text:
Here's What Happens When You Report Sexual Misconduct on the Subway
Filed to: incompetence
incompetence
Yesterday morning, between 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. (yes, I was running late to work) I was the victim of sexual misconduct at the Fulton Street subway stop, at the exit near Fulton and William streets. The MTA and the NYPD failed to provide substantial measures in responding to and reporting the incident.
I had just gotten off the A train. I was exiting the station standing on the right side of the up escalator. I was listening to a podcast and generally in the commuting mindset of zoning out and focusing on getting to work. I thought I felt my skirt blow up a bit from a draft when I heard a woman scream "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I turned around and saw a man running down the up escalator. I looked around and realized that the woman was talking to me—about me. She and the woman behind me were yelling about how the man had taken a picture up my skirt. I was so confused. I took out my ear buds and they told me that the man had lifted up my skirt and took a picture up it.
The woman standing next to me, Susan (name has been changed) was incredibly upset because this had happened to her last month—a man, quite possibly the same man, had lifted up her jacket to take an upskirt picture. She even saw a picture of her own underwear on the screen of his phone. He got away, but she managed to get some blurry pictures of him on the platform. She is almost certain he was wearing the same thing that day–a two-toned silver windbreaker and a backpack. Yesterday, he was wearing white or silver pants. He had a dark complexion and dreadlocks.
Another woman who witnessed the incident went with us to the MTA booth and reported it to the MTA worker. The MTA employee verified if I wanted to call the police. I said yes and asked Susan to stay with me. Susan said she was absolutely staying and did not want this to happen to somebody else. The MTA employee called for officers. And then we waited for what felt like a lifetime. About 15 minutes later, three officers showed up. The three officers were very nice but completely at a loss as to what to do.
I was expecting there to be a protocol or a game plan, but quickly discovered that there was no such thing. I kept waiting for a supervising officer or somebody who knew what to do to show up, but instead the three officers just kept asking each other "So what do we do now?" and made it clear that they did not know what to do next. Susan and I stood by helplessly. I was experiencing wave after wave of different emotions and feeling worried about how the photo of me was in the wrong hands, possibly on the internet, possibly circulating among other creeps.
One of the officers left to call command. They were not sure if we would have to go to the station. At one point it seemed that we wouldn't have to and a supervisor would come to us. But then the officer returned and told us we were told we would have to go to the station. The officers asked us if we wanted to go to the station. I wanted to scream "Yes! I will do whatever it takes to catch this guy and get that picture deleted and scrubbed and get my dignity back!"
They asked each other if they should canvass the area. I couldn't even believe that this was a question they had to ask each other because this should have been the first thing they did. One officer suggested that two of them go and one stay with us. The officer who had left to call the station said he didn't want to go again. So he stayed with us, while the other two canvassed the station. They returned shaking their heads–he's gone.
The officers did not seem to take this incident with any remote seriousness. They told us that that the city was full of weirdos and creeps and that what "sucked" was that if they caught the guy, he would get locked up for a night and released the next day. Not really the best thing to tell two victims of sexual misconduct.
I asked if there were surveillance cameras and couldn't they look at the footage. One of the officers replied that the cameras weren't running. Susan asked if they needed the pictures she had on her phone. They took a look but said it wasn't helpful because it was just the guy's back. They said they had a picture specialist they could bring in to take a look, but they didn't ask Susan to actually give them a copy of the picture.
At some point, the officers finally decided that we would go to the station with them and file a report. We would have to take the train uptown to Canal Street. So Susan and I–a Latina and an Asian woman–walked with three white, male officers, down back into the belly of the subway where I had just been violated. People gawked at us. I couldn't help but feel like people were thinking we had done something wrong.
On the way down to the platform we stopped by where the incident happened. I pointed out the security cameras because I refused to believe they weren't running. One of the officers took a look but it still did not seem clear to any of them where and how the incident happened.
While on the platform, people asked the cops for directions. They were very good at giving directions. They bantered with a yuppie with her giant stroller with two kids and a giant diamond ring about how she had to suffer in the elevator with a yelling homeless lady and one officer even quipped, "That's the perils of riding public transportation!" I couldn't believe he had the audacity (or lack of sensitivity) to say that to somebody who was not the victim of a crime in front of two victims of the same public transportation crime.
We found out that the A and C trains were not running uptown. The cops looked at each other and said "What should we do now?" The officers did not have a contingency plan and without the trains running, had no idea how to get to the station to file our report. I couldn't believe that because the trains were not running there was no other way for the officers to return to the station. I suggested Uber. They sheepishly looked at each other and one guy muttered that he didn't have good experiences with Uber.
At this point it seemed like if we could not go to the station, we could not file a report. I asked if we had to go to the station. I offered going to my office and using one of our conference rooms. An officer asked, "Is there a restaurant there?" The idea was dropped.
The officers suggested several times that we come back tomorrow morning and they would be on the platform. If we saw the man who had photographed me, we should point him out to them and they would arrest him and that would take care of it. I brought up the point that if they were in uniform, standing around the station, he would likely not show up. One of the officers said that was a good point. I did not say this but I also did not like the idea of having to victimize myself and essentially use myself as bait to catch my predator.
The officers discussed possible charges. Harassment? Annoying and threatening behavior? Susan adamantly insisted that we were not being annoyed and harassed; this man had touched my skirt without my permission and taken a picture of me. That was at least forcible touching.
It became more and more clear that a report would not be filed. One officer took out a ratty plastic file with a few sheets of paper in it to show us that he did not have the ability to file a report. I pointed out that their system needs to be upgraded. They laughed and said that the system was totally archaic and that they're still using typewriters. I wasn't sure if that was a joke. The officers assured us they would write one when they returned to the station and get back in touch with us.
Susan and I gave them our contact information–two phone numbers, email addresses, and our address. They were ready to part ways; I had to ask them if they had cards or a phone number so that we could reach them. They assembled themselves before us so we could read their name tags and then provided a number to NYPD Transit District 2. I failed to ask them for their badge numbers but they never even offered us their names, numbers, or badge numbers.
We went back up the escalator where I had been violated and out into the street. The shock and disgust of the sexual misconduct had been replaced by utter disbelief as to how my incident was handled. The entire time I felt helpless and worse, that the officers were helpless. I felt that I had to coach them through the experience. The officers were nice guys but I felt that they were completely at a loss as to how to handle the situation and how to sensitively deal with two women who had been egregiously violated by a stranger.
After waiting with the officers for an hour and a half, neither Susan nor I had filed a report. However, over the course of that time period, we had to repeat ourselves to the officers over and over again so that they could understand the uncomplicated details of the situation. So after being violated and reporting the incident to the MTA and the NYPD, I was literally left with nothing.
This morning, in the same subway station, I happened to run into one of the police officers from yesterday. He said a report had been filed and gave me the number. He told me that now that I have the number, if something like what happened to me happens again or if I see the guy who violated me, I can go to a police officer and give them the report number and they will arrest the perp, assuming that guy hangs around after I've caught him. I don't know if I ever would have obtained the report number without running into him.
How many times have you heard an announcement or read a sign on the subway that sexual harassment should not be a part of your commute? The announcements tell you that if you are harassed or inappropriately touched, you should report it to an MTA worker or a police officer. In fact, there's an entire webpage devoted to the subject. Yesterday, I did exactly that, and learned that reporting it to an MTA employee or police officer does absolutely nothing in protecting your safety. Instead, I was left feeling helpless and degraded.


← Does your QR code hide personal data?
The ICO has effectively conceded he has no current powers to issue monetary penalties on spam texters.
[a] more profitable course of action, is for the statutory test to be revisited…a statutory test that was formulated in terms of e.g. annoyance, inconvenience and/or irritation, rather than "substantial damage or substantial distress", might well have resulted in a different outcome.
We have just got to lower that hurdle because I think if you ask most people they would say silent calls and unsolicited spam texts are one of the great curses of the age – and if the Information Commissioner can't protect you it's a poor lookout.
we are using our existing powers to hold companies to account and to disrupt their unlawful activities….and we are obtaining undertakings from and issuing enforcement notices, effectively cease-and-desist orders, to companies that breach PECR.
This sounds good, but leaves me rather puzzled: as the ICO has confirmed to me, no enforcement notices have been served and only one undertaking obtained, against companies or individuals who have sent spam texts in breach of PECR. Enforcement notices are a strong power – breach of one is a criminal offence – and only require the ICO to consider whether the PECR contravention has caused or is likely to cause any person damage or distress, not "substantial damage or substantial distress". This lower threshold should make it much more difficult for enforcement to be resisted. Maybe some enforcement notices are on their way? One rather hopes so, because, for the moment, it looks like spam texters have received a green light.
Tim Turner points out to me that a conviction for breach of an enforcement notice is not a recordable offence it will not make its way on to the Police National Computer, and will not therefore generally result in disclosure for, e.g. employment purposes. Tim's view, and it is a compelling one, is that for a lot of spammers the threat of a minor conviction for breach of a legal notice is not one which is likely to dissuade them from their practice.
I wonder how strongly the ICO could argue telephone calls are likely to cause damage and distress – I'd have thought they broadly fall under the same category as texts in terms of being a nuisance as opposed to distress, albeit more of a nuisance.
I have a minor correction whichI hope doesn't appear petty. The ICO didn't need to evidence that Niebel had caused substantial distress, they (merely) had to show his spamming was 'of a kind likely' to cause substantial distress. I think it's a subtle but significant difference.
Tanks Andy, well-spotted, and sloppy from me. Now amended.
Thanks for the interesting post Jon. Just to add to discussion the legal technicalities, when issuing any Enforcement Notice the Information Commissioner doesn't need to show or even believe that the activity in question has caused anybody damage or distress. He merely has to consider whether this is the case before issuing any such notice (s. 40 (2), Data Protection Act). And that is an extremely low threshold!
Sorry, I forgot to add that a key different in relation to monetary penalties (compared to Enforcement Notices) is that Commissioner must be "satisfied" that the contravention was of a kind likely to cause substantial damage or substantial distress. As we've seen, the Tribunal will look to see the basis for the Commissioner's satisfaction. Simply having such a belief is not enough, let alone merely having considered whether this was the case or not.


text:
HomeNewsScripts by Barbarella and Hammer horror writer Tudor Gates uncovered at his former Birchington home
Scripts by Barbarella and Hammer horror writer Tudor Gates uncovered at his former Birchington home
November 5, 2017 Kathy Bailes News 1
Suzanne with the Tudor Gates' scripts outside his Birchington folly
Scripts by one of the writers of the cult movie Barbarella, with Jane Fonda, and Peter Sellers' film The Optimists of Nine Elms have been uncovered in his former Birchington home.
Mum of two Suzanne Brimm, who now lives at the property off Station Road, found three scripts as well as numerous books belonging to writer Tudor Gates in her loft this weekend.
Mr Gates was a prolific playwright and screenwriter during 1950s-1980, with his first televised play, The Guv'nor, screened in 1955.
Image BECTU
How wrote more than 100 TV plays, including episodes of The Saint, The Avengers and The Sweeney, as well as penning films and novels.
He also created two major West End plays, Who Saw Him Die at the Haymarket and Who Killed Agatha Christie at the Ambassadors, and wrote a number of female vampire stories for Hammer Studio in the early 1970s.
One of the first of these was The Vampire Lovers, which had a cast led by Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing and Kate O'Mara.
Despite being classed as having a 'weak plot' Barbarella was the second-most-popular film in general release in the United Kingdom in 1968, after The Jungle Book.
One of the scripts discovered by Suzanne is The Optimists of Nine Elms released in 1973 and starring Sellers and a young Keith Chegwin.
The other two are lesser known Them and Us and A Coronet of Crowns.
Suzanne said: "I went up to the loft to get something and I came across the three scripts.
"He used to live in the house and there is even a folly that he built in the garden.
"Someone did say get them valued and sell them but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to give them to the Birchington Heritage Trust as they are a part of Birchington's history. They need to be in the right hands."
Mr Gates, who was born in London in 1930, also stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate, firstly in Bethnal Green and then in Thanet in 1970,
He was a lifelong trade unionist, president of the Association of Cinema and Television Technicians and vice president of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinema and Theatre Union. He was the former chair of the National Film Development Fund and the Joint Board for Film Industry Training.
Suzanne also found books belonging to father-of-two Mr Gates, many with his notations in the pages, ranging from politics to spy novels and woodwork to 'blue' magazines.
He lived in Birchington until his death, aged 76, in 2007.
Christine Tongue: Going from intensive care to a taxi home because your hospital bed is needed
Margate FC launch Mini Gators programme
Roy and Pauline Hathaway
Now back in Canada 6 years after trying to return to the UK to live ……………….how do you live as a pensioner in Britain today ?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


seating system is a topic covered in the Taber's Medical Dictionary.
Venes, Donald, editor. "Seating System." Taber's Medical Dictionary, 23rd ed., F.A. Davis Company, 2017. Taber's Online, www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/729512/all/seating_system.
Seating system. In: Venes D, ed. Taber's Medical Dictionary. 23rd ed. F.A. Davis Company; 2017. https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/729512/all/seating_system. Accessed April 22, 2019.
Seating System [Internet]. In: Venes D, editors. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2017. [cited 2019 April 22]. Available from: https://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/view/Tabers-Dictionary/729512/all/seating_system.


text:
When the power went out, Texas oil and gas regulators rushed to defend the industry's image
Published April 5, 2021 at 11:42 AM CDT
Members of the Texas Railroad Commission were quick to blame renewable energy for power outages across the state. All sources of energy struggled to produce power during the storm.
Carmen Pena, right, waited for a ride Feb. 17 at the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center, an independent living center in Austin that lost power during the storm. (Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune)
By Erin Douglas and Mitchell Ferman, Texas Tribune
When the power went out for Marsha Hendler on Feb. 15, she rushed to her downtown San Antonio office to ride out the winter storm. Thankful to find the electricity and heat still on, she typed out an email to the elected officials who regulate her small, independent oil and gas company.
"I strongly urge you to make public statements, to develop a PR program around our current energy conditions," Hendler wrote at 2 p.m. that day to the three members of the Texas Railroad Commission, according to an email obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. "Assure citizens that blending oil and gas production with green [energy] will keep Texas energy strong."
It's a sentiment that many in the oil and gas industry echoed during a crisis that forced millions to endure freezing weather for days without electricity and eventually led to the deaths of more than 100 people. And even as Hendler typed, Railroad Commissioners Christi Craddick, Wayne Christian and Jim Wright, all Republicans, had already begun to do what she had requested.
Emails, tweets and public statements from the state commissioners during the Texas power crisis show that the elected regulators expressed immediate worry about the storm's impact on the image of the agency and the industry it regulates — the industry that funds much of their political campaigns. At times, commissioners retweeted or emphasized the same talking points published by the Texas Oil and Gas Association, one of the state's largest trade associations. They testified at public hearings and made public statements pushing back against criticisms of the natural gas industry's role in the February power outages. And in some cases, they attempted to redirect blame from the fossil fuel industry to wind power — a narrative that quickly gained traction among Texas Republicans on social media.
All sources of energy struggled to produce power during the storm, and the Texas power grid is particularly vulnerable to winter outages if natural gas-fired power plants don't produce enough. But suddenly, fossil fuel-powered electricity had been labeled "reliables" by Texas politicians.
"Many including myself have warned for years about the dangers of relying too heavily on unreliable, intermittent forms of electric generation like wind and solar to meet the energy needs for 30 million Texans," Christian wrote in his newsletter to supporters Feb. 17. "The issue isn't the existence of renewable energy, but that it has displaced reliable generation."
Defending natural gas
Energy experts during and after the power outages have pointed to how the state's reliance on natural gas-powered electric generation created a perfect storm: Natural gas and other "thermal" sources of power, like nuclear energy and coal, make up more than 80% of the state's projected power generation during the winter months, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas's seasonal assessment of power resources.
While the raw amount of power generated by natural gas increased during the storm as plants tried to match the rising demand, it was nowhere close to the amount of generation that should have been possible had the plants not experienced freezing components or natural gas fuel shortages.
Power plants initially tripped offline due to freezing conditions that plants were not built to withstand. Then some began to face fuel shortages. In many cases, there wasn't enough natural gas flowing through the pipes during the storm to power plants, even if they could run. A decadeslong trend of electrifying natural gas fuel facilities meant that when ERCOT implemented power outages to prevent the complete collapse of the grid, the outages inadvertently choked off fuel for plants that could have returned power to homes.
The scramble to restore the fuel supply was one of the major problems during the February crisis, and it caused some energy experts to call for reforms. James Robb, president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp., which has some authority to regulate power generators in the U.S., warned lawmakers in March that the natural gas system "was not built or operated with electric reliability first in mind."
But in their defense of natural gas, many Texas politicians cast blame elsewhere. Their most common target: wind-generated power, which also suffered serious failures due to frozen turbines but made up a significantly smaller share of the projected power for winter. Christian was among the loudest pushing that narrative: During a meeting Feb. 17, while the lights were still off across large parts of the state, he said that the storm showed the "dangers of subsidizing intermittent, unreliable energy" — an apparent reference to renewable energy like wind power.
After one Texan emailed each commissioner Feb. 17 asking what regulations the agency implemented leading up to the storm to ensure natural gas supply was reliable, Christian responded by again blaming renewable sources of energy. The storm would not have been so devastating had it not been for "decades of poor policy decisions prioritizing unreliable renewable energy sources at the expense of reliable electricity — something Texans now know is essential to our everyday lives," he wrote, according to the email provided to the Tribune.
Connie Koval, the retiree who asked the question, said in an interview with the Tribune that the response made her upset. "It made me angry that they are continuing to spread false narratives," Koval said. "He seemed to blame wind and solar."
But it's clear the commissioners saw a potential public relations crisis looming. After receiving the same inquiring email from Koval, Wright, who was elected to the Railroad Commission in November, forwarded the email to agency staff, saying the concerns would be "the greatest issue we will face from this event."
"We need to be ready to respond with a good plan of action," Wright wrote the morning of Feb. 18, the fourth day Texans were experiencing the power crisis. "I will provide the hurdles that are beyond our control in these regards when I am in the office next week as there are many."
Kate Zaykowski, who received that email from Wright and works for him as his director of public affairs, said in an interview with the Tribune that Wright was referring to his concern about the public image of the agency. But she said he was also worried that the public would not understand what requiring the industry to prepare for extreme weather would entail, and was worried about the industry's image as well.
"He believes, personally, that the oil and gas industry is important to Texas, and he wants the general public to understand why," Zaykowski said. "He also believes that it's important to regulate the industry."
There are signs that the campaign to blame wind power might not have worked: A poll of registered voters in Texas conducted by the University of Texas at Austin's Texas Politics Project and its Energy Institute, published Thursday, found that they cite the lack of winterization of power plants and the unprecedented nature of the storm as the top two factors in the power crisis. Only 35% of Texans surveyed pointed to an over-reliance on renewable energy as a major factor, compared with 64% of those surveyed who listed a lack of winterization of gas facilities.
Only 12% of those surveyed said they approved of the Railroad Commission's response to the storm.
Hendler, the independent oil operator in San Antonio, acknowledged that using wind and solar energy is necessary to slow and mitigate the effects of climate change. But she said she believes the economy still depends on burning oil, gas and its derivatives for transportation, energy and other products, such as plastic. She said she's concerned about an aggressive shift toward renewable energy that jeopardizes her industry and the larger state economy.
"Part of the job of the commission is a PR job, and I don't think they do that well," Hendler said. "I think that's one of the reasons that the [oil] industry takes the hits that it does."
The commissioners made their case far beyond emails and social media. In the days and weeks after the February power crisis, Christian published an opinion article in The Wall Street Journal defending the use of fossil fuels and created a website dedicated to the talking points that he emailed to Koval and others. The site, Reliable Grid Now, says it seeks to "educate the general public and lawmakers about the importance of reliable energy" and urges the public to send letters against renewable energy subsidies to lawmakers signed, "Make Texas energy reliable again!"
In a statement, Christian told the Tribune that Reliable Grid Now is a project paid for by his campaign and is unrelated to his duties as a state regulator. He said when he ran for office, he made a promise to govern conservatively, support free markets and stand up for consumers.
"I don't see myself as a spokesman for oil and gas, but I do have a responsibility to ensure our state's natural resources are produced responsibly for the economic benefit of the citizens I represent," Christian said.
Little more than a week after power was restored to most Texans, Craddick went to testify at the state Capitol, where she assured lawmakers that oil and gas did not need to be further regulated and pointed to power outages for natural gas shortages during the storm. And testifying before a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce in late March, she said the oil and gas industry helped Texas during the winter storm.
"I sit before you today to state that these operators were not the problem," Craddick said. "The oil and gas industry was the solution."
The industry was simultaneously making the same case. In a tweet Feb. 24, The Texas Oil and Gas Association wrote that natural gas was "essential and indispensable" in heating and powering homes during the winter storm. The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers wrote in an opinion article for World Oil that natural gas did the "heavy lifting" during the February storm, because it was needed to both heat homes and generate electricity. The group also blamed wind generation: "It wasn't enough to meet the huge upward spike in demand, largely because electric power from wind generation was nowhere to be found."
Craddick also retweeted and posted images by the Texas Oil and Gas Association.
"Natural gas stepped up to power the vast majority of electricity generation in Texas," Craddick wrote in one tweet on Feb. 28, alongside a photo of a graph from the Texas Oil and Gas Association that showed power generation from natural gas increased during the February storm, without a comparison to the shortage of power the grid experienced.
In a statement to the Tribune, Craddick said she consumes information from a variety of sources, including TXOGA, and shares relevant and accurate information regardless of the source. She also wrote that the oil and gas industry is the most influential industry in Texas, and much of the state relies on its vitality.
"I support the industry's continued success not only because of my role as a public servant at the Railroad Commission, but also as a Texan who appreciated the overwhelming economic vibrancy of our state," Craddick said in a statement.
The industry supports Craddick and the other commissioners, too. Records show the commissioners' campaigns received hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2020 from industry groups and people who work in oil and gas. Craddick alone received more than $200,000 from people specifically identified in campaign finance reports as involved in natural gas or oil and gas work.
Craddick and her father, state Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, have long been financially tied to the industry in Texas, a relationship recently highlighted by The Washington Post, which reported that the two own and manage land across the state that generated more than $100,000 from Texas' largest natural gas producers in 2019, according to state Ethics Commission records. In a statement, Christi Craddick said the Texas Ethics Commission laws ensure transparency of public officials and that she takes those laws seriously.
Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift, a newly formed nonprofit organization in Texas focused on environmental and consumer issues at the Railroad Commission, said the outsized influence of industry on the commission is hurting its ability to regulate, causing it instead to want to deflect blame for the power crisis.
"This is resulting in these industries buying the elections of the agencies that regulate them," Palacios said. "It would have been nice if we had a regulator who looked at the data, looked at the recommendations and made sound management decisions based on that analysis. But what we have are [commissioners] who are elected trying to look good so that they can get reelected."
Governor changes tune
The message has resonated with other state leaders and lawmakers. Gov. Greg Abbott, early in the storm, appeared to attempt to tamp down the narrative that renewable energy was solely to blame for the crisis.
In a tweet describing the situation Feb. 15, Abbott wrote that "the ability of some companies that generate the power has been frozen. This includes the natural gas & coal generators."
But he changed his tune by the time he appeared on Sean Hannity's Fox News show two days later. By then, a tweet by an energy author who promotes the use of fossil fuels had garnered significant attention by claiming the "root cause" of the Texas power crisis was national and state policies that prioritize wind and solar energy over other sources. Alex Epstein, the author, had emailed those same talking points to Abbott's office, email records first reported by NBC News show.
"Our wind and solar got shut down," Abbott said on the show. "And that thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis. … As a result, it shows fossil fuels are necessary for the state of Texas as well as other states."
Weeks later, an Abbott spokesperson told the Tribune that the governor is treating all power sources equally as he pushes for reform of the electricity grid that covers much of the state.
Some bills identified by lawmakers as high priorities seek to place new costs on renewable power or take preventive strikes at climate action plans by cities.
At the annual Energy Day at the Capitol on March 24, state leaders and regulators touted the state's oil and gas production and largely ignored the February power outages. They also criticized renewable energy. Christian again reiterated his concern about the country's investments in renewable energy, which he called "undependable."
"We're putting most of our tax dollars into the 'undependables' at the cost and risk to lives and to the 'dependables' — oil, gas and coal," Christian told Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, during a discussion moderated and hosted by the industry group.
Abbott promoted a bill that would stop cities from banning natural gas as a fuel source for heating homes and other buildings. Staples claimed that the oil and gas industry would lead the U.S. to a "cleaner" future. Both Christian and Abbott hammered Democrats and the Biden administration during the event.
"With regard to the energy sector in Texas, and across the United States, it's changed because of the new administration that's seeking to impose these Green New Deal policies, Green New Deal policies that threaten fossil fuel production in the state of Texas like what we are accustomed to," Abbott said.
"But something else that we are accustomed to is fighting back, and protecting the fossil fuel industry in Texas," he said.
Lexi Churchill, a research reporter for the Texas Tribune/ProPublica investigative unit, contributed reporting.


Surrounded by nature, however near Friedberg, Augsburg and the A8 motorway to Munich you will find the Brauereigasthof Sankt Afra im Felde. It is located beneath one of the eldest pilgrimage churches northern of the Alps.
28 hotel rooms in country house style are available for a quiet accommodation. We offer predominantly double rooms for single use.
Two of our rooms are equipped with an own Sauna so that you can do a relaxing Sauna visit after arriving at our hotel. The additional charge is € 15,- for one person or € 25,- for two persons and includes the use of a bathing robe, bathing slippers and a Sauna towel.
Enjoy our home-brewed beer with regional and seasonal specialities in our brewpub.
During the summer, old chestnut trees provide pleasant shade in our beer garden.
Two conference rooms flooded with natural daylight enable a relaxed working atmosphere outside the regular working environment.
We arrange your family celebration or wedding in the same kind and attentive way like corporate events or anniversaries.
Our house is completely without barriers.
last call at lunchtime 1:45 p.m. – at dinertime 9:30 p.m.
All prices include a rich breakfast buffet.
We would be very pleased to welcome you in Sankt Afra im Felde.
Call us now at 0821 / 60 89 15-0 or send your message!


Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, businesswoman, and author. Duff began her acting career at a young age and quickly became labeled a teen idol as the title character of the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire (2001–2004) and in the theatrical film based off the series, The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). Thereafter, Duff appeared in numerous films, with leading roles in Agent Cody Banks (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), A Cinderella Story (2004), and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005). After experiencing commercial and critical failure in Material Girls (2006), Duff began appearing in independent films such as War, Inc. (2008), According to Greta (2009), and Bloodworth (2010). Since 2015, she has starred as Kelsey Peters on the TV Land comedy-drama series Younger, for which she has received nominations for People's Choice Awards in 2016 and 2017.
Duff's success in both acting and music has led to her becoming a household name, also seeing success with merchandise such as dolls, clothing, and fragrances. She has also had fashion lines of her own such as Stuff by Duff, Femme for DKNY and most recently "The Muse x Hilary Duff" collection, a collaborative effort with GlassesUSA.com. She has been the subject of media attention throughout her career, with interest focusing on her romantic relationships, friendships, and public image, especially her relationships with Aaron Carter and Joel Madden when she was a teenager. Duff was married to former professional hockey player Mike Comrie from 2010 to 2016, with whom she shares a son. Duff has been described as an inspiration by subsequent Disney teen stars such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, and has sold an estimated 15 million records since her debut in 2002.


Let me start off by apologizing for not providing a preview on last night's Las Vegas Bowl game between BYU and Oregon. Not only did I slip up and not write a preview, but I also didn't get up my bet of the day to let all my peeps know BYU was going to cover. All the Christmas parties this week caught up with me so last night it was definitely time to rest.
The New Orleans Bowl pits 7-5 Rice versus 7-5 Troy. These two teams are very evenly matched and both have explosive offenses. Rice rolls into this bowl on a six game winning streak and just a year ago were 1-10. Troy won six of their last seven games and almost beat FSU in Tallahassee earlier this year. All things lead to a very close game with one of these teams pulling out the victory at some point in the fourth quarter. Please stop by later to see who I pick to win the game.
Player to watch: You probably haven't heard about Jarrett Dillard yet, but remember this name. Dillard is a phenomenal wide receiver for TCU and has caught a touchdown pass in 14 straight games and caught 20 on the year.


God, not just the Chancellor, was on the side of Amazon. Did Christmas see death of the High Street?
Edward Snowden says "Mission Accomplished": have an off-line Christmas and a paranoid New Year .
Is Edward snowden the Soviet Unions greatest intelligence asset since Richard Sorge?
Whose governance do you trust most (or least): The Guardian, Google or GCHQ?


Water: 2 km frontage to the Gilbert River, 1500 gallons / hour bore with submersible pump.
Improvements: 2 Bedroom Pre Fab A/C Home, near new. 4 bay garage, large hay shed 24m x 12m x 4.5m high. Large machinery shed, 18m x 6m.
Country: Alluvial farming country, bore testing shows alluvial soils up to 10m deep.
Fencing: Boundary is all pig netting, 4 internal paddocks are 3 barb all in good condition.
Agents Remarks: Riverside represents an outstanding opportunity to acquire an irrigation farm in a very reliable area.


Please get in touch for my postal address, I now live in London so anything sent to my old Irish address will not reach me.
Please do remember that as I don't write here full time, it may take a while to get to your mail. I do try to listen to as much as possible. Sometimes things do fall through the cracks and I can't publish everything I'm sent. If you would like me to write full time, get in touch, make me an offer!
Please get in touch before adding me to your mailing list.
For consistency, please refer to the title of this blog as nessymon.com not two separate words, thanks!
Get in touch if you would like my phone number/Skype details.


text:
ICC orders Congo warlord release
BBC News - July 2, 2008
The International Criminal Court has ordered the release of the first-ever war crimes suspect to face trial before it, Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga.
The judges said Mr Lubanga could not be guaranteed a fair trial as prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defence.
His release will be delayed by five days, pending a prosecution appeal.
Mr Lubanga, who has been in custody for two years, denies charges of recruiting child soldiers during the Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict.
Four million people are estimated to have died during the conflict in the DR Congo.
Mr Lubanga led the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia in the north-eastern Ituri district, where fighting continued long after a 2002 peace deal.
In a statement released early last year, the prosecution argued that children had been snatched as they walked to school and forced to fight for Mr Lubanga's ethnic Hema militia against their Lendu rivals.
But his lawyers said he was trying to end the conflict and is being punished by the international community for refusing to give mining concessions to foreign firms in areas he controlled.
The ICC, based in The Hague, was set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes court.
It was designed to end the need for various ad hoc war crimes courts - including the chambers created to deal with war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda.
• ICC Prosecutor Seeks New Charges Against Ntaganda, FDLR Leader (May 14, 2012)
• Kabila's Position on The Arrest of Ntaganda 'Has Not Changed' (April 13, 2012)
• DR Congo Government Warns Bosco Ntaganda He May Face Justice (April 6, 2012)
• Thomas Lubanga found guilty of using child soldiers (March 14, 2012)
• Thomas Lubanga trial to resume at ICC (October 8, 2010)
• ICC suspends release of Thomas Lubanga (July 23, 2010)
• ICC orders the release of Thomas Lubanga (July 15, 2010)
• ICC suspends Thomas Lubanga trial (July 8, 2010)
• Lubanga Witness Says He Was Paid US$200 To Tell Lies (February 8, 2010)
• UN Security Council renews arms embargo and sanctions in DR Congo (November 30, 2009)
• Activists say UN policy must change in DR Congo (November 25, 2009)
• ICC: Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui trial starts on Tuesday (November 23, 2009)
• UN mission in DR Congo denies Ntanganda's role in military operation (September 10, 2009)
• First Elements of Additional Troops to Reinforce MONUC Arrive in DRC (August 27, 2009)
• Senior UN peacekeeping official assesses DR Congo's prisons (July 22, 2009)
• Witness Claims Lubanga Visited Training Camp (June 5, 2009)
• UN complains of Congo troop delay (April 8, 2009)
• Negotiations between Kinshasa and CNDP Rebels to End Friday (February 20, 2009)


Filip Wójcik, born in 1988, senior .NET developer, university lecturer (specialization in statistical data analysis). Fascinated with machine learning algorithms for 5 years. Worked on price modelling systems on travelling market for 2 years, currently employed in developing banking software – financial market data analysis, building recommendations and analysis of trends. Enthusiast of (widely understood) artificial intelligence, attemting to be technology-agnostic: not afraid to switch from .NET to Pyton/R/Weka tool. After work E sports fanatic, self-defense instructor and Aikido Master.
Growing interest in machine learning topic in the last decade. Relation of machine learning to Big Data. Application of Machine learning to analyze Big Data Use cases (mostly from business perspective) for machine learning: Classification – customer preferences/automated expert systems construction, Pattern recognition – market basket analysis/discovering preferences/data explanation, Regression – predicting trends, modelling of processes, financial analysis, Clusterization – grouping customers/ finding similarities between customers groups, reducing the voulumes of data. Data used in machine learning: structured data – structured files/SQL data/logs, unstructured data – text, semantic web, data feeds data exploration: examining the relationships between data parts, finding correlated fatures, data transformations – changing domains, adjusting data for the concrete algorithm. Algorithms overview, large algorithms families and groups supervised learning: overview of the method, how to train such algorithms, training lifecycle and data utilization example of decision trees: step by step walkthrough for trivial example, detailed business use-cases unsupervised learning: overview of the method, how to train such algorithm, example of association rules learning, step by step walkthrough for trivial example, detailed business use-cases.


text:
Gurumani fired because of interpersonal issues: SKS Microfin
By IANS-CT / October 24, 2010
Mumbai, Oct 12 (IANS) India's largest private small scale lender SKS Microfinance fired its Chief Executive Suresh Gurumani because of 'interpersonal issues' with the senior management, the company's founder Vikram Akula said Tuesday.
Gurumani was sacked last week, less than two months after SKS made a stupendous stock market debut, listing at a market capitalisation exceeding Rs.8,000 crore.
The company said all the directors on the board of the company were in favour of Gurumani's termination.
SKS's clarification follows an order of the Andhra High Court, which was approached by a shareholder, seeking remedial action.
A high court bench of Justice G. Bhavani Prasad has passed an interim order asking the company to retain Gurumani on its board of directors till further orders and restrained newly appointed chief executive and managing director M.R. Rao from taking any major policy decisions.
The company, however, said the High Court had not held Gurumani's termination to be in violation of any laws. 'Also, there was no direction by the High Court to retain Gurumani as a director on the board,' SKS said in a regulatory filing.
'The said court order simply restates a statutory provision of the Companies Act that already exists: namely, that any major policy decisions should be approved by the board of directors,' it said.
Gurumani, who is still serving on the board of the company, will now in all likelihood be removed from this capacity as well at the annual general meeting.
'Gurumani shall continue in his capacity as a director on the board of the company, until removed by shareholders at a general body meet, as per the Companies Act, 1956,' said the statement from SKS.
Haryana bans polythene bags
Households do not see respite from rising prices


My Day 7 painting for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge is "Highland Cow". This is one of the Highland cows I came across in West Lincoln about 20 minutes from our farm. I was excited to see a small herd of highland cattle here in Ontario, Canada. I introduced myself to the owner and his little daughter and asked if I could take reference photos of his cows, explaining that I was an artist and Scottish, so had a special affinity to highland cattle. He agreed and even stopped by in his van on his way out to see how I was making out, driving off when he saw me in the pasture getting along with my new friends. Highland Calf and Highland Moo, are two paintings I completed last year of two other highland cows in this small herd.
30 paintings in 30 days challenge, animal painting, canada, daily painting, highland cow, scotland, scottish cow, Wendy Malowany. Bookmark.


Talk about escaping the label of vaporware by this much. We've been hearing that holographic storage was right around the bend from InPhase for well over three years now, but it has finally managed to get its ducks in a row and should start shipping the unicorn-like Tapestry 300r next month. The firm had a demonstrative version on display at NAB Show earlier this month, and apparently real live working units will be making their way out to archival junkies in just weeks. Granted, it will demand a whopping $18,000 to get a shipping label made with your address on it, and each piece of 300GB media is $180 -- but hey, that's the price you pay these days to know that you'll decompose before your data degrades.


Tired of being stuck in the Mandaue traffic with little choices of getting a quick coffee fix or a good meal while waiting for the roads to clear out? At Café Cómodo not only will they soothe your hunger pangs, you can also expect nothing less than a royal treatment. Located at the North Atrium building along Briones street in Mandaue, Café Cómodo offers a lot more than just a good meal and refreshing cold drinks. For P 300.00/ person, their resident photographer will take 10 photos of you while printing your best shot as a souvenir. You can even choose 1 out of their large selection of dresses, shoes and accessories imported from Korea to complete your look making it the perfect package for those who are hoping for a cheaper alternative to your pre- nuptial, debut or OOTD shots.
For those who want to rent their gowns for their special day, you may also do so at various prices ranging from P 2,000.00 above.


What a terrific Father's Day gift for single dads.
Listen up single dads, we've got some great news for you.
Popular dating site, Zoosk, surveyed 3,051 single women and analyzed 301,242 messages in honor of Father's Day. They found that women are really, really, into single dads.
Nearly every woman surveyed said they'd date a single dad (92%) and 55% are "very open" to dating one. This is a major improvement from 2016 when only 83% of single women were into dating a single dad, according to Brobible.
All that diaper changing and waking up in the middle of the night may mean that gym time is limited (here's how to build a workout routine that fits your schedule). But don't worry too much about getting a six pack, 86% of women are fine with dating a guy who has a dad bod and 24% find a little extra cushion attractive. As a matter of fact, if you mention "dad bod," you're 41% more likely to get a response.
So what is it about single dads that women are so turned on by?
The survey found that women say being a single dad means he knows he's no longer the center of the universe and is probably more caring, patient, responsible and thoughtful.
The survey had more good news for dads — single or not. Women still really like it when a guy asks her father for permission. Over six in 10 women surveyed said they found the gesture romantic.
If all this news isn't rewarding enough, here are some great last-minute Father's Day gifts.
Why are so women open to dad bods?
Men are also at risk of postpartum depression, according to a recent study.


November 24, 2015 — There's a day for giving thanks. There's two days for getting deals. There's a day for giving back! This year, #GivingTuesday is December 1st. Are you ready?
#GivingTuesday (now in its fourth year) is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Observed on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and following the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many people focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.
Will you join in this year? It's easy! Just find a way for your family, your community, your company or your organization to come together to give something more. Then tell everyone you can about how you are giving. Join us and be a part of this wonderful new tradition!
1) Donate money at give.opusa.org and skip the processing fees! For one day only, our credit card payment processor is waiving all processing fees for donations made online. When you give on #GivingTuesday, 100% of your donation goes directly to communities where it's needed most! Plus, we're offering special e-cards so you can spread holiday cheer to loved ones and friends when you give in their honor. Just select the "dedicate" option at checkout.
2) Give back with every Amazon purchase. Will you be taking advantage of great deals being offered by Amazon this holiday season? Make sure you complete your purchases via Amazon Smile and designate Operation USA as your charity beneficiary. We earn donations to our programs with every purchase you make–all at no added cost to you!
3) Earn donations when you shop online at thousands of merchants with We-Care.com. Whether you're purchasing air travel, buying holiday gifts or stocking up on necessities, you can earn donations to Operation USA (again, at no cost to you!) with every purchase you make online.
Just click here to visit We-Care.com now and sign up!
Want to share your support of Operation USA on social media this #GivingTuesday? Click here for a special shareable image!


text:
Updated on : Tuesday, December 15, 2020, 12:10 AM IST
Panvel Municipal Corporation sends frontline warriors' list to Centre for vaccine jabs
By Amit Srivastava
Panvel Municipal Corporation receives two high-end refrigerators to store the much-awaited Covid-19 vax
The Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) has almost completed the preparation for inoculation of frontline warriors. The civic body has submitted the list of such persons to be vaccinated first to the central government as per the guideline of the state government. The civic body has also received two high-end refrigerators from the government for storing COVID 19 vaccines.
Civic chief Sudhakar Deshmukh said that they are also repairing the existing refrigerators to store the maximum quantity of vaccines. "We have almost completed the preparation for initial vaccinations of frontline workers like doctors, nurses, health workers among others, designated persons by the state government," said Deshmukh. He added that the responsibility of collecting data was given to the district collector. "The collector's office is already working on it for the last two months. From the corporation end, we have updated with the central government online system," said Deshmukh.
As the vaccine for COVID-19 will come sooner or later, the preparation at the ground level is going on steadily. "Once the civic body receives the guidelines regarding inoculating like a timeline, the civic body will add further necessary infrastructure," said Deshmukh.
In order to get the vaccine first, many organizations have approached the local body. Last week, a journalist association submitted a letter to the Panvel mayor and demanded that journalists should also be included in the frontline warriors and to be vaccinated first.
There are eight vaccines in the late stage of clinical evaluation around the world. Though there is no official announcement, there are reports floating that it may be available in a few weeks. As the vaccine will be available in a limited number, central as well as the state government are working on who will be first vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the number of active cases has a declining trend in the PMC area. On December 14, only 22 positive cases of COVID 19 were reported. The number of active cases of Coronavirus has now come down to 311 in the city. The recovery rate has again reached 96.66 percent. However, a total of 586 people died due to COVID 19 infection in the city.
Sudhakar Deshmukh
Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC)


Term used in RC theol. to denote a certain spiritual mark said to be impressed on recipients of certain sacraments. "If anyone says that in three sacraments, namely, baptism, confirmation, and order, there is not imprinted on the soul a character, that is, a certain spiritual and indelible mark, by reason of which they cannot be repeated, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Sess. VII, can. 9 on the sacraments in gen.). The "character" of Baptism is said to distinguish the baptized (including Prots.) as soldiers of Christ and subject them to the pope and canon law, and the "character" of order is said to set apart clergy from laity. Sometimes called sacramental seal. See also Sacraments, Roman Catholic.


text:
Bengal Cavalry Regiments 1857–1914
Men-at-Arms 91
Author: Ronald Harris
Illustrator: Chris Warner
Short code: MAA 91
Publication Date: 5 Jul 1979
The British connection with India dates from the formation of the Honourable East India Company in the 17th century, when a military force was needed to protect Britain's valuable trading interests. By 1914, there were over 40 regiments of Indian cavalry, all of which were commanded by British officers. This book provides an overview of the component cavalry regiments in the years between the Great Mutiny of 1857 and the outbreak of World War I. Numerous contemporary photographs and eight colour plates offer a rare glimpse into the distinctive uniforms of the cavalry.
Ronald Harris was a respected historian who specialized in the Indian subcontinent. This book was his only Osprey publication. He died in 2000. Chris Warner is a well-known military artist who has illustrated several books for the Men-at-Arms series. He is truly versatile in his painting and has illustrated a variety of subjects from 17th century armies to the Boxer Rebellion.
Introduction The Regiments The Plates
The Indian Mutiny
MAA 67 Paperback
30th Punjabis
The British Troops in the Indian Mutiny 1857–59
The Taiping Rebellion 1851–66
Armies of the East India Company 1750–1850
Chindit 1942–45
WAR 136 Paperback
British Cavalryman 1792–1815
WAR 8 Multiple formats
The North-East Frontier 1837–1901
Mughul India 1504–1761
Elite Forces of India and Pakistan
Viet Cong Fighter
The Sikh Army 1799–1849
British Cavalry Equipments 1800–1941
The Indian Army 1914–1947
ELI 75 Paperback
Queen Victoria's Commanders
The British Army on Campaign (4)
The Polish Army 1939–45
The American Civil War (2)
Case Red
Spanish Republican Aces


text:
US Aid for Gender Equality
Dr Qaisar Rashid
On December 22, for the fiscal year of 2023, the Senate of the United States (US) passed a $ 1.7 trillion omnibus spending package, including $200 million for promoting gender equality in Pakistan.
This amount is 20 times more than the amount allocated for Pakistan in December 2020 ($10 million) for the fiscal year 2021. It means that the US has seen some hope in empowering women to develop Pakistan by spending the US taxpayers' money, instead of pumping dollars into Pakistan's military machine.
Pakistan has enough tanks, missiles and combat planes to fight a war. Pakistan needs to develop its social sector to provide health, education and employment to its population, which crossed the figure of 230 million in 2022, as per the Worldometer-based data compiled by the United Nations. In principle, Pakistan should take cognizant of its growing population and correspondingly deteriorating social sector. Nevertheless, the Pakistanis are busy cleaning the stability of the hybrid regime. Hence, outlanders should take care of Pakistan's social sector.
Gender equality means the provision of equal access to resources and opportunities to both genders, female and male. In Pakistan's society, the challenge is how to offer equal access to resources and opportunities to females. This is why the US aid is both relevant and vital.
Pakistan needs to develop its social sector to provide health, education and employment to its population, which crossed 230 million in 2022.
The news has come at a critical time of financial deficiency ravaging the country, which is reeling under the peril of financial bankruptcy called default. Pakistan's expenditures have outgrown its earnings. The situation went worse after 2017.
To growing economic insufficiency, the major response has emerged from the middle class, which has accelerated the process of sending their children to foreign countries for studying and living a better life. The meaning of better life is to have a life that ensures equal opportunities to work and progress and safeguards the security of the future. Migrating to other countries, be they developed ones, has been painful, but there is left no choice for the professional and skilled youth to opt for that.
According to the Bureau of Emigration, 92,000 professionals (doctors, engineers, accountants and information technology experts) have so far emigrated from Pakistan in 2022. Indeed, this is an alarming figure of brain drain.
The question is why Pakistan has been short of meeting the expectations of professionals and skilled labourers. One answer lies in economic insufficiency sprouting from political instability or uncertainty. Another answer sprouts from the inefficiency of governments to address the issue of gender equality. On the front of gender equality, Pakistan has been making strides. On May 22, 2007, the Federal Government announced to reserve a 10 per cent quota for employment of women to all posts across the board in Federal Government Services including the Civil Service to be filled by direct recruitment, in addition to their participation in the open merit. The step enhanced the participation of women in Central Superior Services of Pakistan.
Women, however, cannot avail themselves of the right to gender equality if they are subjected to workplace harassment. If women have to go out of their homes to work in the domain traditionally monopolized by men, the workplace should not be hostile to women. This is the standard to meet which, on January 14, 2022, Pakistan's Parliament amended the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010, and adopted the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Act 2022, which expanded the definition of the workplace to include both formal and informal ones.
The next question is who will implement the law. This is a testing area. On June 10, 2022, Pakistan's electronic media aired the interview of a lady, Tayyaba Farooq Gul, who narrated the way she was harassed sexually by Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal in his office. After getting retired from the Supreme Court, Justice Iqbal served as Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The victim lady also produced some video clips which she happened to record secretly through her mobile phone to show the Pakistanis the challenge she had faced on the path to finding justice.
The story of victimhood is an eye-opener and discouraging for women who think that the law is available to protect them. When a retired judge and Chairman NAB can stoop so low, no law of the land can rescue a woman. The message is that a person of high stature is not answerable to the law.
Justice Iqbal is still out of the ambit of accountability. He had committed a heinous crime of sexual harassment of a woman in his office. On the ground, outside the documents enshrining the law against women harassment, this is real Pakistan. Males sitting in mighty offices are above the law. If this happens to one woman, the same can happen to another woman. More males can be encouraged to exploit their high offices to victimize women and go scot-free. Implications are disastrous for society. This is how the issue is of immense public importance.
In Lahore's buses, be they speedo or metro, an advertisement catches everybody's attention: Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code defines sexual harassment which is prohibited not only at the workplace but also in private spaces such as home and public spaces such as streets, buses, markets and parks. Offenders will be punished. The speedo-metro project was introduced by Shahbaz Sharif, who is now Pakistan's Prime Minister (PM). Woefully, PM Sharif is still silent and inactive on the implementation of the law to provide justice to the victim lady. The problem with Pakistan is that its political leaders get compromised the moment they enter the corridors of power. They pass certain laws to woo voters and not to implement them. It is the US that is concerned about gender equality in Pakistan. This is the reason why professionals and skilled workers prefer to leave Pakistan for seeking a better future in countries where governments are strong enough to protect the rights of their citizens and where women are protected against incidents of harassment.
The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid @yahoo.com.


text:
The Market Theatre Serves Us Tobacco, Finally
After years of paths crossing, the stars finally aligned for theatre director Sylvaine Strike and legendary thespian Andrew Buckland – they finally got to work together on a play. The play is called Tobacco, and the Harmful Effects Thereof, and is currently showing at the Market Theatre in Newtown, Johannesburg until 6th March 2016.
Hearing about the two artists' passive ten year courtship, I couldn't help but imagine them bumping into each other and blowing air kisses at those fabulous art soirees with men in cravats and women in Gatsby-era frocks. You know, those fabulous, out-of-reach, high-brow art society types. I couldn't be more wrong. I met two down to earth, very human artists; attentive, passionate and knowledgeable; genuinely loving what they do, and equally important, loving the opportunity to share it with the world.
Strike, winner of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award in 2006, talks about Tobacco with a cautious pride, similar to Erykah Badu's "Keep in mind that I am an artist" Call-Tyrone-debut-preamble. She's delicate in her approach, and yet she is not too precious. She seems sensitive – about the treatment of her work by herself and others, and in the way she lets go of the work, allowing the audience ample room to interface with it as they please. Her passion shines through. It's both refreshing and captivating.
I met Buckland backstage just before the performance. I thought that was very daring for the Market Theatre to allow us the opportunity to meet the cast before the play. Back in my days of high school theatre, I remember pre-show being a sacred time. It was the time I was trying to get into character so I was most nervous, most introverted and most unfriendly. When I walked into Buckland's dressing room, although I was excited to meet him, I was aware not to throw his equilibrium. He was as charming as I imagined and he indulged me, in the midst of his make up, when I asked for a selfie.
#SelfieWithAndrewBuckland
The single-act play is an adaptation of an 1886 play, Anton Chekhov's The Harmful Effects of Tobacco. Adapted by Fortune Cookie Theatre Company's resident playwright, William Harding, it is the original story, infused with gobbets from various literary giants through the ages: Jane Austen, Franz Kafka, Oscar Wilde, to mention a few. Being a studious re-imagination of the Checkov play, it would be very interesting to see how gobbets from writers of this place, Africa, like Soyinka, Mda, wa Thiong'o, Fuggard, Kente, would have affected the Russian work. That being said, it is a dynamic piece of work whose text engages intellectually and emotionally.
Buckland plays Ivan, the protagonist who is a middle-aged man, whose stern wife, played by another thespian of note, Toni Morkel, has forced him to give a lecture on Tobacco and its harmful effects. He is not a lecturer, but he does attempt. As he gives the lecture, what unfolds are the different nuances of his lived reality, using his marriage as an anchor. He digresses from his speech often, into poignant moments of introspection and reflection – his sad life, his dominant wife and an imagined freedom.
Buckland delivers with sincerity. He will have you in stitches one moment and empathising with the character's sadness the next. Although the play is dubbed a comedy, I found the poignant moments lingering longer, in me at least, and it was in those moments that I connected with the work.
I also experienced a glaring vulnerability in the portrayal of the character, to which Strike attests to the 'simple clown' approach. Buckland wears a prosthetic nose, which I felt freed him in the way a mask would, to fully embody the various attributes of Ivan without ego or reservation. He transformed, and it was marvellous to behold.
Tobacco, And The Harmful Effects Thereof is a theatrical masterpiece, delicately directed and executed with such sincerity and excruciatingly-human detail. Theatre aficionado or not, the play will bowl you over, and, surprisingly stay with you for quite some time.
#Tobacco debuted at The Grahamstown Arts Festival in 2014 and has shown at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and recently, at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival. The play is currently showing at Market Theatre's Barney Simon Theatre. The season runs until 6th March 2016 and show times are on Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8.15pm and on Sundays at 3.15pm. Bookings can be made here>>> or by calling Anthony Ezeoke on 011 832 1641 ext 121.
***Images supplied by the Market Theatre
In Film, Theatre, Audio + Television
Andrew Buckland Barney Simon Theatre Fortune Cookie Theatre Company Market Theatre Sylvaine Strike Tobacco and the harmful effects thereof Toni Morkel
On Community, Self Care & Other Stories – The Fruit Of My Lens. A COMPLEX NARRATIVE. A STREAM OF STORIES


Out now, as of March 21, are the action role-playing game Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and the adventure game What Remains of Edith Finch, while Telltale's The Walking Dead: Michonne hits Xbox Game Pass on March 28. Also out that day is the action RPG Vampyr, while dungeon-crawler Operencia: The Stolen Sun lands on March 29.
On April 1, the fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite hits Xbox Game Pass. After that, Microsoft's sandbox game Minecraft comes to the platform on April 4.
If you're not among the millions of Xbox Game Pass subscribers already, you can sign up and get the first month for only $1. After that, it's $10 USD/month. We recently learned that the upcoming addition of Halo Reach to the Master Chief Collection will be available to Game Pass members. Those who only own MCC will just receive access to the game's multiplayer mode without a separate purchase of the campaign and Firefight modes.


The tricky winger was born in Sao Paulo in 1982. He had his Polish citizenship fast-tracked in April 2008, with the help of Poland's head coach, Leo Beenhakker.
Born in 1977 in São Bernardo do Campo, but was never called upon to play for Brazil. He arrived in Portugal at the age of 19. In 2002, having completed six years of Portuguese residence, he received Portuguese citizenship.
Born in Sao Paolo in 1976, and granted Spanish citizenship in early 2006. Was part of the Spanish squad for the 2006 World Cup, and having a storming Euro 2008.
The German striker was born in Rio in 1982, to a German-Hungarian dad and a Panamanian mum. He eventually opted to play for Germany, despite also being qualified to play for Brazil, Hungary and Panama.
This Marcos Senna lookalike was born in Rio in 1977. He was the first naturalised player ever to play for Turkey's senior international team.
Chelsea's new boss was born in Passo Fundo in 1948. Scolari also holds Italian citizenship, since his family emigrated from Veneto, in the north-east of Italy.


Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in LINCOLN, a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.


In this video she demonstrates how to make a decorative pendant using Apoxie clay. Not only does the Apoxie clay hold the copper wire bail, but also is the base for embedding cubic zirconia gemstones. She finishes the pendant by dusting the epoxy clay with PanPastel brown to match the stone.


I have been thinking about writing this post for almost a month now. One day I would tell myself… "Just write it, you need to get this out so you can heal", the next day I would tell myself …"You will be ok, time will heal all wounds". It wasn't until I read a similar post on another blog that I realized that I am not the only one having a hard time with grief. I am sharing this with the hope that it will aid in my healing and perhaps someone else's. It is hard to imagine the roller coaster of emotions and the struggle with grief I have been dealing with, but I will try to paint you a picture.
1. keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.
2. a cause or occasion of keen distress or sorrow.
On December 6, 2013 my father died unexpectedly. I was at work when I got the call. My brother came to pick me up and took me to my mother's house. When everyone got there, we all went to the hospital to talk with the doctors that tried to save my father's life. They told us that his blood sugar levels were so elevated they couldn't get them to come back down. He had flat lined twice and they were able to revive him but the third time they could not. As you can imagine it was hard to hear. As we made plans for his funeral arrangements, everything fell into place, except the military cemetery was not available for his internment until December 12, 2013, my 36th birthday. That's right. We buried my father on my birthday. I was fortunate to have scheduled my birthday and the day after off from work prior to his passing as my job only allowed 4 days off for bereavement. The days I had planned for celebration I used to mourn my father. I returned to work the following Monday, broken and in a place I'd never been before, grieving in the same spot that I learned about his death. Trying to pull myself together to actually do work.
Our family is very close knit and we all held each other up, spending time together and preparing for the Christmas holiday. Shopping and buying gifts for everyone made things a little easier to deal with.My husband was a God-send and was there by my side supporting me through everything. He kept reminding me we are anchored in the Lord and there is nothing he can't or won't do in our lives.
I tried my best to get back to life and business as usual. On Christmas morning I got a call that one of my Eastern Star chapter members had passed away. I instantly felt sick, a nauseous combination of dread and grief. I had never met her personally, or her son that called me, but all of the feelings of grief I had been suppressing resurfaced and I was right back where I started. I never thought that the death of someone I never knew would affect me so deeply. I expressed my sympathies to her family and asked if there was anything I could do.
What a way to start my Christmas morning. My daughter was still asleep, so I took a few moments to pray before I went to cook breakfast. Kennedy woke up and instantly decided to open presents, it was the high of my day. Later in the afternoon we went house hopping to our parents homes so that we could see everyone for Christmas and Kennedy could show off her Christmas dress and collect her many gifts (the benefit of having 3 grandparents, 5 aunts and 4 uncles).
The following morning I felt sick again but I didn't know why. I got up to go the bathroom and instantly got dizzy. To the drug store we went. One bathroom trip later…we were expecting again! We were so happy. I could instantly feel the veil of grief lift from over my being. God saw fit to bless us with another child. I immediately went to do some math to see how far along I was, 6 whole weeks. With everything that we had going on I didn't pay much attention to the dates. We called the family and everyone was so excited.
My whole outlook had changed. I was so happy and blessed, thanking God for his favor in spite of my grief.
I planned my first doctor's appointment for January 17th. It was snowing that day, I will never forget because I was running late to my appointment due to the traffic. I called to tell them I would be late by only a few minutes, but no one answered and I got the voicemail. I got to the doctor in record time but I was unaware there was construction happening which would add an additional 10 minutes because I had to bypass the entrance I normally would use. Long story short when I got to the office I was 12 minutes late. They turned me away and said I couldn't be seen. I had to reschedule for the following week. I came back the following week and saw the nurse. The next morning I called my sister to wish her a happy birthday and she asked me how I was feeling. I told her I had started bleeding and was going to call someone about it. I had spotted some when I had Kennedy so I was as afraid about it. I called the nurse and she scheduled me for a viability sonogram. The sonogram showed no heartbeat. I was devastated.
The sonogram tech went to get the doctor on call and he explained to my husband and I that I would likely miscarry soon. When I asked him what I needed to do, he told me "Go home and wait". I asked him if I would need any medication and he told me no. I was so hurt. My husband helped me to the bathroom and it was evident that it had begun. He called my mother and took me to her house. He had to go back to work. So I spent the beginning part of the miscarriage lying in my mother's bed. Later that evening my husband picked our daughter up from daycare and brought her to my mother's house because we had prepared earlier to celebrate my sister's birthday with the whole family.
We went home that night and the next few days were the worst experience of my life.
It happened on a Thursday. The following Wednesday I was back at work. My job didn't allow for time off for bereavement after miscarriage. I had to use my vacation time for the days I missed. Then I came back to the same spot I grieved my father, at my desk working. I tried my best to stay focused. I found out shortly after that an old friend was also going through the same thing. I tried to check in on her to see how she was doing as best as I could.
I spent three weeks dealing with the physical things surrounding miscarriage. It seemed like it would never end but when it did I scheduled my follow up appointment for the next week. I scheduled for the afternoon so I could be certain I wouldn't be late. My appointment was at 3pm. I arrived at 2:45pm. I was sitting in a waiting room full of pregnant women awaiting their appointments. The woman next to me was looking through books of baby clothes and kept asking me if I thought different items were cute. My husband was sitting on the other side of me trying to keep me focused on something else. I waited an hour. I went to the ladies room and when I came back the admin assistant gave me a free parking pass. I waited another hour, and the other admin brought juice and cookies for the entire waiting room.
The woman next to me saw how upset I was and tried to console me by saying "Maybe next time you can get put with another doctor". I told her solemnly "This is my last appointment here". I think she understood. Another half hour passed as I sat in this room full of pregnant women all getting called back to see their doctors so I asked the admin when I would be seen because I was going to leave. She went back to check and was told I really needed to stay to be examined. I was so angry and hurt, because I thought they were being very inconsiderate. I was more angry than hurt because this was the same office that turned me away for being 12 minutes late. My husband kept telling me to keep my cool and not make a scene. I finally got called back to see the doctor at 5:30 pm she offered no apology, only excuses. At that point I was tired and I wanted to go home. She did the exam and told us we could try again in 2 months if we wanted to because everything physically was fine.
I started this blog in the days followed, sharing inspirational scriptures, recipes and my plans for the garden.
I told myself that God's plan is better than any we could ever craft for ourselves. My faith helped me pull it together. I hoped for healing and the Lord healed my body. I hope for strength and God lifted me up. My husband has been so strong through everything we have dealt with over the last few months. I am so grateful God allowed me to have such a wonderful person to share my life. I am grateful for my family and I pray that whatever is in God's will for us will be done.
If you are going through after a miscarriage know that you are not alone. Reach out to the people you love and God will show his grace through them. He is more than enough to get you through any and every obstacle.
Visit LaTonya's profile on Pinterest. Visit Divinity's profile on Pinterest.
5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.


We've been on this journey together for quite some time now. I continue to be inspired by the entrepreneurs like you who find a way to buck the odds and get the funding needed to turn your visions into reality. As I've looked back over the past 18 months we have discussed all the important elements to a successful funding We've gone into great depth about most of them. But it occurred to me that I haven't yet laid the entire success formula out for you in one post.
I encourage you to write this formula down. Keep it in front of you. Put it on post-it notes. Do whatever you do to keep important things in the forefront of your mind. This is the Master Equation. Get all of those elements together and you're likely to get the funds you require. We'll refer to this equation frequently in coming posts. Today, let's review a Powerful Pitch Method (how to deliver your pitch powerfully) to complement what you are already working on with creating your pitch.
Most recently in this blog, we've been discussing how to create a winning elevator pitch. I've given you the formula that countless entrepreneurs have used to win a full follow-up with investors. I trust you're working with your own elevator pitch to mirror what we've discussed. But having the right formula is only part of the success formula. You have to deliver it powerfully. That's partly a matter of practice and partly a matter of understanding conversational dynamics.
Recall that last fall we discussed the bestselling book "Pitch Anything" by Oren Klaff. Now that you are engaged in mastering pitch construction this is the perfect time to review Mr. Klaff's advice on how to take control of investor conversations. We began the conversation with the context that when you first meet an investor you have a trust barrier to overcome. I'll review our previous material on the big picture about gaining investor trust in coming weeks. For now, let's review Mr. Klaff's work on overcoming the initial resistance to you and your pitch.
At the outset of your conversation with an investor you are likely dealing with his or her crocodile brain. This part of the brain is dominated by fight or flight reflexes. The voice in the investor's head is asking whether you are trustworthy or whether they should run (or eat you!). As we discussed in that post, the way past the crocodile brain is to establish that you're trustworthy. Until you do, you're fighting an uphill battle because, as Klaff points out, "our most important messages have a surprisingly low chance of getting through," because the crocodile brain literally can't hear them.
Recall that we spent weeks delving into the secrets of establishing investor trust. This would be a good time to review those posts!
Once the trust barrier is overcome, you're dealing with the dog brain. This is the social part of the brain. It is concerned with whether you are someone the investor is interested in enough to spend time with. You may recall that winning the battle with the dog brain is not about being likable. It isn't about being socially acceptable per se. It is about whether you are someone that specific investor wants to spend time with. It is about whether that specific investor finds you to be someone they'd consider connecting to their other contacts; someone with whom to form an ongoing relationship.
Your challenge is that in the "dog world" the alpha dog gets the prize. Most of the time the investor will speak to you (and listen to you) from the perspective that he or she is the alpha dog. You have to turn the tables. Klaff calls this process frame control. Let me remind you what I wrote about the process in an earlier post: you reframe the conversation by coming from a larger place, a morally superior place. You accomplish this by reminding the investor that you are the visionary, you have the market-changing or world-changing product, service, tactic or strategy. All they have is money. You have a team and vision to accomplish great things. You are the prize that they are seeking.
When you break through the dog brain barrier you are finally dealing with the investor's rational mind. The important things you have to say can be heard. But don't make the critical mistake so many make in trying to overcome the dog brain barriers: do not try and dazzle the investor with the facts, figures or analytical genius of you and your team. That generally reactivates the crocodile brain. You demonstrate that you're the alpha dog by telling a great story at the right time. You tell a story about you as a leader, overcoming an obstacle to creating a positive conclusion. You tell that story if you sense your pitch is going off the rails; when the investor is falling back to his or her crocodile brain. The story reframes the conversation, returning you to the position of being the prize they seek. It works because it restores your position of being a person who can be trusted to win the battle you want the investor to fund. I laid out the exact recipe for structuring that story here.
At the end of the day all of these strategies occur within the same context: the purpose of pitching is to express your vision to the investor in such a way that they get it and trust you to achieve it. The more understanding about how to overcome investor objections, the better able you'll be to be heard in the critical moment, to be understood, to be remembered, to be accepted at all three levels of the brain.
Now that these success strategies for pitching are fresh in your mind, let me remind you that they need to be practiced to be perfected. That's one of the things we do in the Entrepreneur'$ Boot Camp. It's the best forum I know of for perfecting a pitch, then practicing that pitch over and over. You do it before experienced investors with the know-how to help you hone it to perfection. Few actors win Oscars without years of perfecting their craft, countless hours in acting classes, hundreds of auditions. Why would it be different for entrepreneurs attempting to get the prize of funding? It isn't. That's why there is no substitute for practice and there's no better forum for practicing than in front of experienced investor-coaches who want you to win.
In coming weeks we will explore the other elements to the success formula I laid out above. Master each part of the formula to put yourself in the best position to win with investors.
Imagine how it would change your future if instead of chasing investors, you commanded their attention.


संत Only use the code FREESHIPCAN at checkout to apply the discount. Certain offers cannot be combined with other offers, discounts, or deals.
संत I am re-activating the deal because the promo code still works as described. Just enter the code FREESHIPCAN at your cart to get the discount. Look Screenshot to see the discount and place to put the code.
संत For a limited time, use the coupon code FREESHIPCAN to get the discount described in post. Cannot be combined with other offers, store exclusions may apply. Look Screenshot to see details.


Scientists have created a first-ever three-dimensional heart with human tissue and blood vessels. They developed a biomedically engineered heart and used a 3D printer to create it. Thus scientists at Tel Aviv University succeeded to print a 3D heart. The medical finding, published in Advanced Science, managed to create a whole heart, along with blood vessels, cells, ventricles, and chambers. The latest attempt marks improvement than that of the previous attempts. Before this, scientists were able to print only simple tissues; it did not contain vessels. A group of researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel has achieved the goal which is near to reality.
The object created in the discovery is only the size of a cherry. Even more, the organ is not capable of pumping blood. Still, experts said its development is a major medical innovation. It will require more efforts to make it pump blood, and scientists hope to start testing using them within a year. Tal Dvir, the leading researcher of the project, said people have managed to 3D-print the structure of a heart in the past. But others do not contain cells or blood vessels. The new model is made up of the cells which were multiplied from a sample of fatty tissue belonging to a human patient.
The process of heart creation started with a biopsy of fatty tissue taken from patients. Scientists used the membrane from tissues as ink in the printing job, which enabled them to build a complex tissue model. As a result, they created cardiac chambers, complex muscles, and a whole heart. The new heart created by Tel Aviv team can contract but unable to pump out blood. Scientists are training the model in order to work like the real one. Once things work, they will try to transplant the model into animal models. Dvir said maybe in the upcoming decade; there will be organ printers in the top facilities across the world. In the future, those products will be created routinely.


Indoor/Outdoor agility pole system, Train athleties to make sharp cuts ^ reduce reaction time & improve agility. Includes carry bag.
Train athletes to make sharp cuts while maintiaining proper form, posture & position. Help reduce reaction time, while improving agility and speed on the field or in the gym. Complete set includes six 2-piece, 60" PVC poles that break down for easy storage along with 6 spring-loaded spikes for outdoor use and 6 domed bases for drills indoors or on artificial turf. Bases can be weighted with stand for extra stability. Convenient carry bag keeps it all in one place for easy transport to and from practice.


It is important that a person involved in an automobile accident understand that injuries sustained as a result of an accident may not seem apparent at the time of the accident. One to four days after the accident, the soreness, stiffness and pain may finally surface. Whether you are aware of your injuries immediately or after a few days, this article describes certain steps you should take to ensure you heal quickly and also to support a claim entitling you to be compensated for your injuries.
Based on my experience, many people do not feel pain immediately after an accident or auto injury. You may need an attorney. I recently represented a woman in her sixties who was rear-ended on Sepulveda Blvd. in Manhattan Beach who felt very little pain at the time of the accident, but actually suffered from TMJ discovered more than a month later that formed the basis of a strong claim for which she was well compensated. I am currently representing a woman who was hit by a driver that ran a red light in Los Angeles on La Brea Blvd. She realized a month later that she was having difficulty concentrating at work. It is apparent that she suffered a closed head injury that was not immediately diagnosed.
Each of the un-named clients described in the above paragraph are credible, hard-working professionals; not people trying to take advantage of the system. I am sharing these stories so that all people learn that if you are involved in an accident and feels out of sorts, are stiff, sore, or in pain, you must seek medical help. The primary reason is to make sure that the injuries are addressed early to hasten the healing process and avoid complications that could arise. Secondly (and I do mean secondly), getting medical treatment has the accompanying effect of proving the severity of your injuries which leads to being properly compensated for those injuries.
Keep notes in a diary or log describing how the injuries and medical treatment caused pain, discomfort, difficulty sleeping and how the injuries prevented you from going to work, from performing routine activities and negatively impacted your relationships, among other things. Over time, your memory will fade and it will be difficult to describe to the jury how the injuries affected your life unless you kept some type of record.
Based on my experience, women are better than men at communicating with doctors. Maybe it's because men are supposed to be tough and thus don't want to admit that they are in excruciating pain. Regardless of your gender, my advice is: Drop the "tough persona" and tell your doctor about every ache and pain, every sore muscle, every aspect of what you are feeling. Tell the doctor how it is affecting your mood, your sleep patterns, your marriage and how your injuries are limiting your normal routine or activities. Not only will your doctor be better able to diagnose your injuries, later in time, at mediation, arbitration or trial, the medical records will support the claim you are making thus increasing your credibility. In the world of law, credibility is a big deal.
Normally, upon seeing a doctor, an injured person will receive a treatment plan intended to address the injuries sustained. The plan may be as simple as going through physical therapy for a month or so. Or the plan may entail surgical procedures, rehabilitation, or further diagnosis (MRI, CT scan) or being evaluated by other specialists (orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, etc.).
Whatever the course of treatment is, do it! Participate in the treatment until you are released from further treatment by the doctor concerned.
It is vital that you follow through with the treatment plan. Doctors are specially trained and are in the best position to determine the severity of the injuries and the best manner in which to address those injuries so as to ensure the quick and full recovery therefrom. Everyone has busy lives, but I cannot overstate the importance of slowing down for a moment to make sure your injuries are properly addressed. Take the time to get the rehab or the physical therapy. If the general practitioner says to go see an orthopedic surgeon, then follow those instructions.
Medical records are hugely important in proving your claim. If they are inaccurate, such inaccuracies may lower the value of your claim. To ensure that the records match reality, obtain the records and read through them carefully. If you see inaccuracies, contact the doctor and have those inaccuracies cleaned up to reflect what actually happened or what symptoms you actually felt at the time.
During your review, look at the description of your accident. Is the description accurate? If not, you need to address it or you will find yourself at a deposition or at trial trying to explain why the medical records say the accident happened in a manner different than what you testified to. Again, credibility issues are to be avoided to ensure you are properly compensated for your injuries.
The most effective way for a defense lawyer to defend a claim is to establish the injured person has credibility issues. One of the best ways to create credibility issues is to contrast the injured person's statements on the stand with the statements in the medical records. Juries perceive the doctor to be "right." Thus what is written in the medical records is normally taken as the truth. If the doctor misunderstood what you were saying, you must address the issue and correct the inaccuracies so that credibility problems are avoided.
Find out if you need an auto injury attorney.


text:
AFI Statement on Asghar Farhadi
Tue, 01/31/2017 - 15:31 -- Nick Dager
The American Film Institute released a statement today regarding award-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who will not attend this year's Academy Award ceremonies because of President Donald Trump's executive order banning Iranians from entering the country. Farhadi, who received a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for A Separation, is nominated again in the same category this year.
Here is the AFI's statement:
"Asghar Farhadi has served as Artist-in-Residence for the past two years at the AFI Conservatory, and his classes had a profound impact upon the 250 young men and women who attend AFI from around the world.
"The AFI Conservatory stands with artists and filmmakers who find the power of creation through freedom of expression and freedom of movement. We believe any form of censorship — including the restriction of travel — to be against all values we cherish as a community of storytellers.
"We look forward to welcoming Mr. Farhadi back to AFI in the fall."


Tokyo , officially Tokyo Metropolis , one of the 47 prefectures of Japan, has served as the Japanese capital since 1869. As of 2018, the Greater Tokyo Area ranked as the most populous metropolitan area in the world. The urban area houses the seat of the Emperor of Japan, of the Japanese government and of the National Diet. Tokyo forms part of the Kantō region on the southeastern side of Japan's main island, Honshu, and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo was formerly named Edo when Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters in 1603. It became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from Kyoto in 1868; at that time Edo was renamed Tokyo. Tokyo Metropolis formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo . Tokyo is often referred to as a city but is officially known and governed as a "metropolitan prefecture", which differs from and combines elements of a city and a prefecture, a characteristic unique to Tokyo.
In economics, BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development. It is typically rendered as "the BRICs" or "the BRIC countries" or "the BRIC economies" or alternatively as the "Big Four". A related acronym, BRICS, adds South Africa. There are arguments that Indonesia should be included into grouping, effectively turning it into BRIIC or BRIICS.
The demographics of Asian Americans describe a heterogeneous group of people in the United States who trace their ancestry to one or more Asian countries.
Life expectancy has been rising rapidly and South Korea ranked 11th in the world for life expectancy in 2016. South Korea has among the lowest HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate in the world, with just 0.1% of the population being infected, significantly lower than the U.S. at 0.6%, France's 0.4%, and the UK's 0.3% prevalence rate. South Korea ranked highest in influenza vaccination in Asia at 311 vaccines per 1,000 people.