Zimmerman’s Bond Hearing Mark O’Mara Gets Rave Re

May 17, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

George Zimmerman’s bond hearing is over and his attorney Mark O’Mara got exactly what he wanted: a reasonable bond of $150,000 and a GPS monitoring device for his client. Yet, Friday’s hearing was much more than just a bond hearing, it was O’Mara’s chance to perform for the public, the media and try to sway opinion of his notorious client. And for that performance, all I can say is kudos and offer a glowing review of his “theatrical” debut.

All the judge needed to know to make his decision was whether Zimmerman was a flight risk or a danger to society and a discussion of his prior criminal history. So why did O’Mara lay into investigator Dale Gilbreath and grill him on the affidavit? Why did Zimmerman’s family discuss his good deeds, including mentoring young African-American boys? Why did George Zimmerman himself take the stand to apologize, a move unheard of for a criminal defendant at a bond hearing? Simple; O’Mara is trying to educate the public and change the minds of potential jurors by painting the picture that his client is a good guy and the prosecution is unfairly out to get him.

O’Mara’s performance opened with Zimmerman’s family testifying about their do-gooder son. His mother, Gladys, testified by phone that her son is “protective of people… no matter their race.” She then went on to describe how her son tried to seek justice for a homeless man who was beaten in Sanford and that he mentored two young African-American children in Orlando. His father, Robert, told the court that when confronted his son would “turn the other cheek” and that he was pursuing a degree in criminal justice and hoped to work as a magistrate judge. His wife, Shellie, told the court her husband “is absolutely not a violent person.” All three were essentially characters in O’Mara’s ace performance of trying to present his client as the exact opposite of the monster he’s been painted to be in much of the media.

The key to the performance, though, was O’Mara’s battle scene with investigator Dale Gilbreath. He got up and questioned Gilbreath so much about the affidavit that the investigator came off looking like a fool. First, Gilbreath admitted he wasn’t aware of any inquiry to Trayvon Martin’s father as to whether he could identify the voice heard screaming in the 911 calls as his son’s. Gilbreath also admitted that he does not know who started the fight, does not have evidence to prove who started the fight and does not have evidence to contradict Zimmerman’s statement that Martin started the fight. He also testified he does not have evidence to contradict Zimmerman’s assertion that he turned back around to walk to his car. O’Mara also laid into Gilbreath over the use of “profiling” in the affidavit and the claim that Zimmerman “continued to follow” Martin even after he was told by a dispatcher not to. This claim that he “continued to follow” is key to the case, because it helps the prosecution prove he had an intent to kill, which is grounds for a 2nd degree murder conviction.

While some would say O’Mara showed all his cards in Friday’s bond hearing, I think it was a smart strategy because he’s basically trying to tell the public not to jump to conclusions here, as most have already done so based off media coverage of the case. The first thing a good defense attorney does is start knocking down the prosecution’s case. The reason why it’s so important here to question the investigation and the evidence is because if O’Mara thinks he has a good shot at attacking the prosecution’s case, he may never even have to apply Stand Your Ground. If O’Mara uses Stand Your Ground as a defense, his client would be forced to testify about why he felt reasonably threatened with bodily harm, and more importantly, he’d be forced to face cross examination. Yet, if O’Mara can convince the jury the prosecution has a weak case without ever applying Stand Your Ground Where to buy windows 7 key, he can keep his client off the witness stand. His goal was to poke so many holes into the affidavit and the initial investigation that some may now be questioning whether Zimmerman was unfairly charged.

And in the final act of the performance, the star himself took center stage. When George Zimmerman took the stand, most everyone in the courtroom and everyone watching on television was stunned. It’s unheard of for a criminal defendant to take the stand in a bond hearing. Yet, this was a carefully calculated move in O’Mara’s master plan to try to humanize his client. Zimmerman took the stand and apologized to Martin’s family, telling the court he did not know Trayvon was so much younger than him and did not know whether he was armed or not. Now, when the prosecution saw the star defendant take the stand Windows 7 Product Key, they were likely chomping at the bit to get at him. Yet, O’Mara was a few steps ahead of them. Zimmerman apologized but did not discuss anything else about the night of the killing. With such limited exposure, the prosecution could not question him on anything beyond what he was testifying about. You can only cross-examine within the scope of direct examination. Yes Windows 7 64 bit key, they asked why Zimmerman took so long to apologize, but couldn’t grill him on anything beyond that. A risky move, but it paid off, because now all the media is talking about out of Friday’s hearing is Zimmerman’s apology. Was it sincere? I don’t know. But a little good PR and publicity can’t hurt.

If O’Mara’s first performance is any indication of his future defense, this case is shaping up to be quite the show and the prosecution better be prepared.

Gaza Strip – In Gaza Zoo, Stuffed Animals Join Liv

May 17, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 18, 2012 Palestinian schoolchildren watch zoo owner Mohammed Awaida pet a mummified lion at the Khan Younis zoo, southern Gaza Strip. There is an afterlife for animals at Gaza's Khan Younis zoo. Animals who die in the dilapidated park come to life again as stuffed creatures. But because the taxidermy in the impoverished Palestinian territory relies on techniques available on the Internet, the unusual wildlife experience of petting a lion, tiger or crocodile can be a grim one.(AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Gaza – There is an afterlife for animals at the Khan Younis zoo in the impoverished Gaza Strip.

Advertisement:

Animals who die in the dilapidated park return to be displayed as stuffed creatures, giving visitors the unusual zoo experience of petting a lion, tiger or crocodile. But because taxidermy in the largely isolated Palestinian territory is not advanced and expertise and materials are in short supply, the experience can be grim.

Flies swarm around some of the 10 animals that have been embalmed so far. The makeshift cages housing the exhibits — fashioned from fencing salvaged from Jewish settlements that Israel dismantled in 2005 — are littered with empty soda cans and other trash.

An emaciated-looking stuffed lion, its coat patchy and mangy, lies on an exhibit cobbled together from crates and shipping pallets. A monkey had missing limbs. A porcupine had a hole in its head.

The zoo’s 65 live animals, which include ostriches, monkeys replica watches, turtles, deer, a llama, a lion and a tiger, don’t fare much better. During a recent visit, children poked chocolate replica watches, potato chips and bread through the wire. There’s no zookeeper on the premises. Gaza has no government body that oversees zoos, and medical treatment is done by consulting over the phone with zoo veterinarians in Egypt.

Still, the zoo is one of the few places of entertainment here in Khan Younis, a city of 200,000 people at the southern end of the Gaza Strip. It’s one of five zoos in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal enclave of 1.7 million people ruled by Islamic Hamas militants.

Owner Mohammed Awaida said he opened the “South Forest Park” in 2007, only to lose a number of animals during Israel’s military offensive against Hamas that began in December 2008. During the three-week offensive, launched in response to rocket attacks on Israel, Awaida said he could not reach the zoo, and many animals died of neglect and starvation.

“The idea to mummify animals started after the Gaza war because a number of animals like the lion, the tiger, monkeys and crocodiles died,” he said. “So we asked around and we learned from the Web how to start.”

Formaldehyde and sawdust provided the basic tools, though Awaida acknowledges he is no expert.

Gaza’s zoos are used to resorting to odd ways to get by amid the territory’s multiple woes. In 2009, a zoo in Gaza City exhibited white donkeys painted with black stripes to look like zebras because it was too expensive to replace two zebras who were neglected during the Israeli offensive.

Since Hamas violently took control of Gaza in 2007, Israel has blocked Gaza’s ports, waters and all but one border crossing into Israel. Egypt has also restricted movement through its border crossing replica watches, meaning new animals must be smuggled at great expense through an elaborate network of underground tunnels on the Gazan-Egyptian border.

Awaida said all of his animals except the birds came through the tunnels.

Preserving dead zoo animals is not new to Palestinians.
In the West Bank city of Qalqilya, zoo veterinarian Sami Khader turned to taxidermy nine years ago when a giraffe named Brownie died during the second Palestinian uprising against Israel.

Khader, who had extensive training and experience in taxidermy from years working in Saudi Arabia, stuffed Brownie and moved him to the zoo’s museum. Today that museum includes a hyena, wolf, birds, camel, raccoons and a tiger.

Fighting with Israel has since subsided and the zoo maintains close connections with the Ramat Gan Safari outside Tel Aviv. But administrators say that Israeli restrictions still make it cumbersome to get new animals.
“We have more variations and different species as preserved animals than we have living,” said Amjad al-Haj, the zoo’s financial director. “If there will be more restrictions we may end up calling it preserved animals zoo.”

Conditions in Khan Younis — and its zoo — are far worse.
Whereas Khader is a veterinarian and professional taxidermist, Awaida is untrained.

“I use many ingredients for the embalming, not one or two, and the ingredients and method will vary from animal to animal,” Khader said. “It’s not enough to just go read on the Internet.”

And Awaida does not have the contacts with Israeli zoos that Qalqilya has, a reflection of Gaza’s near-complete separation from Israel.

Like the other zoos in Gaza, the Khan Younis facility is virtually unsupervised. There is no animal rights movement in the territory.

Hassan Azzam, director of the veterinary services department in Gaza’s ministry of agriculture, said, “We have humble capabilities,” but the ministry encourages zoos.

However somber the Khan Younis zoo, it does offer entertainment to children.

Samir Amer, 14, snapped pictures of the animals with his mobile phone.

“I have been to this place before years ago but this is my first time seeing mummified animals,” he said. “They look like they are asleep. I will print out the pictures of me standing next to the lion and put it on my wall. It will be fun to show it to my younger brothers.”

Whose Fault Is It If Your Child Spends $2,000 On A

May 17, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

You child goes online and, with a couple of clicks, spends $200 (or $2,000) on the extras she needs to play “free” video game apps.

Whose fault is that? Your child’s? Your own?

More than a few parents are trying to blame Apple.

The parents of Jack Drager are among them. Late last year the English boy spent about $2,084 over four days buying animals to play an iPad app called Tap Zoo. The app was free, but the animals used to play it weren’t, and after some angry exchanges with Jack’s parents, Apple refunded their money.

Philadelphia lawyer Garen Meguerian is another upset parent. He received an iTunes bill a while back that included $200 worth of “extras” — virtual game pieces and currency and such — that his 9-year-old daughter purchased to play “free” apps like “Zombie Toxin” and “Gems.” According to the website Gamezebo Tattoo Ink, about 65 percent of the Apple app store’s income is generated by “freemium games” like these, “which have no upfront cost, but charge for upgrades inside the games.” Meguerian brought a class action suit against Apple, charging that it produces games that are “addictive” to kids and that company policy makes add-ons far too easy to purchase.

Apple responded by saying that the point was moot, since it has since changed the way it charges for those add-ons so that a child would now need her parents’ iTunes password for each purchase. Previously — back when the apps first came to Meguerian’s attention — entering the password once would unlock the account for 15 minutes Tattoo Kits For Sale, a window which, the case alleges, allowed children to make purchases without parental knowledge or permission.

This week a Federal District Court judge ruled that the change did not make the lawsuit moot, agreeing that even if parents gave children their passwords, the costs of playing what is advertised as a “free” game is arguably misleading. But while Meguerien may have persuaded a judge, he is not getting much traction in the blogosphere, where the feeling seems to be this is less a question of a company taking advantage of children and more an example of parents not controlling them.

Here’s the take over at Geekosystem.com:

Apple’s defense is pretty bulletproof. Marketing to children isn’t exactly some new advertising strategy. Have you seen a toy commercial recently? As long as Apple requires authorization to purchase, in-app or out, what are they doing wrong? If a child gained access to his parent’s credit card, went online and purchased some toys, you wouldn’t hold the ISP, or networks that air commercials, or the toy company responsible for it. You’d blame the parent who left the credit card lying around, or maybe the kid if you’re his parent and he was nefarious about getting ahold of it. Even so, it’s still your problem.

And, inquisitr.com agreed:
In the meantime the parents involved in this lawsuit may want to think about actually parenting. If they are worried their children are not responsible enough to game responsibly perhaps they shouldn’t be buying them $500 iPads and iPhones in the first place. It shouldn’t be the responsibility of Apple to babysit a parents child because they are too lazy too do it themselves and that is likely the very argument Apple will make when this case moves forward.

True. But free-apps-that-aren’t-free and that children can access (and spend wildly on with what seems like a harmless click) is just one more addition to the endless game of Whack-A-Mole that parents play with technology.

No, marketing to children isn’t new, and, in this case, it will probably turn out to be legal. But just because Apple can lure kids with $100 baskets of smurfberries (really, that’s what they cost), does that mean that they should? Time was when it was legal to market cigarettes to children, too, no?

In the meantime Tattoo Of Tattoo Machine, add “talking to the kids about the meaning of the word ‘free’” to your parenting to-do list.

Budget measure could end natural therapy rebates

May 17, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

A federal budget measure could see natural therapies excluded from private health insurance rebates unless there is clear evidence they are clinically effective.

A review into the “clinical efficacy, cost effectiveness, safety and quality” of natural therapies was announced .

Natural therapies found to be clinically ineffective will be cut out of government-funded private health insurance rebates.

Treatments including homeopathy, aromatherapy, ear candling, crystal therapy, flower essences, iridology, kinesiology and naturopathy could be found ineligible.

Professor Ken Harvey from La Trobe University's School of Public Health welcomes the announcement.

“It is excellent to review complementary medicines to see whether there is sufficient evidence to subsidise them under private health insurance,” he told ABC News Online.

“If there is no good evidence that they are better than a placebo, then they should not be funded by the taxpayer.”

He says evidence for some natural therapies is controversial and contradictory.

“There really is no scientific validation for the homeopathic medicines or the principles – that something diluted down becomes stronger Tattoo Gun Machines, or that you treat someone with a dose of something that produces the same symptoms,” he said.

“I have no problem with people going to a homeopath if they think that that is appropriate and they have got full knowledge of the limitations, but they should be paying for it themselves.”

'Bit of a shock'

However, Australian Traditional Medicine Society president Dr Sandi Rogers says the announcement came as a surprise.

“It's a little bit of a shock when we as a profession have not been consulted,” she said.

“If this cost-cut is saying 'we don't want to spend taxpayer's money on natural medicine' Tattoo Machine Tattoo, I would be very concerned.”

Dr Rogers says about 23 per cent of clients at her two practices access private health insurance rebates.

“Approximately 70 per cent of the Australian consumer market is spending billions of dollars each year on natural medicine out of their own money,” she said.

“If natural medicine didn't work, then why do consumers keep coming back for more?”

Dr Rogers says she is not worried about losing clients.

“If health funds give $15 out of $60 or $70, I really believe the consumer is not going to take that to say 'I won't see my natural medicine practitioner',” she said.

“We would just like a fair playing field.”

But Professor Harvey says natural therapies need to be scrutinised.

“There is quite a rigorous process in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to make sure that the only medicines that get subsidised have got evidence of not just effectiveness, but cost-effectiveness,” he said.

“As with the PBS, public money should only go to those classes of therapies that have got reasonable evidence to support them.”

Other treatments, including acupuncture, chiropractic, Chinese medicine, optical, midwifery Intenze Tattoo Ink, mental health nursing, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology and speech pathology will not be affected.

Georgian Court to admit men for first time in a ce

May 16, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

Courtesy of Georgian Court UniversityGeorgian Court University, an all-women’s college in Ocean County, will begin admitting men.

LAKEWOOD — A generation ago, undergraduates who wanted to apply to an all-women’s college had a half-dozen choices in New Jersey.

Now, there’s only one.

Georgian Court University officials announced today that the Catholic school in Lakewood is going co-ed after more than a century as a women’s college. That leaves the College of Saint Elizabeth in Convent Station as the state’s sole surviving women’s college.

Georgian Court’s president said university officials decided to begin admitting men to the undergraduate program after a lengthy debate among students, administrators, faculty and alumni. In the end, university leaders decided the nuns who founded the school in 1908 would agree it’s time to go co-ed.

Sister Rosemary Jeffries, Georgian Court’s president, announced the change to the 2,500-student campus today. She also sent personal notes explaining the decision to some of the university’s supporters and religious leaders.

“I was surprised and pleased the feedback — for the most part — was positive,” Jeffries said.

Georgian Court began admitting men to its evening school and graduate programs in the 1970s. But its undergraduate college and dormitories remained women-only.

Starting this fall, males will be allowed to enroll in undergraduate classes, campus officials said. In the fall of 2013, men will be able to live on campus and participate in athletics and other student activities.

Georgian Court, an NCAA Division II school, will also start men’s teams in cross country, soccer, basketball and track and field to comply with regulations requiring athletic opportunities for men and women.

By 2013, Georgian Court hopes to admit at least 100 men to its undergraduate programs, Jeffries said. Undergraduate tuition is currently $26,740 a year.

Students said they had mixed feelings about the end of same-sex classes.

“It’s a little sad seeing another women’s institution going co-ed,” said Amanda Cathcart, a freshman biology major from Delaware.

But Cathcart, a goalie on Georgian Court’s lacrosse team, said she hopes men on campus will mean bigger crowds at campus sporting events and more of a social life on campus.

“I think it’s definitely going to be a lot more active on the weekend,” Cathcart said.

Nationwide, the number of single-sex colleges is dwindling. In 1960, there were more than 300 women’s colleges. Now, there are about 50, said Susan Lennon Replica Emilio Pucci Dresses, president of the Women’s College Coalition, a Connecticut-based association representing women’s schools.

Many factors, including financial pressures, are forcing women’s colleges to consider admitting men, Lennon said.

“The decision to become co-educational is a very difficult one and it does not mean you abandon your mission,” Lennon said.

Georgian Court‘s “special concern for women” will remain part of the university’s mission even after it begins admitting men Buy Herve leger strapless, its president said.

In New Jersey, Centenary College, Caldwell College and Felician College went fully co-ed in the 1980s. Rutgers University’s Douglass College, one of the last remaining public women’s colleges, lost its degree-granting status during a 2006 university restructuring. But Douglass remains a residential campus in New Brunswick that offers women-only dorms and programs.

The College of Saint Elizabeth, a 2,100-student Catholic college, admits men to its evening and weekend programs. But its 800-woman undergraduate school remains all-female.

There are no plans for the College of Saint Elizabeth to go fully co-ed, said Deborah McCreery, the school’s vice president for institutional advancement.

“We plan to stay true to our 113-year tradition — true to our roots,” McCreery said.

Related coverage:

• Women’s colleges in N.J. look to define same-sex education

Related topics: lakewood

Putting the Second Amendment Second

May 15, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

The language of the Second Amendment has been the obsessive focus of just about everyone interested in District of Columbia v. Heller, the D.C. gun-ownership case to be argued before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. That amendment is indeed important and much misunderstood. But Heller’s facts, which involve the possession of a gun inside the home for self-defense, lie rather far from the Second Amendment’s core concerns, as originally understood by the Founding Fathers. To think straight about gun control and the Constitution, we need to move past the Second Amendment and pay more heed to the Ninth and 14th Amendments.

Let’s begin here: Suppose, for argument’s sake, that we concede that everything gun-control advocates say about the Second Amendment is right. Suppose that the amendment focused solely on arms-bearing in military contexts, and that it said absolutely nothing about an individual’s right to have a gun while sleeping in his own home or hunting in his own private Idaho. Would this concession mean that no individual constitutional right exists today?

Advertisement

Hardly. According to the Ninth Amendment: “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people.”  In other words, there may well be constitutional rights that are not explicitly set forth in the Second Amendment (or in any other amendment or constitutional clause, for that matter). In identifying these unenumerated “rights retained by the people,” the key is that a judge should not decide what he or she personally thinks would be a proper set of rights. Instead, the judge should ask which rights have been recognized by the American people themselves—for example, in state constitutions and state bills of rights and civil rights laws. Americans have also established, merely by living our lives freely across the country and over the centuries, certain customary rights that governments have generally respected. Many of our most basic rights are simply facts of life, the residue of a virtually unchallenged pattern and practice on the ground in domains where citizens act freely and governments lie low.

Consider, for example, the famous 1965 privacy case Griswold v. Connecticut. The state of Connecticut purported to criminalize the use of contraception, even by married couples, prompting the Supreme Court to strike down this extraordinarily intrusive state law as unconstitutional. Writing for the majority, Justice William Douglas claimed that a general right of privacy could be found in between the lines of the Bill of Rights. But Douglas did a poor job of proving his case. It’s hard not to smirk when the First Amendment is used to protect the erotic urges of a man and a woman seeking to “assemble” on a bed. Writing separately in Griswold Tattoo Supplies, the second Justice John Harlan, widely admired for his judicial care and craftsmanship, offered a more modest and less strained rationale: “Conclusive, in my view, is the utter novelty of [Connecticut's] enactment. Although the Federal Government and many States have at one time or another had on their books statutes forbidding the distribution of contraceptives, none, so far as I can find, has made the use of contraceptives a crime.” Thus, the basic practice of the American people rendered Connecticut’s oddball law presumptively unconstitutional. It is also highly noteworthy that today around a dozen state constitutions and countless statutes speak explicitly of a right to privacy—a right nowhere explicitly mentioned in the federal Constitution.

Now take Harlan’s sensible approach to the unenumerated right of privacy and apply it to Dick Anthony Heller’s claim that he has a right to have a gun in his D.C. home for self-defense. When we look at the actual pattern of lived rights in America—what the people have, in fact, done—we find lots of regulations of guns, but few outright prohibitions of guns in homes as sweeping as the D.C. ordinance. We also find a right to keep guns affirmed in a great many modern state constitutions, several of which use the phrase “bear arms” in ways that clearly go beyond the military context. Unlike founding-era documents Tattoo Supplies, modern state constitutions routinely affirm a constitutional right to “bear arms” for hunting, recreation, and/or self-defense.

SINGLE PAGE Page: 1 | 2

Natural Disasters

May 14, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

A grim report released this week by the President’s Cancer Panel warns of “a growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer.” Despite its frightening pronouncements that modern-day life is poisoning us, many observers, including the American Cancer Society, are dismissing the report as flawed and Herve Leger sale, at worst, alarmist. The report’s “conclusion that ‘the true burden of environmentally (i.e. pollution) induced cancer has been grossly underestimated’ does not represent scientific consensus,” the ACS says. In 2008, Slate’s Darshak Sanghavi warned against overestimating the cancer-causing potential of chemicals, power lines Buy Christian Audigier Clothing, cell phones, and other popular villains. “It’s distracted us from the uncomfortable truth that most cancers are caused by the natural environment around us,” he wrote. His article is reprinted below.

Last month, the London Independent ran a sensationalist story about cell phones causing brain tumors, and the Breast Cancer Fund released a comprehensive report on carcinogenic chemicals women should avoid. Other recent cancer-causing culprits in the news include pesticides, power lines, and solvents.

Advertisement

This thinking cleaves to a popular motif: The natural world is less toxic and more healthful than the industrial one. To avoid cancer, you should buy organic produce, drink unpasteurized milk from specialty dairies, eat more fiber to cleanse the colon of carcinogens, and avoid cheap cosmetics. To protect one’s family, in short, become a paranoid consumer of everyday “artificial” products.

Unwittingly Buy DKNY Clothing, we’ve seriously impeded cancer prevention with this not-so-useful distinction between the natural and artificial. It’s distracted us from the uncomfortable truth that most cancers are caused by the natural environment around us. As a result, we expend great effort and ink on low-yield strategies to prevent cancer, even though the better ones lie within our grasp.

Take the popular example of asbestos, which is associated with a rare form of lung cancer called mesothelioma. Everyone knows asbestos is dangerous, and litigation related to the hazardous material is one of the longest-running U.S. tort actions in history (costing $70 billion, according to a RAND analysis). Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report only about 2,000 cases of mesothelioma per year, of which only a fraction can be attributed to previous asbestos exposure.

Or take diethylstilbestrol Marc Jacobs Dresses sale, known as DES, a drug used to promote fertility in certain women until it was shown to cause genital cancers in a blast of publicity in 1971. Ultimately, fewer than one in 1,000 exposed women got these cancers. Or consider the plant-ripening agent Alar, which was voluntarily withdrawn in 1989 after the American Academy of Pediatrics called for a ban and a 60 Minutes report blamed it for cancer risks. No data have ever actually shown Alar to be harmful to humans. And today no European country fortifies flour with folic acid, in part because of the unlikely possibility that the vitamin could cause colon cancer. As a result, many babies in Europe continue to be born with spinal defects, which the extra folic acid would prevent.

Of course Herve Leger sale, the women who endured genital cancers from DES or the asbestos workers who came down with mesothelioma deserve sympathy. But the dominant strategy of cancer prevention to which the DES and asbestos scares led—one-by-one alarmist publicizing of man-made carcinogens, regardless of their relative importance—is unlikely to make any serious dent in cancer rates. After all, half of all chemicals are carcinogenic in laboratory tests. A smarter strategy would simply focus on the most preventable exposures causing the most malignancies Herve Leger sale, without any regard for what’s natural and what’s man-made.

To begin with, that means paying more attention to common infections. Most women today are infected with human papilloma virus, which is a necessary precondition for about half a million cervical cancers worldwide (not to mention anal, penile, pharynx, and even skin cancers). These numbers dwarf those associated with DES exposure. To prevent HPV infection—and later cancer—people must be vaccinated before their sexual debuts, preferably as pre-adolescents. Yet several state legislatures have withdrawn bills encouraging vaccination, and fewer than half now have school-based requirements for HPV vaccination.

SINGLE PAGE Page: 1 | 2

The Rallye de Paris, an event for the true automot

May 14, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

Do not consider the Rallye de Paris simply another Gumball-type event. While the celebrity-laden Gumball 3000 was entangled in lawlessness Cheap Bandage dresses, and eventually tragedy, the Rallye de Paris is designed for the devoted car lover and track junkie.

Starting in Paris, participants make a round-trip trek through France visiting the tracks at Magny-Cours (the French F1 track) and Val-de-Vienne before heading back to the capital again. It’s a whirlwind tour Buy Herve leger strapless, over in just two days. Automotive participants include the expected Ferrari 430 Christian Audigier Clothing sale, Audi R8 White Herve leger sale, and Lamborghini Murcielago, but also in attendance are such enthusiast classics as the Ferrari F40 Replica Karen Millen Dresses, Porsche 911 RS 2.7L, and the Jaguar XK120.

The 2008 Rallye de Paris took place last week with more than 200 cars in participation. Mark your calendars for next year’s event and brush up on your French before you check out the additional pics and video on this site. Thanks for the tip, Pierre!

Related Gallery2008 Rallye de Paris
[Source: Caradisiac Cheap Marc Jacobs Dresses, photos by Caradisiac]

Beach Volleyball in Iran

May 14, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

Check out Slate’s complete coverage of the Beijing Games.

Roqaya al-Gassra of Bahrain in her hijab

Yesterday in Beijing Herve Leger sale, Roqaya al-Gassra of Bahrain won her heat in the second round of the women’s 200-meter dash while wearing long pants, long sleeves, and a head covering Discount Karen Millen Dresses, in keeping with her practice of Islam. Many female Olympians wear athletic clothing that does not cover their bodies; are their events broadcast in conservative countries?

Yes, for the most part. Regional and foreign networks are broadcasting the Games, including Al Jazeera Hale Bob Dresses sale, the BBC, and Al Arabiya, as well as local channels. The foreign broadcasters are not altering their content to reflect local customs, but certain countries with legal dress codes for women might be censoring footage on state-operated channels. (Only a small proportion of the Muslim countries where women tend to dress modestly have compulsory dress codes; in Bahrain, for example DKNY Dresses sale, women are allowed to wear whatever they want.)

Advertisement

Government-owned television networks in Saudi Arabia and Iran will show women who are not wearing the hijab as long as they are not too scantily clad. In Iran, shorts seem to be OK, but swimsuits and leotards are out. (That means no swimming, gymnastics Discount Hale Bob Dresses, or beach volleyball.) Events in which the athletes’ bodies are mostly covered—such as horseback riding and judo—are always acceptable. (The networks are also likely to be covering the three events in which Iranian women are competing: rowing, tae kwan do, and archery.) In Saudi Arabia, most people watch Olympics coverage on satellite TV Buy DKNY Clothes, which is fully legal and carries no government restrictions.                                                                                             

Even though not all women’s events are broadcast on TV in Iran and Saudi Arabia, there are other ways to watch them. YouTube is broadcasting footage from the IOC in 77 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, where no other entity holds exclusive digital-broadcasting rights. Some Internet-service providers in Iran block YouTube, but some Iranians with a broadband connection could watch footage online. Although the devices are illegal, several million Iranians have satellite dishes and could pick up uncensored Olympics coverage on Al Jazeera and the BBC.

Muslim women can also watch female athletes compete at the Muslim Women’s Olympics, an event first held in Iran in 1993. Photography and filming are banned in the sporting arenas, men are not permitted inside, and the athletes are allowed to compete without a hijab. The last set of games was in 2005 and featured athletes from 25 countries competing in 15 sports.

Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Aisha Shaheed and Rochelle Terman of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, Dawn Arteaga and Natasha Tynes of the International Center for Journalists, Majid Joneidi of the BBC, and Nail Al-Jubeir of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.

AdSpottingBuick using March Madness to sell Regal

May 13, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized · Comment 

Company: General Motors

Brand: Buick

Medium: TV

Ad Agency: Leo Burnett

Product: Regal Turbo

Campaign: Regal Turbo/NCAA

What We Like: The cinematography of the Regal in this spot makes the car look even better than it does when it sits in your driveway. And if your TV or computer speakers are any good at all, the sound of the engine and the turbo comes through. This is a simple ad Replica Paul Picot Watches, and the simplest messages are generally the most effective. “Turbo. Buick. Turbo. Buick. Get used to the sound.” We like that they are not loading us up with the car’s stats Replica Patek Philippe Watches, as well. You can always get that stuff online anyway. The ad pretty effectively says, “This car looks good, sounds good and, dude, has a turbo Replica Richard Mille Watches! Yeah, we know it’s a brand that’s normally associated with Fred Mertz, ‘Mr. C’ from Happy Days or pretty much any Junior High School principal. But Replica Hamilton Watches, seriously, it’s worth checking out.” We agree.

What We Don’t Like: The driver looks a little too much like Rocco DiSpirito, or a Men’s Health metro-sexual, and that’s just annoying. But we are pretty sure that was what the ad agency was going for. We say we like the ad’s simplicity, but is it too simple? Is this going to keep the average bloke from leaving the couch to refill his beer or nutbowl during a commercial break in March Madness? Maybe there could have been more of a hook in the copy… or a female? Or maybe we are just looking for things to poke at because we have to.

Strategy: Oldsmobile is gone. Pontiac is gone. Saturn is gone. Hummer is gone. Saab is sold. Thank the Chinese for saving Buick. They see Buick as some sort of Cadillac-Mercedes hybrid. Go figure. General Motors sells more of the tri-shield vehicles in the land of the Great Wall than in the land of the Grand Canyon. GM is pitching Buick as “luxury,” and says there is room for both Buick and Cadillac in the company’s luxury play, that they appeal to different luxury buyers. We think Buick appeals to luxury buyers who have lost a lot of money in the market, and had to sell their stuff, including the Mercedes, to keep junior in Country Day School. But there is no denying that the LaCrosse Fake Cartier Watches, Regal and Enclave are vehicles we would not be ashamed to drive to the dance, the kid’s soccer game Rado Replica Watches, or poker night. But luxury? Wethinks Buick doth need to find another way to communicate what it stands for. Oh, by the way, thanks for the turbo.

Grade: B

Watch the commercial after the jump and give it your own grade below.

What grad would you give this ad?A677 (21.5%)B926 (29.4%)C570 (18.1%)D270 (8.6%)F706 (22.4%)

Next Page »