Priests who abused deaf children get 40-year jail terms

"Two Roman Catholic priests were each sentenced to more than 40 years in prison in Argentina for the sexual abuse, including rape, of deaf children" reports AFP. The victims were living at a Catholic boarding school and ranged from between four and 17 years of age. "Some burst into wild celebrations when the sentence was read out in court. Some of the victims' mothers simply embraced and wept." Read more here.

App turns Songs into Vibrations

A South American ad agency has created a music app for the deaf in it's promotion for an international music festival in Colombia. Every January, for eight days, more than 20,000 music enthusiasts descend upon the picturesque coastal city of Cartagena, Colombia, Cartagena International Music Festival. In the spirit of the festival's theme “Music Is For Everyone” Y&R Colombia has created the Vibetunes app. It transforms song frequencies into vibrations so deaf people can feel the music in their smartphones. The phone will vibrate along with a song's frequencies to allow the user to experience the beats and intricacies of each song. An Android version of the app is available here. You can see a video promoting the app below.


Vibetunes from Daniel Saenz on Vimeo.

Faith Healer's son attacks deaf man

The son of evangelist Benny Hinn is back in the U.S. after allegedly "beating up" a deaf man in Brazil during "one of his father's events" over the weekend. According to local newspapers, the elder Hinn (pictured here) was on stage when Joshua Hinn grabbed a man who he thought was going to throw water on his father. The man, Hestephenson Araujo, wasn't able to speak and explain his actions--he brought a bottle of water with him so that Hinn could use it to "bless" him. The deaf man had to go to the hospital after Hinn and two American bodyguards took him to a trailer park and beat him up in the northern Brazilian town of Manaus. Araujo's father says Hinn's representatives talked him into not press charges--by offering a "large sum of money".

Let the Games Begin!

The Pan-American Games for the Deaf start Tuesday (June 12) in Sao Paulo, Brazi and run through June 24. There are 14 different sports taking place over the 13-days, featuring 2500 athletes and officials representing 15 countries.

Deaf Team USA going to World Cup

Deaf Team USA went 2-1-1 at last month's Pan American Games in Venezuela. The American soccer team finished the tourney with a 5-1 victory over Mexico, a game that included two goals from Barry Wilkins, a member of the USC track and field team. That gave Team USA a third place finish behind Argentina and Venezuela and qualifies them for the 2012 Deaf World Cup. It takes place in Ankara, Turkey from July 16-28.

Deaf Research Convention in Brazil

The 5th International Deaf Academics and Researchers convention takes place November 21-24 in Florianopólis, Brazil. For details, click here.