Really, how many shots do you give a guy  before you decide to dump him? How many lies, how many excuses, how many second chances? I always thought that if you have true feelings for the other person you should always try and work things out no matter what. But should there be a limit to this? Maybe there are signs that scream “dump him, dump him!” before he dumps you?

Nicki, as I have told you in previous posts, my workaholic guy shows mixed signs. In summary, when I was in Europe he was very frequently texting and calling, and dating him was great (though he had to cancel a few times because he was working). Once I left for the US on a 15-day trip, he stopped calling and barely texted. I was very disappointed. Four days ago, I came back to Europe and the day after I arrived, he called. In the 7 minutes that we talked, he: 1. asked me on a date, 2. asked me to go on a short trip with him during Christmas, and 3. asked me to go skiing with him whenever I was available. That’s a lot of action for someone who was contact-absent for 15 days. It sounded like he was trying to make up, while I was wondering if it’s break-up time.

So I agreed to give him another chance and go on a date with him, despite the fact that I am completely disappointed that he didn’t even call once in the 15 days that I was gone. So… he couldn’t go out on Monday because he had to work (typical), so we agreed on Tuesday. Tuesday evening, I get a call from him. He has severe diarrhea and can’t meet. He says he will call later. He texts later saying that he feels really bad. I call him. He doesn’t pick up. I text saying that I am worried. He replies saying that he can’t really talk. I ask him to call me whenever he can. He calls the next day (today) and says that he still feels too bad, but wants to see me as soon as possible, unfortunately tomorrow he’s leaving on a trip with his parents for three days.

I am really wondering what to do. Was he really sick or just trying to avoid me? Is he only giving me excuses or is the “working too much/being sick/travelling/etc” real?should I believe him? I am so sick of guys lying all the time that I am losing faith…

As I was trying to decide when is the cutoff that one decides to give the boot, I found this website, with “10 signs that you should dump your boyfriend“.  There we go: He doesn’t consider my feelings, I hardly ever see him, I don’t tell him everything about my life, NO SEX, I am very unhappy, he has habbits that make my blood boil, and I feel trapped, like I can’t escape from this situation. Scored 7/10. Guess that’s pretty bad.

Ancient Roman consuls – equivalent to our presidents – wore togas edged in purple to mark their high status. As Republic became Empire, new emperors were said to “ascend to the purple.”

Purple clothing was a status symbol for most of human history. It was the ancient equivalent of the Mercedes-Benz. Originally discovered in the glands of shellfish (reputedly by Heracles’s dog!), it took 12,000 of the creatures to get just 1.5 grams of dye. Purple garments could be as rare and costly as gold in some places.

Modern innovations such as inexpensive synthetic dyes, the Minnesota Vikings, and purple M&Ms have taken away the color’s exotic reputation. But no worry. Federal regulators are doing what they can to bring it back.

Alpinil Industries, a dye manufacturer in India, sells its carbazole violet pigment 23 cheaply. Too cheaply, it seems. Even commoners can afford to buy products colored with their purple hues!

Irate American competitors convinced the government in 2004 to put an anti-dumping duty on Alpinil’s purple dye. That raised the price to match pricey American-made dyes. Purple would once again be reserved for the rich.

Now that the tax has been in place for five years, the Department of Commerce is wrapping up an investigation to see if it has been working as intended. A repeal would be best for consumers. Don’t expect to see it happen, though.

The benefits are concentrated to a few dye manufacturers, who have a strong incentive to lobby to keep the status quo. Meanwhile, the costs are diffused onto millions of consumers, none of whom have much incentive to spend thousands of dollars in an effort to save themselves a few pennies.

New York Times, 12/15/09

When American companies cannot compete against imports they believe are being “dumped” at below-market prices, they are quick to demand remedies from Washington, usually in the form of punitive tariffs. These days, the alleged culprit is often China.

But try looking at things from south of the border and the picture shifts. There, the culprit is just as likely to be the United States, particularly when it comes to agriculture.

A new paper from Timothy A. Wise at the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts concludes that America’s generous subsidies allow farmers to sell their products to Mexico at below-market prices. The cost to Mexican farmers, he estimates, was $12.8 billion from 1997 to 2005. Corn farmers fared worst; American subsidies cost them $6.6 billion.

Read more…

China has taken considerable steps in recent years to address electronic waste management practices unsafe for the individuals involved and harmful to local land and water supplies, as NEEDigest has previously reported.

However, China’s limited electronic waste recycling facilities and swelling consumption patterns has rendered domestic containment of toxic trash a serious problem.

Like China, the US and Europe face this predicament, and for years have exported trash to developing countries in Asia and Africa at a lower cost and with fewer environmental safeguards. It is therefore somewhat unsurprising, but no less disheartening, to find out that China, too, is joining the ranks of countries opting to manage waste by having less developed countries manage it for them – often at considerable health and environmental risks.

The newest recipient country is not in Africa or Southeast Asia, as one might expect.

Rather, it appears that waste is being diverted to North Korea, China’s northeastern neighbor, whose western coast lies directly across from China’s prosperous coastal areas and many port towns. This revelation contradicts certain assumptions that North Korea, its economic development stunted due to a centrally planned economy and isolation from the outside world, was comparatively free from the industrial pollution that beleaguers many of its East and South Asian counterparts.

According to South Korean newspaper Dong-a Ilbo, North Korean entities responsible for generating foreign currency are importing and burying industrial waste from China. The trade is being conducted secretly, according to reports, and critics of the trade from North Korea’s scientific community have been silenced.

As per the Dong-a Ilbo:

Daily NK, a media outlet on North Korean affairs, quoted a source in the North’s South Hamkyong Province as saying, “The soil survey research center at Hamhung Institute of Technology released a research paper on its study of land pollution resulting from burial of industrial waste from China and a letter urging countermeasures to the Central Committee of the (North Korean) Workers’ Party. The institute was dismantled and senior officials and researchers were all purged.”

This is not the first instance where North Korea has been reported as soliciting other countries’ toxic waste.

In the mid-1990s, North Korea offered to dispose of the North Sea Brent Spar oil storage platform for Royal Dutch Shell, which the company had planned to dump in the deep Atlantic in 1995. The deal did not go through.

In 1997, Taiwan officials negotiated a cash-for-nuclear waste deal with the North Korean government. South Korea mounted pressure to cancel the deal, and in the end, Taiwan did not send the 60,000 barrels of toxic waste to North Korea.

Since then, North Korea has become more aggressive in its offerings.

Solicitations from the hermit country have been found on a Chinese-language website called “I DPRK” that promotes investment in North Korea. In the words of one of these ads North Korea seeks plastic and electronic waste that “can be processed in the port but which other countries and territories are restricted from dealing in.”

The website further stated “there are no limits, any business taking advantage of [North] Korea’s low labour costs for intensive processing is welcome.”

Just how much e-waste has been sent from China to North Korea is not known. The photo above shows North Korean workers unloading e-waste on the docks of Sinuiju, which lies across from the Chinese border town Dandong. Apart from the trade of waste, China is North Korea’s largest trading partner.

In 2008, bilateral trade reached $2.79 billion, though a big imbalance favoring North Korea exists. North Korea’s pronounced dependence on China is illustrated by data revealing much of the country’s food and nearly 90 percent of its energy supplies come from China. This imbalance is seen by some to be giving China added economic leverage with North Korea.

As China’s economy and personal wealth continue to grow, while North Korea remains economically stagnant, it is not difficult to imagine the streams of electronic waste coming from China widening further and wreaking more havoc on the land and people, ill-equipped to properly handle toxic substances, that come into contact with it.

Interesting concept this is, ecotourism.  It seems to be taken for granted by many who consider themselves part of the newly revitalized Green Revolution in regards to the luxury, all inclusive cruise ship.  Two things you must know about me before I explain are that I’ve never been on a cruise and nor do I plan to.  I’ve been blessed with a guilty conscience (or burdened… however you want to look at it).  Anyway, as a person who strives to at least be environmentally aware,  I was shocked to discover the treatment of third world and Caribbean ports by the Cruise Industry.  Bilge water and waste being dumped into the pristine waters of these island nations.  I never thought about it before but it has to go somewhere.  I guess the waste can’t wait until they return to there home port.  After all we have our own environmental standards to uphold.

In addition to the dumping of waste, the masses of tourists venturing onto the island bleeds resources and influences the counter to smart and sustainable growth known as urban sprawl with development to appeal to tourists.  On an island such as Dominica this does more harm than good for the long-term sustainability of the nation.

Environmental issues aside there are money distribution problems.  Once docked passengers usually have an option to either stay with the ship or venture onto the island to experience the island culture.  Little money is actually spent by cruise tourists.  Three reasons for this are  1)  name-brand and luxury shopping is absent or unappealing to visitors 2)   half of the visitors never leave the ship 3)  those who leave the ship return before lunch without having spent any money.  This combined with the cruise industry’s bullying Caribbean islands into competing for their business with little or no part of the profits inherently should infuriate the environmentalist.

I tell myself I will never take a cruise because of my guilty conscience; my own way of being a rebel.  But could I turn down a free cruise… now that’s a tough one.  Am I a hypocrite for driving my car to work?  After all, that harms mother earth too.  I guess it comes down to identifying want from necessity and the weight of the burden it puts on your mind.

Update: Not all cruise ships are the same.  Check out this green buzz article on ratings for environmentally friendly vessels.

12 day delay on bulky items collection

but illegal dumps removed within 48 hours

As soon as they came to power, the Lib Dem and Tory coalition, which governs Brent scrapped Labour’s free bulky refuse collection service in favour of a £25.00 charge. Since then dumping has reached epidemic proportions as local residents dump items rather than pay the £25.00 charge.

Local residents long ago christened the charge ‘the Dumpers’ Charter’ and the experience of Willesden Green Labour Councillor Lesley Jones, proves that it really is a ‘dumpers charter’ as dumped items are moved more quickly than items paid for by responsible local residents.

Councillor Jones booked a bulky item collection (for a mattress) online on 27 November and paid for the mattress to be cleared but she has been told that she will have to wait until 8 December before the Council comes to collect the mattress – a delay of TWELVE days. Councillor Jones has since received confirmation from the Council that illegal dumps are cleared within 48 hours. In other words, irresponsible residents who dump rubbish illegally to avoid the £25.00 charge have their bulky items removed within 48 hours whilst responsible residents who pay the charge can expect to wait for up to TWELVE days.

Councillor Jones said:

“The £25.00 charge really is a ‘Dumpers Charter’ as it encourages people to dump rubbish to avoid the charges then rewards them by collecting their items more quickly than those which are being disposed of legally. It doesn’t make any sense at all and thank goodness the Labour Party is pledged to abolish the charge as soon as we return to power”.

Read more from Lesley on the issue on her site: LINK

Councillor James Powney seems to be having similar problems of rubbish left dumped in Kensal Green Ward

LINK 1

LINK 2

This time it’s Ashcombe Park in Neasden. These problems are being experienced all across Brent and have been since the Lib Dems introduced a £25 to take bulky items from residents. Labour have pledged to scrap this charge should we regain control of the Council in May 2010.

There was also a mini fridge left by a tree on this road recently.

The state of out alleyways are also horrific. See what I found in the alleyway between Chartley Avenue and Ashcombe Park below.

Where are our Lib Dem Councillors to deal with these issues?

At the October Council meeting, Labour Councillor Jim Moher (Fryent ward) asked the following question:

What are the monthly rates for special collections since April 2006, and what reasons can the Administration give for the sudden decline in such collections in July/August 2007?

Councillor Moher has received a reply from the Lead Member for Environment, Planning and Culture, Cllr Irwin Van Colle, which confirms the decline and baldy states that the reason for the decline is the introduction of the charge for special collections. If you would like to see the full figures, email me on krupesh@bclabour.org.uk

Labour’s spokesperson for Environment, Planning & Culture, Councillor James Powney, welcomed Cllr Van Colle’s honesty, which is in sharp contrast to the Lib Dem refusal to admit that the £25.00 charge for bulky refuse – the ‘Dumpers Charter’ -  has caused an epidemic in dumping.

Councillor Powney said:

“I am grateful to Cllr Van Colle for admitting that the number of special collections has fallen as a result of the introduction of the ‘Dumpers’ Charter’. That is what I have been saying all along. Now perhaps he will change the policy he admits has failed”.

From the Telegraph:

1.  Smoot-Hawley

The most famous act of protectionism took place in the 1930s when the US government, facing the early forces of depression, legislated to impose tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods – some significantly. The act triggered a spiral of retaliatory protectionism across the world, and in the view of some economists, fuelled both the Great Depression and the geopolitical tension that led to the Second World War.

2. Common Agricultural Policy

Under the CAP – a European scheme, although similar programmes are in place in the US and throughout the developed world – domestic farmers are given subsidies for producing (or in some cases not producing) food. Without such subsidies many domestic agricultural businesses would collapse, since they cannot compete with the cheap prices charged by overseas exporters for everything from vegetables to livestock to cotton.

3. Shoe wars, bra wars

Recently, in his former role as European Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson accused China of illegally dumping vast numbers of shoes – and later bras – on the European markets. “Dumping” is the name given when a country exports a product at a price even lower than that paid in its domestic market. Under the WTO code, it can act against such moves under so-called “anti-dumping” rules.

4. Chinese tyres

China and the US are currently locked in a trade battle over the trade in car tyres. In September, the US Congress accused China of illegally swamping the US market with cheap tyres and imposed tariffs on those imported from the Asian giant. China in turn accused the US of protectionism, arguing that exports to America had actually dropped last year. But with thousands of American jobs on the line, the case is still the focus of heated debate.

5. India vs China

The WTO is not merely a mechanism for the West to fight its own corner against cheaper emerging market exporters. Emerging and developing nations also use it as a forum to tackle their own independent trade battles. Recently, China and India have been locked in debate over trade, with India accusing China of expanding overly aggressively into its silk and satin markets. India argues that Chinese prices are so cheap that its key domestic industry is simply unable to compete.

There had been a dissonance in the notes of his affection for some time. Like an old shoe, I had become a comfortable fit, worn thin to the point of no appeal. But through rose colored lenses, I held on to that part of him that needed me, that needed someone, anyone, that would do things for him, make him sandwiches, sew his buttons. He no longer asked me what I was thinking, and when I asked him, he said, “Can’t I keep some of my thoughts to myself?” He wouldn’t leave my apartment for days. I didn’t know how to adjust for my lack of productivity, for the stagnation that he had brought into my life. I thought that we would soon find a way to compromise our time together, but this was never discussed. He spent most of his time drinking, and I grew weary of the monster he became. I dreaded and feared that side of him. He would kiss me and bite my lips till they bled, tell me he loved me, tell me he never wanted to see me again. And when I told him his drinking had become a problem, he couldn’t see why I wouldn’t just leave him.

“Because I’m invested in you, in us. I can’t just abandon you because you have a problem.” But I should have. He was bad for me.

And when we sat in that coffee shop and he said the only thing he liked about me was that I cared about him,  I tried to imagine every woman that he had ever loved. What inherent qualities did they have that I was missing? How easy it was to lose myself in him, to be so consumed with someone that I didn’t have time for me anymore. He sat there feeling guilty looking serious and I tried to imagine what he looked like when we met–ardently smitten showing off his dimples.   And I wondered if he threw away the four-leaf clover he found on our first date? And would he delete all the pictures of me on his camera? Would he call someone else his Miss Havisham?

But after ten days of sifting through the pieces, I don’t even care.

Ladyhawke – Love Don’t Live Here

Last Friday, one of our roommates finally came home to take her menace of a cat to the animal shelter. It was an ugly tuxedo cat with an asymmetrical face, golden, beady, demon eyes, and a disposition to pee on everything, pick fights with our other two cats, and make stinky farts. And while our M.I.A. roommate ignored her pet-owner responsibilities, I fed and cleaned up after him. And when the cat ran away, I was elated. And the roommates and I decided if it did come back, we were giving it away. But who would want a cat like that?

I’ll tell you who, my ex. A few months ago he had offered to buy the little shit for $300. And when the time came to find him a new home, I told him.

“Turlough ran away, but if he comes back, would you want him?”

“I’d love to him. I just have to check with my roommate.”

The cat came back the nite before I got dumped, and its habits were worst than ever. We asked our friends, but no one wanted him. Its future in the animal shelter was bleak: it wasn’t cute; it was a tyrant; and it was no longer a kitten. So we placed the cat in a carrier box with a small container of food and waited outside of my ex’s apartment gate. The little shit had shit in its box in the course of the 30 minutes it took to drive there. My car smelled. The cat carrier smelled. And we were waiting and waiting to be let in. And who should come to the gate but Jeremy, his roommate. I turned away, dreading the confrontation, but he was impeccably civil and cordial.

“Hey, how’s it going? Is this the cat?”

“Um, yeah… Is Pip home?”

“Yeah, he’s upstairs. Are you coming in?”

And just like that he let us into the building. I couldn’t believe it. He must have not heard about the cat shit on his front door. And so my bestfriend held the elevator while I deposited the cat in front of his front door. And just like that, we were free. We ran giggling like school girls all the way to my car.

And while I can’t say the cat was covered in shit, because I didn’t dare open the stinky box, I assumed he probably needed a bath, a makeshift litter box, and more food. Their house plants have probably been destroyed by now. And the thought of my ex reckoning with the daily responsibilities of caring for a little bitch with a penchant for urinary territory markings really does put a smile on my face.  Those two bastards deserve each other.

I do, however, feel sorry for his roommate.

This time it’s Dewsbury Road, but all over Dudden Hill it’s the same problem of Lib Dem neglect.

I met a few angry residents who are furious that this Lib Dem / Tory Council are taking so much in tax and giving nothing back. Many pointed out that surrounding roads seem to be maintained well but Dewsbury Road is left neglected.

On the corner of the road itself by the road sign were two dumped black bags. Opposite was a dreadful heap of tree waste by which it would be impossible to get a pushchair, wheelchair or pavement vehicle past.

Not a single person I spoke to today had ever heard from their Lib Dem Councillors and hadn’t a clue who they were. How can any individual make decision that affect an area that they probably have only visited during election time?

Where are these Lib Dem Councillors?

I will be writing to the Council on behalf of residents on the issue of street cleaning on Dewsbury Road.

OLG Düsseldorf: Kein Kartellverstoß der Drogerie Rossmann GmbH – Freispruch

Der 2. Kartellsenat des Oberlandesgerichts Düsseldorf hat heute die Firma Rossmann GmbH, Burgwedel, und deren Inhaber Dirk Rossmann vom Vorwurf unbilliger Behinderung anderer Unternehmen (Verkauf von Waren unter Einstandspreis) freigesprochen.

Das Bundeskartellamt hatte dem Unternehmen und dem Inhaber vorgeworfen, im Jahr 2005 in 267 Fällen 55 Drogerieartikel unter Einstandspreis angeboten zu haben. Dies stellte nach Auffassung des Bundeskartellamts einen Verstoß gegen das Verbot unbilliger Behinderung dar (§ 20 Absatz 4 des Gesetzes gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen). Nach dieser Vorschrift dürfen Unternehmen ihre Marktmacht nicht dazu ausnutzen, kleine und mittlere Wettbewerber unbillig behindern. Das Bundeskartellamt hatte für die Berechnung der Einkaufspreise die Werbekostenzuschüsse als allgemeinen Rabatt angesehen, der auf alle Produkte eines Herstellers zu verteilen war. Diese Berechnung führte dazu, dass in bestimmten Fällen Waren unter Einkaufspreis angeboten worden wären. Das Bundeskartellamt hatte zuletzt ein Bußgeld von 5,5 Millionen Euro gegen das Unternehmen und von 300.000 Euro gegen den Inhaber beantragt.

Der 2. Kartellsenat hat das Unternehmen und den Firmeninhaber heute vom Vorwurf unbilliger Behinderung freigesprochen. Das Gericht hat verneint, dass bei der Firma Rossmann GmbH Waren unter Einkaufspreis verkauft worden waren. Nach Überzeugung des Senats sind im konkreten Fall die Warenkostenzuschüsse und damit die Einstandspreise nicht wie vom Bundeskartellamt vorgenommen zu berechnen. Vielmehr ist der Senat nach der Beweisaufnahme davon überzeugt, dass bei der Firma Rossmann Werbekostenzuschüsse in jahrzehntelanger Praxis und in Absprache mit den Lieferanten nicht auf das Gesamtsortiment, sondern auf die konkret beworbenen Waren angerechnet worden waren. Bei dieser Berechnung ergaben sich dann Verkaufspreise, die über den Einstandspreisen lagen. Der Senat hatte daher das Unternehmen und den Betroffenen vom Vorwurf unbilliger Behinderung freigesprochen.

Gegen die Entscheidung kann die Staatsanwaltschaft Rechtsbeschwerde zum Bundesgerichtshof einlegen.

(Urteil vom 12.11.2009, Aktenzeichen VI-2 Kart 9/08 Owi)

Reports indicate that abortionist Alberto Hodari in Flint, Michigan has his abortion clinic up for sale.

Flint Right to Life president Judy Climer told LifeSiteNews.com that she spotted the sign advertising the Feminine Health Care Clinic building at 2032 S. Saginaw St. for rent when she arrived to pray at the site today. Climer says she had earlier noticed strange behavior by Hodari.

Genessee County files show the property owned by Alberto Hodari at the Saginaw St. address has real estate taxes owed.

Climer says she believes Hodari’s abortion clinic in Southgate is also up for sale.

In June, Caitlin Bruce, a former client of Hodari, filed a lawsuit against him and an assistant whom she claims forced her to have an abortion in April 2008. The lawsuit filed in the Gennessee County District Court claims Hodari “had his assistant … restrain Caitlin Bruce and cover her mouth” and began the abortion procedure “despite Caitlin Bruce’s objecting and screaming, ‘Stop, stop, I don’t want this,’ and despite her desire not to undergo the procedure.”

The lawsuit charges Hodari with medical malpractice, battery, and fraud, among other things.

Tom Pabst, Caitlin’s attorney, told LifeSiteNews.com that Bruce had changed her mind after initially agreeing to have an abortion. “If you change your mind, that’s it, you walk out,” said Pabst. “But he went ahead and did it anyhow, according to Caitlin Bruce.”

Bruce’s story aligns with testimonies from other women who have described similar horror stories of coerced abortions at Hodari’s hands. A report by Operation Rescue shows Hodari has a record of 49 documented lawsuits over a span of decades.

Hodari’s practice has also been implicated in the deaths of at least four women from abortion-related complications. In June, the Disciplinary Subcommittee of Michigan’s Board of Medicine fined Hodari $10,000 for negligence in connection with the botched abortion death of Regina Johnson.

Numerous complaints have been filed against the abortionist for improper disposal of human remains and abortion records found in Hodari’s dumpster. Hodari received a sentence of six months’ probation on one such count in February.

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09111109.html

In 2007, Students for Life taped this speech by Dr. Alberto Hodari at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI on November 9, 2007
The speech was to the local Medical Students for Choice group entitled, “Why I Am An Abortion Provider” to motivate the pro-abortion medical students.

Hodari says, “I have great satisfaction of what I do, and I never feel bad or worried about doing abortions.“

Hodari also spoke about how little he washed between abortions because it chafed his hands, even though his doing so puts women’s health at risk.

Most upsetting to SFLA director Kristan Hawkins is Hodari’s claim that being an abortion practitioner gives him “license to lie” to women who seek him out for abortions.

“To hear Hodari speak, one wonders if Michigan is the third world,” Hawkins says in a statement she provided LifeNews.com. “Planned Parenthood complains about ‘back-alley’ abortions, even though Hodari is running a business where he’s barely washing his hands between abortions.“

Hodari was responsible for the abortion death of 15 year-old African-American teenager Tamia Russel.

Taisha Glenn, the sister of Russell’s 24-year-old boyfriend, Stacy Glenn, had taken Russell to the abortion facility on January 7, 2004 without permission or notifying Russell’s mother or guardian.

Glenn and Russell went to five other abortion facilities before coming to WomanCare, Hodari’s abortion center.

Tamiia used an identification card with another woman’s picture to state she was 19, as abortions cannot be performed on minors in Michigan without parental consent.

The woman in the picture ID looked nothing like Russell — but the abortion was done anyway.

The facility vaginally inserted laminaria, a seaweed used to begin dilation. Russell was sent home, where she confessed to her family that she was pregnant and had begun the abortion procedure.

When her mother and aunt called WomanCare, they said the abortion could not be stopped once the laminaria is inserted.

Russell’s mother drove her daughter to the abortion facility the next day to finish the abortion, which was performed by Alberto Hodari. Upon her return home, she experienced severe bleeding — “so much so she soaked an entire mattress,” her family told LifeNews.com.

WomanCare told her family that such bleeding was “normal” following an abortion, and not to take her to the hospital.

Concerned for Russell, the family called paramedics who rushed her to Sinai-Grace Hospital. Russell died on the way to the Hospital.

Hodari has also come under fire for misusing the drug Digoxin in abortions.

In 2008, Hodari was also investigated for illegally dumping aborted fetuses. According to <a href="“>Citizens for a Pro-Life Society:

On August 12, 2008 the Oakland County prosecutor issued a 12 count warrant against the Woman Care abortion clinic at 28505 Southfield Road in Lathrup Village for violating the Michigan State Statutes that regulate the disposal of medical records. The Woman Care abortion clinics are owned and operated by Alberto Hodari. The warrant was sworn on August 15th and Hodari and the Woman Care clinic will be arraigned on the charges September 3, 2008 at the 46th District Court in Southfield .

Nearly 200 patient records were discovered by members of Citizens for a Pro-life Society and other pro-lifers in February and March 2008 when they conducted an investigation of the trash dumpster behind Hodari’s Lathrup Village abortion clinic. On March 6th Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-life Society, turned over all of the patient records retrieved from the trash to Serg. Vincent Lynch of the Lathrup Village Police Department.

Miller and other pro-lifers monitored the trash dumpster every weekend from Feb. 7 through March 2nd. In addition to numerous patient records which disclosed detailed personal information of patients at the Woman Care clinic—pro-lifers also discovered bio-hazard waste and the remains of aborted babies.

The bio-hazard waste included bloody suction gauze tubing used in abortions, blood drenched surgical paper, dozens of glass medicine vials, used syringes, IV bags with tubing and sharps, numerous condoms and condom wrappers probably used for ultra-sounds, bloody surgical gloves, and dozens of bloody suction canulas. (See You Tube video “Hodari Dumpster Scandal” )

Also READ: Clinics For Sale: Abortionist Alberto Hodari Liquidates Assets

and

Hodari Files for Divorce, Puts Another Clinic Up for Sale

“i think we should go our seprate ways not that your not great and all
i just need to be alone for a while i hope you understand. please don’t stop by my house.”

no, i don’t understand. i invested my heart and time into you, so completely. i cooked for you and sewed for you. i chased after you when you were drunk and mean. and even after all the pity arguments, i thought you were worth it. and you made me happy. and i felt lucky to have you. if you ignored me, i gave you space. if you needed space, i would have given it to you.

there was one nite when we first started seeing each other when you asked, ‘you really care about me don’t you?’ and i didn’t know what to say; i didn’t want to be that vulnerable. so i said, ‘why do you ask?’ and you said, ‘hope.’ so i wonder how is it that someone so inherently eloquent can use such stumbled over trite exit lines as ‘just need to be alone.’ ….

i was making you a quilt for christmas with a picture of mordecai on it. how foolish of me to give so much to a man that doesn’t even think i’m worth a real goodbye.

I’m heartbroken.

Excuse me if I’m being harsh. Disney invests in saving forests? Give me a break. To me this seems quite ironic. The Walt Disney Co. has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and cleared thousands of acres of land just for its universal theme parks. To invest a mere 4 million dollars (in the light of Disney’s massive income) in restoring nature is a joke action. It is more symbolic than effective. I mean Disney makes billions of dollars every year, only to invest less than 0.1% of its income in a major problem that is only exacerbated by its own being. Please feel free to disagree, but I believe that the carbon dioxide problem would be ameliorated if Disney found ways to limit its own harm to forests. And to potentially make things worse, Disney has recently been accused of dumping wastes at Burbank Studios. Because this trial is still new, these claims have yet to be substantiated. But despite this recent accusation, the simple operation of the theme parks and whatnot has released enough harmful products into nature. Is Disney just trying to cover up with this investment? Is Disney just trying to capture some unaware people into thinking that it is here to help nature, not to hurt it?

My disbelief of the intentions of Disney’s forestation efforts was present before I read the article comments. When I finally scrolled down, I realized some people agreed with my opinions. One post said, “Another great example of corporate ‘Greenwashing’.” Some others disagreed with my views. I’m not saying that Disney’s actions won’t benefit nature. Any amount of money donated to conservation efforts will prove useful. I simply find it hypocritical that Disney is assuming a responsible public image when it actually is hurting nature in many clandestine ways.

A friend of mine, Liz, got divorced around three years ago after an almost 20 year marriage. She started dating again after a decent interval and has been seeing a man we’ll call Rick, for about 8 months.

The other day she broke up with Rick because a couple of weeks ago they ran into Rick’s ex-wife and Liz couldn’t get past the fact that the ex-wife was very, very not good-looking. Liz feels a little stupid about this as a reason for breaking up with someone with whom she’d been having a good relationship.

I pointed out that Jerry Seinfeld broke up with tons of women for much stupider reasons:

•  One had “man” hands
• One ate her peas one at a time
• One wore the same dress on every date
• One was exactly like Jerry and he couldn’t handle it
• And then there was the one who had once dated Newman. The similarities are obvious.

Did my pointing this out make Liz feel any better? I doubt it. She really misses Rick, but is repelled by the idea that he was once ‘with” this Newmanesque wife – and for a long, long time.

Anyway, we ended up trying to think of other reasons we might dump somebody that wouldn’t ordinarily be considered deal-breakers. We eliminated stuff like criminal activity and the top five reasons people usually break up:

• One person finds someone else/is unfaithful
• The relationship becomes toxic because of substance abuse or physical abuse
• They just get bored of each other/fall out of love
• They want different things from life and no longer have a future together
• There is a breach of trust that cannot be mended because of lies/secrets, etc.

I once broke up with someone I’d been seeing a short while because he told a completely inappropriate joke at a party – not once, but several times even after I and other friends told him the joke wasn’t the least bit funny and was, in fact, highly offensive. He didn’t get what we were getting all upset about, even when we talked about it the next day.

I’d break up with someone if they started smoking or doing something else that was stupid and reckless like driving drunk.

Speaking of eating peas one at a time, XUP Jr.’s boyfriend eats his meal one item at a time. First he takes a piece of whatever the protein part of the meal is. Puts it on his plate and slowly eats it. When it’s all gone, he takes (for instance) one piece of potato. Puts it on his plate and slowly eats it. Only when it’s all gone, does he take a spoonful of carrots and puts them on his plate and slowly eats them.

Anyway, Liz dumped a guy on their first date because he was almost half an hour late to meet her and had no excuse except “time got a way from him”. And he only said that after she pointed out that he was late. She left the restaurant before they’d even ordered.

What might be a deal-breaker for you that doesn’t fall under one of the usual five categories? Or, what’s the most Seinfeldy reason you’ve ever dumped someone or had someone dump you?

I’ve just come back from talking to residents on Yewfield Road where crime was an issue that featured prominantly on residents’ minds. Also apparant were the issue of dumping and fly-tipping which was visible on the road today with a mattress that had been left there on the pavement for days.

What is even more alarming is that a Liberal Democrat Councillor lives on this road!

Problems of fly-tipping have been horrific in Brent since the Lib Dems introduced the bulky items charge of £25. The Brent Labour Group have already pledged to remove this charge if we regain control of the Council next year.

YANG

Has this ever happened to you? You log on to Facebook or My Space to see that your Friends list has suddenly decreased. Since FB doesn’t tell you who has un-friended you (or tell others when you un-friend them), it can take some guess work to figure out who dumped you and more to the point, why. A boyfriend? An ex-love? A long time girlfriend? Even a family member?

Well much to my amazement this morning, I found out that a long-time friend of mine (we were once best friends back in the college days) decided to un-friend me without even a so much as a “I’m upset with you because of A, B, C.” No, instead this woman chose to take the silent & in my opinion, cowardly, route and simply un-friend me. What hurts the most is that she’s obviously upset with me about something but doesn’t care enough about me or the friendship to come to the table with what’s bothering her. Rather, she cuts ties with me via the Internet. I’m dumbfounded. (I’m not alone either–see this article: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/06/04/tf.friendship.breakup/index.html)

This whole sad story of mine got me thinking though. What kind of lessons and values are we teaching children today when we act like this? My daughters is far too young for life lessons on friendship (she’s a toddler), but future Yang Mommy wonders what the world will be like when her daughter is a tween and if dumping friends on-line without even discussing any issues at hand will be considered OK. I surely hope not. Because to me, it’s like putting a child in time-out without telling them why, and then not giving them a chance to correct themself. Perhaps I did something that was a “fatal friend error” but how will I ever know if I’m not told what I did wrong?

What I’ll do now is up in the air. I guess it all depends on how much this friend means (or meant) to me, and if I want to continue a relationship with someone who values our friendship in this manner. I do know that I’ll have a story to tell my girl when she’s older and going through her own trials and tribulations of friendship. My choices today may not be what she will choose to follow tomorrow, but hopefully she will learn something from my tale–that you shouldn’t just cut links with a friend without at least telling them why.

The shares of 179 companies and four mutual funds on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange edged back down Thursday after one day of gains as investors responded to the bearish trend.

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-index tumbled 3.06 percent or 18.37 points, the steepest decline this month to close at 581.49. Trading volume also dropped to around 86.8 million shares, worth VND4.24 trillion (US$237.7 million).

Among the index members, 157 fell, 16 gained and 10 remained unchanged.

Declines in the southern market were led by the Hanoi-based Petrolimex Gas Joint Stock Co. (PGC), Savimex Economic Cooperation and Export-Import Joint Stock Co. (SAV) in HCM City, and Taya Electric Wire and Cable Joint Stock Co. or Taya Vietnam (TYA) in Dong Nai Province neighboring the city.

Saigon Commercial Bank or Sacombank (STB) returned to the spot of most active shares with nearly 6.8 million shares traded on the city bourse, followed by Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), Vietnam’s largest listed brokerage, with more than 4.4 million shares changing hands. The city-based Vietnam Export Import Bank or Eximbank (EIB) remained active for the third listing day with nearly 4 million shares traded.

The northern market was also in the red as the HNX-Index dropped below 200 to 196.14, down 7.37 points or 3.62 percent over Wednesday. More than 42 million shares were traded at VND1.7 trillion.

Meanwhile UPCoM-Index gained 0.54 points or 0.75 percent to 72.73. A total of VND28.58 million was spent trading 1,800 shares.

On the global market, major market indexes in the US fell by the largest amount in about a month after an announcement that new home sales dropped for the first time in five months.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 119 points, or 1.2 percent, its third straight triple-digit drop while the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.7 percent.

Japanese stocks fell, also dragging the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to its biggest fall in four weeks as corporate losses and falling commodity prices raised concern the global recovery is faltering.

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Before you go “oh my GOD – he’s not talking about THAT is he?!” I have to say no. This is not about the art of shitting, perhaps on one’s chest; it is much cleaner than that. MUCH cleaner. I’ve had a couple of people raising the question on a let down technique which has become very popular – “I’m just not ready for a relationship right now”.

Now – before you think “what’s wrong with THAT?” and rush to the comment section, let me stop you. It seems this excuse to not see someone again is being used inappropriately – after one date. Yeah – that’s right. ONE date.

One of my friends has had this happen to her SEVERAL times over the past few months. “What about me immediately says, ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you, lets get started on our 2.5 kids’?!” The thing was, these first dates seemed to be going really well – there was laughing, endless chat, and a possibility to see each other again. “Then the next day, and sometimes as SOON AS I GET HOME, I get that text!” And apparently starting with ‘I think you’re an amazing girl’ doesn’t make it sound any better.

The thing is though, if my friend hadn’t got the SAME message from multiple guys, she probably wouldn’t be thinking about it. Let’s hope she doesn’t start every coming date with “… I DON’T WANT TO MARRY YOU!”

The same thing has happened to another friend. Lucky it was only the first time it had happened to him, but he was still left MEGA confused “I never gave the impression I wanted a relationship! I just wanted a fuck!”

I can’t say I have ever used this excuse. Usually it’s “I’ll catch you round” or “Good luck with your marathon next month!” Mind you, anything is better than ignoring someone till they go away. Until next week, boys, grow some fucking balls.

The Flying Finn is back with his camera skills and back country secret spots. Check em out and give a shout!! Want to go on the next shoot??