweeted: ‘my new ink ’ and attached a black and white picture of the design, which is on her right arm.

The tattoo, which started in March, initially only depicted a bird carrying a ribbon with the words ‘Boo’.

It is now surrounded by various designs of butterflies, a question mark and a peace sign, taking up the space of her entire forearm.

In March this year, Cher defied her record label boss Simon Cowell – who had already made clear that he did not approve of her five tattoos – and added another three etchings to her forearms.

To complement her ‘Boo’ bird tattoo, Cher had a birdcage tattooed on her left arm.

Both tattoos were designed in memory of her uncle, who died last September after being tricked into taking a heroin substitute.

A week after she got those tattoos in March, she inked her body yet again, with the word ‘Daddy’ and a pink heart etched onto the back of her right hand.

Cher is still under the legal age to have a tattoo, but she has accumulated quite a collection of different designs all over her body.

The singer has even paid tribute to her mother through her body art.

She has the lyrics from the Tracy Chapman song All That I Have Is Your Soul, which is her mother Diane’s favorite track, on her left arm.

The singer also has a diamond on her right hand, a ribbon on her lower back, as well as lyrics taken from Jay Z and Alicia Keys duet Empire State Of Mind.

‘Bolsillo Lleno De Suenos’ – which means ‘pocketful of dreams’ in Spanish – is written along her right arm.

Source : Metro

Former Gang Members Getting Help With Cost of Tattoo Removal
By David Mance
Published : May 6, 2011

Some former gang members trying to turn their lives around are finding it hard to escape the gang lifestyle because of their visible tattoos. Now, a new program aims to help them pay the price of the high cost of tattoo removal.

“They made me feel good, it made me feel that I had power, if I wanted something I could get it,” says one former Sunnyside gang member about the tattoos on his hand and fingers. We’ve distorted the voice and are not showing you his face to protect his identity. We’ve also blurred out his tattoos, tattoos he once wore proudly, and committed crimes to earn.

“Robbing, stealing, you know, buying stuff you shouldn’t have been buying,” he says.

But now he’s left the gang lifestyle behind in hopes for a better future, and he wants to get rid of his tattoos, so he’ll have more job opportunities.

“Once they see this, you know, how can they know they can trust you?” he says.

He’s turned to a group called Sunnyside’s Promise, who’s helping him realize the importance of tattoo removal.

“Some of them are insignias that are gang affiliated, even if they’re not, they’re still parts of their life that has an identifying aspect to it,” says Sunnyside’s Promise executive director Mark Baysinger.

The tattoos are removed at this clinic in Yakima. Depending on the tattoo, it can take six to eight laser treatments to remove at $135 a pop, a cost out of reach for many Sunnyside families.

“When you have kids that are coming from families that do not have the money, it’s a very difficult task for them to be able to make that step,” says Baysinger.

So far ten former gang members have had the slate wiped clean so to speak. This teenager knows he’ll be better off without the tattoos.

“I’ll be able to go farther than I already am,” he says.

Sunnyside’s Promise is using grant money to help about 90 former gang members transition out of the gang lifestyle through tattoo removal and other services.

Source : KVEW

‘Ink for a Cure’ idea catches on as ribbons tattooed for cancer fundraiser
By Amy Daybert
Published : May 5, 2011

EVERETT, WA – Taylor Bass didn’t know how many people would be interested in the Relay For Life fundraiser she was organizing.

In the weeks leading up to the event at Sick Creation Tattoo on Evergreen Way she posted signs, called friends and started an “Ink for a Cure” Facebook page.

People wanting to get a cancer ribbon tattoo and donate to the American Cancer Society started arriving at the shop 40 minutes early Wednesday.

“We weren’t even set up yet,” said Bass, 21. “I’m really happy.”

Three artists at Sick Creation Tattoo agreed to give $20 cancer ribbon tattoos with proceeds going toward Relay for Life, an event that benefits the American Cancer Society. The artists agreed to tattoo for 24 hours straight as long as there were people who were interested in getting the tattoos.

Bass, who lives in Snohomish, came up with the fundraiser idea with help from tattoo artist Eddie Ramirez after she participated in a Paint the Town Purple Relay For Life event on April 9 in Lake Stevens. Ramirez told her his mother had breast cancer when he was young. She told him she wanted to plan a fundraiser to honor her cousin who had colon cancer. He agreed to help.

Ink for a Cure is “an out of the box kind of fundraiser” that sounded like fun to Kim Demary, chairwoman of Relay For Life of Lake Stevens.

“I think it’s an absolutely amazing idea,” Demary said. “You get the bake sales, you get the car washes, you get the raffle baskets, you get all that, but I’ve never seen this done.”

Bass met Demary in November when she attended a Relay for Life of Lake Stevens team meeting along with her niece, Chloe Pearson. She joined the committee and “Team Josh” in honor of her cousin, Josh Knoepfle, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in August. The diagnosis came just weeks before their wedding, said his wife, Jessica Knoepfle.

“He started feeling off and I actually thought it was cold feet because we were getting married in September,” she said.

The couple learned a tumor in his colon was probably cancerous. They canceled the wedding ceremony they’d been planing, and instead exchanged vows in their living room days before his surgery. The cancer was caught early and her husband is healthy now, said Knoepfle, 34.

“He’s the Cinderella story of cancer,” she said. “He was really lucky.”

Knoepfle and her husband plan to join the rest of the team at the Relay For Life of Lake Stevens May 14 and 15 at Lake Stevens High School. They were glad to hear about the fundraiser, she said.

“We are kind of private people, and we don’t ask for help so we were really touched that she would think to do it in Josh’s honor,” Knoepfle said. “The amount of people that are willing to give is pretty astounding.”

Knoepfle was thinking about getting a tattoo on Wednesday afternoon while Demary had a purple ribbon tattooed on her left ankle. Chloe, a junior at Lake Stevens High School, helped Bass at the front counter where chocolate-covered coffee beans, “Team Josh” bracelets and “Ink for a Cure” T-shirts were for sale. She knew how long she has to wait until her 18th birthday when she can get her own cancer ribbon tattoo.

“I’m getting mine soon,” she said. “Seven months and 22 days. I’m counting down.”

Adrienne Pedranti, 24, and her fiance Mark Searing, 30, of Tukwila found out about the event through someone who is friends with Bass. They both had ribbons done in honor of family members who had cancer. Pedranti, who is a cancer survivor, paid more money to have blue and purple butterfly wings added to the pink ribbon on her upper left arm.

“I always do the (Susan G.) Komen runs with my mom,” she said. “I was meaning to do this.”

A total of 28 people had signed up for tattoos by 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening, Bass said. She had plans to have her own tattoo done later in the evening.

“It’s going really well, and I’m getting to hear a lot of people’s stories so that has been really nice,” she said.

Both she and Ramirez said they were ready to stay up all night if necessary.

“It’s for a good cause,” Ramirez said. “I’ve never met Josh, but I hope this helps out.”

Source : HerarldNet

Change in Black Hawk County tattoo ordinance recommended
by Tina Hinz
Published : May 5, 2011

WATERLOO, IA – A decades-old ordinance requiring doctor oversight of tattoo practices could soon be eliminated in Black Hawk County.

The county Board of Health has recommended the Board of Supervisors rescind the “nuisance regulation,” revised in 1988 to provide public health control of tattooing operations in response to a hepatitis B outbreak in the community. At that time, no regulatory oversight of tattooing existed in Iowa.

The code limited the practice of tattooing “to physicians or osteopaths licensed in the State of Iowa or to individuals directly under their supervision.”

A statewide tattoo ordinance was rewritten with more stringent language in 2009, providing for annual state inspections That went into effect Jan. 1, 2010.

Other regulations include:

No tattooing in private residences;
Easily cleanable work surfaces;
A hand-wash sink with hot and cold water, soap and single-use towels;
No smoking or food consumption in the tattoo room;
Only service animals allowed in the establishment;
Equipment sterilization and sanitizing procedures are specified;
Glove use required;
Artists must have blood-borne pathogen and first-aid training.

Jon McNamee, division manager of the enforcement, surveillance and preparedness division with the Black Hawk County Health Department, said to his knowledge, Black Hawk was the only county with physician oversight.

“The physician oversight did what it was intended to do at that time, but it has outlived its usefulness,” McNamee said.

Nathan Woelke, owner of Omega Red in Cedar Falls, addressed the board in March. He said having a doctor sign off annually essentially is the same thing a health inspector does, but the pool of area doctors is limited to three or four, as many are tied to larger corporations, like Allen Hospital or Covenant Medical Center.

“They have no-compete clauses where … they’re not allowed to do any outside work,” Woelke said.

Some potential doctors “have moral issues with tattoos and piercings and refuse to do that,” he added. Others have busy schedules.

“It’s almost kind of like a dying breed,” he said. “Sooner or later these (few willing) doctors are going to retire.”

Health board member Dr. John Musgrave, a family practice physician, said the forms would be better signed by some type of inspector.

“It sounds like we’re dealing with a 23-year-old archaic law that probably has not kept up” with the industry, he said.

Environmental health officer Eric Heinen, who inspects all area parlors, said new shops need an initial look-through by a doctor before obtaining a license.

“Sometimes that can take quite a while, and the artist will get frustrated,” he said.

Woelke is aware of worries people have with tattooing, but said measures have been taken to decrease the spread of hepatitis. He noted Omega Red has fully enclosed biohazardous and cleaning rooms. Employees there break open tools in front of clients, use disposable tubes and have single-use needles. An autoclave, a device to sterilize equipment and supplies, is spore-tested monthly.

The proposed amendment is expected to go before the Board of Supervisors in the next couple of weeks.

Source : WCF Courier

Pregnant Tori Spelling shows off her growing baby bump in a bikini… and a new tattoo tribute to husband Dean
Published : May 4, 2011

She may only be four months pregnant, but Tori Spelling’s baby bump is expanding fast.

The 37-year-old reality show star showed off her blossoming figure in a pink, black and white patterned bikini as she lounged by the pool in Palm Springs, California, yesterday.

Tori also showed off a new tattoo which pays tribute to her husband Dean McDermott.

The seven lines, written on the side of her ribs, are Dean’s wedding vows to her.

The second part of the quotation comes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

‘For my bounty is as boundless as the sea and my love as deep.

‘The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.’

Spelling, 37, is due to give birth to her third child in October after announcing her pregnancy last month.

She and Dean, 44, are already parents to four-year-old Liam and Stella, two.

They have elected not to find out the sex of their newborn baby, preferring to keep it a surprise.

‘We’ve been blessed with a boy and girl already, so this time we’ve decided to do it the traditional way and not find out the sex,’ Tori told People. And although she ‘loves’ being pregnant, the first three months of her pregnancy this time around has been fraught with morning sickness.

‘I feel okay right now,’ Tori told the magazine. ‘I was really, really sick the first three months – morning, noon and night. It was much worse than during my other pregnancies.

‘It was hard. They always say it gets better after the first trimester, and it did. It’s getting better. I’m still tired and everything, but I love being pregnant.’ However, the star, who is known for her ultra trim figure says she bis enjoying the bonuses to expecting a baby.

‘I eat everything when I’m pregnant,’ she says. ‘Who cares about carbs when you’re pregnant?

‘You’re going to get big no matter what. I’m just constantly hungry. I feel like I’m definitely more hungry than the first two pregnancies.’

The star and her husband appear on reality show Tori & Dean: sTORIbook which details the couple’s wedding planning business. But Tori and Dean are already keen to become parents for the fourth time.

‘It’s funny,’ Tori said. ‘We always knew we wanted a big family and we always said we wanted three. But since we got pregnant this time, four keeps popping into my head, and Dean says the same thing.’

‘When I found out about number three, I thought that would be definitive that this would be the last one, but we really want to have a fourth,’ added Dean. It’s really funny. It just clicked. We want more!”

Source : Daily Mail