5 Mysteries Surrounding the Life and Death of Dr. Sebi

Dr. Sebi, born Alfredo Bowman, claimed to have a cure for AIDS, cancer and even blindness, so how did he end up dead in police custody in Honduras?
("What if I told you I had a cure for AIDS? Would you believe me? What about cancer? Or diabetes?")

There are those who believe that Dr. Sebi, born Alfredo Bowman—a world-renowned vegetarian herbalist, healer, pathologist and biochemist—had the cure for all of them, all the diseases that bring devastation and an altered existence before snatching the lives of those who don’t break free.

There are many who believe that Dr. Sebi, who was not a licensed physician, became a threat to a multibillion-dollar medical industry that not only relies on continued sickness but also needs it; it profits from it.

On May 28, 2016, Dr. Sebi was arrested at Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport in Honduras for carrying some $37,000 in cash. He was released pending a court hearing, only to be rearrested June 3 by the Ministerio Público, Honduras’ version of the FBI, and charged with money laundering. Dr. Sebi remained in custody until Aug. 6, when he was rushed to a local hospital reportedly suffering from complications of pneumonia. Dr. Sebi died en route. He was 82.

Below are five mysteries surrounding his life and his death.

1. Dr. Sebi Cures AIDS?
Dr. Sebi rose to cultlike fame pushing a simple dietary premise: that food is alkaline for the body, and dead foods kill your body’s natural ability to heal and regenerate healing. By eliminating what Dr. Sebi considered toxic foods—like meat, poultry, seafood, all processed or synthetic items, alcohol, sugar, fried food and iodized salt—the body could begin detoxing. Replacing those foods with plain ripe fruit; nonstarchy vegetables, especially leafy greens; raw nuts and nut butters; and grains like quinoa, rye and kamut promotes the body’s natural healing properties. In doing so, he claimed to have cured several patients of AIDS, cancer, diabetes and blindness.

2. Dr. Sebi’s Court Case
The myth of Dr. Sebi grew stronger in 1988 after the self-taught herbalist ran ads in the Amsterdam News, the Village Voice and the New York Post noting that “AIDS has been cured.” The story goes that the New York State attorney general and New York City Department of Consumer Affairs told Dr. Sebi to remove the ads; he refused and was arrested. The charges leveled against him included practicing medicine without a license, selling products not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and fraudulently claiming that he could cure AIDS and other diseases. The judge asked Dr. Sebi to bring in one patient who could testify that he had cured him or her of these potentially fatal diseases. He reportedly provided 70 patients and won the case. And the legend of Dr. Sebi was born.

3. Dr. Sebi’s Arrest
Dr. Sebi’s arrest records have not been released, so it remains unclear as to why he was arrested, released and then rearrested for carrying so much cash, since it wouldn’t have been unusual for a healer who had treated several high-profile clients—who reportedly included Michael Jackson, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, John Travolta and Eddie Murphy—to have a large amount of money on him. Lopes was actually in Honduras visiting Dr. Sebi when she died.

4. Dr. Sebi’s Family Couldn’t Get Him Out of Jail
Dr. Sebi was born in 1933 in Honduras and spent his life there. He had 17 children. Dr. Sebi’s family was reportedly trying to get him released from custody, but to no avail. He was held for over a month with no court date, although no serious crime had been committed. Because he had no court date after his second arrest, bail was never set.

5. Dr. Sebi Never Received Major Acclaim
Major newspapers didn’t cover his death; in fact, major newspapers barely covered his life. Surely a man who not only claims to have cured cancer but also beat a lawsuit alleging that he was a quack by bringing in apparently healed patients into the courtroom would be someone the world would want to hear more from? Newspapers didn’t even invest energy in debunking his claims.

Conspiracy theorists believe that the lack of attention paid to Dr. Sebi’s teachings, the lack of publicity surrounding his reported successes, and the mystery surrounding his arrest and death are because, as any street hustler can tell you, there’s no money in the cure—the money is in the sickness. The pharmaceutical business not only needs you sick but doesn’t make money if you’re well.

It’s easy to write off conspiracy theorists as loons who invest too much time in “internet thinking,” but I wonder if some of us are too connected to conventional thinking just because it’s what we know. Conventional thinking has me questioning why prescription medications have commercials if you have to have a prescription to obtain them. Drugs are big business in this country, and Dr. Sebi was pushing a healthy lifestyle that moved people toward better eating and, in turn, less medication. I don’t know if I’m ready to choose between the red and the blue pill, but it does lead me back to my original question: If I told you I had a cure for AIDS, would you believe me?

Seven-year-old girl is declared a living GODDESS in Nepal because she has 'eyelashes like a cow' and 'a voice as clear as a duck'

The goddess or Kumari continues the centuries-old tradition of child deities living among mortals in Nepal where she is worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists alike. At the Hindu festival of rain in July thousands came to pay their respects to the child including the Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who had to bow and scrape to the child when the pair met. 

Despite her lofty status the seven-year-old, who is called Yunika and is said give good luck to all those who lay their eyes on her, still lives with her parents. 'When my daughter was selected as a Kumari, I felt very happy,' her father, Ramesh Bajracharya, said through a translator. 'It's because Kumari is hugely regarded and respected living goddess in Nepal.' To become a Kumari, which means 'unmarried girl' or 'virgin,' children must meet very specific criteria such as sporting 'eyelashes like a cow,' 'thighs like a deer,' and a 'voice as clear as a duck.'

A Mother helps her child to take a blessing from the Living Goddess of Patan. The girl's parents left their jobs in the town of Patan to become full-time carers to their daughter which has proven to be a tricky task as the Kumari are not permitted to leave their homes, except for special occasions, and her feet are never allowed to touch the floor. Yunika's mother has become something of a make-up artist having to apply unique patterns on her face that mark her out as goddess among mere men. As soon as the Kumari hit puberty they revert back to a being normal member of society.

Devotee honours Living Goddess by touching her feet and placing money in a pot. In 2008 Nepal's Supreme Court overruled a petition to end the practice, citing its cultural value although some activists claim the tradition is child labor. The practice's purpose has taken on a great cultural role in Nepal since a 7.8 earthquake rattled the landlocked country in April 2015. Around 8,000 people were killed and the tremor reduced many ancient buildings to ruble. 

A Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari, or living goddess, looks on as she takes part in Kumari Puja rituals at the Hanuman Dhoka in Durbar Square in Kathmandu

Kerbau suka minum teh O ais jadi viral

SEORANG pekerja melayan karenah Mek yang berkunjung ke premis terbabit. FOTO Shaiful Shahrin Ahmad Pauzi

Bagan Serai : Kerbau betina yang diberi nama Mek mencuri perhatian ramai apabila gemar meminum teh o ais yang diperolehi di gerai makan di Jeti Nelayan, Kampung Selinsing, dekat sini.

Gelagat Mek yang ternyata mencuit hati turut menjadi viral di laman sosial sejak beberapa hari lalu.

Pemilik kerbau berkenaan, Fikri Ezani Wan Chik, 34, berkata, kerbau itu mula meminum minuman itu sejak dia dibeli pada usia sembilan bulan.

Katanya, ketika dibeli dan dipisahkan daripada ibunya, haiwan itu merajuk tidak mahu makan dan minum selama beberapa hari.

"Kebiasaannya kerbau meminati minuman air gula merah dan air garam namun Mek langsung tidak. Selepas pelbagai usaha dilakukan akhirnya dia berjaya dipujuk dengan sebungkus tea o ais yang kebetulan saya beli untuk diminum sendiri.

"Sejak dari itu, dia sering minum minuman seperti manusia seperti Milo, Kopi, namun lebih menggemari Teh O Ais," katanya.

Sementara pemilik gerai, Jamilah Osman, 49, berkata, kerbau itu sering berkunjung ke belakang premis perniagaannya untuk meminta minuman kesukaannya itu.

Katanya, setiap hari, Mek akan berjalan hampir satu kilometer dari rumah pemiliknya dan singgah dipremisnya untuk menikmati minuman kegemarannya itu.

"Haiwan itu akan berkunjung ke premis ini untuk minuman Teh O Ais sebanyak dua kali setiap hari iaitu pada sebelah pagi sekitar 10 pagi dan 5 petang.

"Namun menariknya Mek hanya berkunjung ke belakang premis perniagaan dan tidak datang ke bahagian hadapan untuk mengambil minuman kegemarannya itu. Malah hanya akan minum minuman itu jika seseorang menuangkan ke dalam mulutnya," katanya.

Menurut Jamilah, setiap hari Mek akan minum dua atau tiga bungkus minuman di kedainya namun dia langsung tidak merasa terbeban dengan Mek.

China covers 3.7 million square miles and is home to a vast 1.3 billion people, the world's largest population

Swimmers wrestle with colourful rubber rings at a pool in Daying county, Sichuan Province, this past August, in a situation that looks anything but relaxing. Between the late 1970s and January of this year, it controlled its fast rising numbers with a one-child policy. One-child policy China adopted in the 1970s that it claims has prevented 400million births, but demographers have called the claim into question.

More than 1,700 secondary school students in Yichuan, Shaanxi province, sat this exam in 2015, which had to take place in its open-air playground due to lack of space inside. A two-child policy has since replaced old laws, so its massive population is set to rise steeply once again

Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, which sees an enormous number of travellers and commuters pass through its halls

Outside Beijing's International Airport, taxi drivers - one shirtless - line up to await passengers in the sweltering summer heat

Amid a sea of wheels and handlebars in Beijing, a woman who has somehow located her own bike prepares to cycle away

At a university is Wuhan, Hubei province, students sleep on mats laid out on an air-conditioned gym floor to escape the heat

Thousands upon thousands of job-seekers collect eagerly around booths at a job fair in Chongqing, southwestern China

This summer in Dalian, Liaoning Province, countless beaches were packed full of sunbathers and crowded with parasols 

College students queue up for a job fair in 2014, which roughly 50,000 people attended in Zhengzhou, Henan province

People queue up before viewing the soaring tide near the bank of Qiantang River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province in 2010

Vehicles are seen on a snaking avenue during the evening rush hour at sunset in Beijing in 2014, surrounded by skyscrapers