text: THIRD SECTION      CASE OF ALBU AND OTHERS v. ROMANIA (Applications nos. 34796/09 and 63 other cases) (see Appendix for other applications)   JUDGMENT   STRASBOURG  10 May 2012 FINAL 10/08/2012 This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.In the case of Albu and Others v. Romania,The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of: Josep Casadevall, President, Egbert Myjer, Ján Šikuta, Ineta Ziemele, Nona Tsotsoria, Mihai Poalelungi, Kristina Pardalos, judges,and Santiago Quesada, Section Registrar,Having deliberated in private on 10 April 2012,Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:PROCEDURE1.  The case originated in sixty-four applications against Romania (see the appended list) lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ("the Convention") by sixty-four Romanian nationals ("the applicants") on 10 June 2009. Details of the names and application numbers are set out in the appended table.2.  The applicants were represented by Mr I. Banicioiu, a lawyer practising in Timişoara. The Romanian Government ("the Government") were represented by their Agent, Ms I. Cambrea, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.3.  The applicants alleged a breach of their rights under Articles 6 and 14 of the Convention on account of the extended divergence of case-law on the issue of granting specific allowances to public servants.4.  On 22 February 2011 notice of the applications was given to the Government. It was also decided to join the applications and to rule on their admissibility and merits at the same time (Article 29 § 1).5.  As Mr Corneliu Bîrsan, the judge elected in respect of Romania, had withdrawn from the case (Rule 28 of the Rules of Court), the President of the Chamber appointed Mr Mihai Poalelungi to sit as ad hoc judge (Article 26 § 4 of the Convention and Rule 29 § 1 of the Rules of Court).THE FACTSI.  THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASES6.  The applicants are Romanian nationals. They are all civil servants employed by the Caraş Severin District Employment Agency.7.  On 5 May 2008 the applicants filed a petition with their employer, the Caraş Severin District Employment Agency, a State agency, asking to have their entitlement to certain wage-related rights acknowledged. More specifically, relying on section 31(1) (c) and (d) of Law no. 188/1999 on the status of civil servants, they asked for two allowances to be added to their basic salary, namely a grade supplement and a supplement related to their salary step. The applicants quantified each of these supplements at 25% of the basic salary.The aforesaid allowances were to be paid retroactively, starting from April 2004, but also in the future, until the applicants' contracts ended.At the same time, the applicants requested that these entitlements be noted in their employment record books.On 19 May 2008 their employer dismissed the petition as ill-founded.8.  On 30 May 2008 the applicants contested that decision before the Caraş Severin County Court. They contended that even though, in accordance with Government Emergency Ordinance no. 92/2004, the application of the provisions granting them the rights in question had been suspended until 31 December 2006, this did not mean that they were not due for payment starting from 1 January 2007, when the suspension had ended, as the suspension of a right was not equivalent to the extinction of that right.In any event, they considered that the suspension was in breach of Articles 41 and 53 of the Constitution, and that the allowances claimed were therefore to be paid retroactively, from 2004 onwards.9.  On 10 September 2008 the County Court dismissed the applicants' claim. The court acknowledged that, according to the provisions of the Labour Code applicable to the case, the employer was obliged to pay its employees all the allowances derived from the law and from the employment contract. Therefore, the applicants, civil servants, were entitled to receive, in addition to their other salary entitlements, the two supplements in question – the grade allowance and the allowance corresponding to the salary step – as provided for by section 31(1) (c) and (d).The two supplements were first provided for by section 29 of Law no. 161/2003 of 16 April 2003, but without any indication as to the exact amount. In fact, none of the subsequent legal texts on civil servants' salary rights made any reference to a method or criterion for determining the amount of any of the supplements.Hence, even though Law no. 188/1999 expressly stated that a civil servant's salary was also composed of the grade supplement and the salary-step supplement, the determination of these rights was left to the executive, which was entitled to set out rules for the application of the law. Consequently, the court held as follows:"In the absence of a legal act issued or adopted by the executive in which the amount of the two allowances claimed is defined, the court does not have jurisdiction to determine by itself the amounts, as this would undermine the separation of powers principle by encroaching on the powers of the administrative authorities.The court therefore holds that in the above-mentioned circumstances, the respondent cannot be ordered to pay the allowances claimed before their amount has been determined."10.  The applicants appealed against that judgment to the Timişoara Court of Appeal, reiterating the arguments they had submitted before the first-instance court. In addition, they stated that under Article 38 of the Labour Code the acquired rights of employees could not be made subject to any limitations. Furthermore, they contended that it was a basic legal principle that laws were made in order to produce effects, it being inconceivable that a legal text would have only a superficial value and not be applicable. They asserted that their right to the allowances they had requested was protected by Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, in so far as it was a right provided for by law.The applicants alleged that the interpretation of the applicable legal provisions given by the court in refusing to allow their claims rendered those texts completely ineffective and thus devoid of any substance.Moreover, such an interpretation was discriminatory and in breach of Article 14 of the Convention, in so far as there was consistent national case-law granting other claimants (also civil servants) the right to the supplements in question. The discrimination was even more disturbing given that another person, S.S.M., employed by the same institution as them, had obtained the allowances following a decision of 21 March 2008 given by the same first-instance court, the Caraş Severin County Court. That decision had been upheld by the Timişoara Court of Appeal on 2 October 2008, when it became final.11.  On 21 January 2009 the Timişoara Court of Appeal dismissed the applicants' appeal.The court noted that there was no legal justification for claiming the allowances in an amount of 25% of the basic salary, and consequently for allowing such a claim, as the figure in question was not laid down anywhere in the law.In that connection, in order to be able to determine the exact amount of the allowances in question, additional legislation was needed, either in the form of legal provisions adopted by the legislature designed to regulate the application of section 31, or in the form of instructions issued by the Government in a separate legal text designed to explain how the law should be applied.The Court of Appeal also referred to the Constitutional Court's case-law to the effect that:"The courts do not have jurisdiction to repeal or to refuse to apply specific normative acts which they consider to be discriminatory, and thus to replace them with norms created by judicial intervention or with provisions contained in other normative acts."Therefore, the court considered that it could not allow the applicants' claims, in so far as those claims had not been determined by the competent authorities.Regarding the divergent case-law referred to by the applicants in their arguments, the court held that in the Romanian legal system, legal precedents were not a source of law and therefore could not be taken into consideration.On the applicability of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, the court mentioned that the applicants had not proved the existence of a "possession", or at least of a "legitimate expectation", since the case-law on the matter was not well-established.Furthermore, the court held that the Labour Code was not applicable to civil servants, as they were appointed to their posts on the basis of Law no. 188/1999. The appointments were thus made by means of individual administrative acts which did not make any reference to the allowances in question and, in any event, had not been contested by any of the applicants at the time of their appointment.In conclusion, the applicants' claims were dismissed as unfounded.II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW AND PRACTICE1.  The Public Servants' Statute12.  The Public Servants' Statute entered into force on 7 January 2000, once Law no. 188/1999 had been enacted. On 1 January 2004 section 29 of the Statute was amended to provide that, starting from that date, certain allowances were to be included in the salaries of public servants.Section 29"1. For discharging their activities public servants shall have the right to a salary composed of the following:(a) the basic salary(b) seniority allowance(c) grade allowance(d) step allowance2. Public servants shall be granted bonuses and other salary entitlements, in accordance with the law.3. The remuneration of public servants shall take place in accordance with [the criteria] set forth in the law on the implementation of a uniform remuneration scheme for public servants."On 19 July 2006, point (d) was amended to read "allowance corresponding to the salary step". With effect from 1 June 2007, section 29 became section 31, while no amendments were made to the content.The application of these provisions was suspended from 2004 until 2006, first by Law no. 164/2004 of 15 May 2004, then by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 92/2004, enacted as Law no. 76/2005, and then by Government Ordinance no. 2/2006, enacted as Law no. 417/2006.With effect from 1 January 2010 the two allowances, namely the grade supplement and the allowance corresponding to the salary step, were abolished by Law no. 330/2009.2.  Case-law on similar claims13.  The applicants submitted two other judgments given by the Court of Appeal of Timişoara, in which the claimants' requests had been granted. In one of the judgments, given on 23 January 2008 by the same panel as the one which sat in the applicants' case, it was stated, inter alia, as follows:"It is irrelevant that the legal text did not lay down the exact amount of the salary entitlements in question, as this cannot constitute a well-founded reason for dismissing the claims; such an interpretation would render ineffective the legal provisions concerned, which are part of the positive law, and this would be inconceivable."In another judgment submitted by the applicants, the Suceava Court of Appeal held on 5 June 2008 in a similar case that the claimants, employees of the Suceava District Employment Agency, were entitled to the allowances in question, as the corresponding rights were provided for by the law, it being irrelevant whether their amount was determined or not.14.  The Government contended that, of the fifteen courts of appeal across the country, a number had dismissed similar claims relating to salary entitlements even before 21 September 2009, when the High Court of Cassation and Justice had ruled on an appeal in the interests of the law (see paragraph 15 below). These included the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal, the Galaţi Court of Appeal and the Bacău Courts of Appeal, as well as the courts of appeal in Constanţa, Cluj, Ploieşti and Bucharest. The reasons given for dismissing the claims had been identical, resembling those subsequently given in the ruling on the appeal in the interests of the law.3.  The appeal in the interests of the law of 21 September 200915.  On 13 May 2009, noting that since 2008 a divergence of case-law had emerged across the country concerning the granting of certain allowances to public servants, the Prosecutor General applied to the High Court of Cassation and Justice in accordance with the provisions of Article 329 of the Romanian Civil Procedure Code, in order to ensure the uniform interpretation and application of the law.The High Court delivered its judgment on 21 September 2009, confirming the existence of a divergence in the case-law concerning the interpretation of section 31(1) (c) and (d) of Law no. 188/1999, while also setting out guidelines for a uniform interpretation of the text, as follows:"For the uniform interpretation and application of Article 31(1) (c) and (d) of Law no. 188/1999, the High Court holds that, in the absence of a legal determination of their amount, the grade allowance and the allowance relating to the salary step cannot be granted by the judiciary."The High Court further held that the entitlements claimed by the public servants did not constitute a "possession", as, in the absence of criteria for their calculation, they were only "virtual rights".According to Article 329 of the Romanian Civil Code of Procedure, the High Court's interpretation of the provisions in question is binding on all the domestic courts. A decision delivered on an appeal in the interests of the law cannot alter the outcome of cases already decided.Following the adoption of the above-mentioned judgment, the divergent case-law on the issue ceased and the domestic courts followed the High Court's guidelines (see also Zelca and Others v. Romania (dec.), no. 65161/10, §15, 6 September 2011).III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL LAW INSTRUMENTSA.  Report on the Rule of Law by the Venice Commission, 25-26 March 201116.  The report states in its relevant parts that, in order for the principle of legal certainty, essential for maintaining confidence in the judicial system and the rule of law, to be achieved, the State must make the law easily accessible and must also apply the laws it has enacted in a foreseeable and consistent manner. As the existence of conflicting decisions within the highest courts may be contrary to this principle, it is therefore necessary for these courts to establish mechanisms to avoid conflicts and ensure the coherence of their case-law.B.  Preliminary conclusions and observations by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers17.  In her preliminary assessment on the independence of the Romanian judiciary following the visit to Romania in May 2011, the Rapporteur stressed that the practice of the domestic courts had been undermined by the absence of a stable legislative framework, resulting in a lack of uniform interpretation and application of the law. The lack of predictability of judicial decisions and the lack of acceptability of judicial decision-making were structural factors that needed to be addressed.C.  Opinion no.11 (2008) of the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE) for the attention of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the quality of judicial decisions18.  In its relevant parts, the Opinion reads as follows:"...47. While recognising the judges' power to interpret the law, the obligation of the judges to promote legal certainty has also to be remembered. Indeed legal certainty guarantees the predictability of the content and application of the legal rules, thus contributing in ensuring a high quality judicial system.48. Judges will apply the interpretative principles applicable in both national and international law with this aim in mind. ... In civil law countries, they will be guided by case law, especially that of the highest courts, whose task includes ensuring the uniformity of case law.49. Judges should in general apply the law consistently. However when a court decides to depart from previous case law, this should be clearly mentioned in its decision. ...."THE LAWI.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6, TAKEN ALONE AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH ARTICLE 14 OF THE CONVENTION19.  The applicants complained under Articles 6 and 14 of the Convention that the proceedings which culminated in the judgment of 21 January 2009 had been unfair, in so far as the domestic courts had wrongfully dismissed their claims relating to the grade and the salary-step allowances and had not taken into consideration the existence of conflicting rulings on the same subject, in which those allowances had been granted to many of their fellow civil servants across the country. Articles 6 and 14 of the Convention, in so far as relevant, read as follows:Article 6 § 1 "In the determination of his civil rights and obligations ... everyone is entitled to a fair ... hearing ... by [a] ... tribunal ..."Article 14"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in [the] Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status."A.  Admissibility20.  The Court notes that this part of the application is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible.B.  Merits1.  The parties' submissions21.  The Government pointed to the fact that, according to the Court's case-law, where an applicant invoked a breach of Article 6 § 1 regarding legal certainty, three conditions had to be analysed: firstly, whether the divergence in the case-law complained of was profound and long-standing; secondly, whether the national legislation provided an effective remedy in respect of the impugned divergence; and thirdly, whether that remedy was applied, and if so, to what effect (the Government referred to Iordan Iordanov and Others v. Bulgaria, no. 23530/02, § 49, 2 July 2009).22.  The Government further contended that these criteria had not been met in the present applications, for the following reasons.As to the persistence and degree of the impugned divergence, the Government argued that since 2008 the national courts had taken a varying approach to the interpretation of the legal texts concerning the specific allowances to be granted to public servants. Some courts had dismissed such claims from the very beginning, whereas others had allowed them at first and then gradually started to change their own case-law, especially following the meetings with judges organised on 19 November 2008 and 10 April 2009 by the Supreme Council of Magistracy committee on the harmonisation of domestic case-law. In both of those meetings it had been agreed that a divergence existed concerning the interpretation of the legal texts governing specific allowances for civil servants. The members of the committee had agreed that the lodging of an appeal in the interests of the law was necessary in order to put an end to the divergence. Taking as a starting-point the findings made by the committee on 13 May 2009, the Prosecutor General had lodged an appeal in the interests of the law which had been allowed by the High Court of Cassation and Justice on 21 September 2009, thus marking the end of the divergence on the subject.23.  The Government further pointed out that the large number of claimants involved in the impugned proceedings was not necessarily an indicator of the degree of divergence in the case-law. In that regard, the Government acknowledged that the controversial issue of the granting of certain allowances to public servants concerned a great number of people, namely all public servants to whom the impugned provisions of the relevant law applied. However, in spite of the large number of applicants the controversial issue was not liable to escalate, unlike in the case of Tudor Tudor v. Romania (no. 21911/03, 24 March 2009), where the issue of the application of restitution laws in Romania was acknowledged to be a matter which affected the whole of Romanian society.24.  Pointing out that the Court had already held that a mere change in the practice of a domestic court did not imply a breach of the Convention, especially if that practice was not arbitrary, the Government further contended that in the present case the divergent approaches taken at different points in time by various courts could not be interpreted as constituting a profound and long-standing divergence in the case-law.25.  Taking the view that the High Court's task of ensuring the uniformity of the case‑law had been successfully achieved within about one year from the date when the divergence had arisen, the Government contended that the appeal in the interests of the law had proved to be an effective remedy in respect of such divergences (the Government referred to Schwarzkopf and Taussik v. the Czech Republic (dec.), no. 42162/02, 2 December 2008).Moreover, the High Court's interpretation of the applicable legal texts coincided with the approach taken by the courts in the applicants' cases. This was further proof that there had been no breach of Article 6 of the Convention (the Government cited Usnul v. the Czech Republic (dec.), no. 33945/06, 29 March 2011, and Karakaya v. Turkey (dec.), no. 30100/06, 25 January 2011).26.  The Government therefore argued that in the present cases, the applicants' complaints regarding a lack of legal certainty were ill-founded.27.  In response to the Court's question whether divergences of case-law constituted a systemic problem in Romania, the Government denied that this was the case, pointing to the fact that the present cases themselves demonstrated perfectly that the national system for ensuring uniformity of the case-law worked in an efficient manner, regard being had to the fact that an appeal in the interests of the law had been lodged.Furthermore, the Government reiterated that even though the issues complained of in the present cases affected a large number of people, namely the social category of public servants, this was not decisive for the existence of a structural problem.28.  On the contrary, in so far as the Court had found against the Romanian State in a very limited number of cases concerning breaches of legal certainty due to the existence of a divergent case-law (Driha v. Romania, no. 29556/02, 21 February 2008; Beian v. Romania (no. 1), no. 30658/05, ECHR 2007‑V (extracts); Tudor Tudor, cited above; and Ştefănică and Others v. Romania, no. 38155/02, 2 November 2010), it could not be argued that there was a systemic problem concerning diverging case-law in Romania.29.  In any event, the most important mechanisms for the unification of Romanian case-law were functioning and effective, as set out below.An appeal in the interests of the law was the main instrument capable of putting an end to differing approaches in the domestic case-law. In this connection the Government mentioned that, with effect from 26 October 2010, the provisions governing this kind of appeal had changed, making it more effective. The list of those who had locus standi to lodge such appeals had been extended to include the Minister of Justice, the Management Board of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the management boards of the courts of appeal and the Ombudsman.The efficiency of this mechanism was also borne out by the statistics. In 2008, the High Court had ruled on 46 appeals in the interests of the law, all of which had been allowed; in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the respective figures had been as follows: 38 appeals, of which 26 had been allowed, 9 of which 8 had been allowed, and 11 of which 10 had been allowed.From 2005 to 2011, the High Court had ruled on 24 appeals in the interest of the law concerning the interpretation of various legal texts governing salary entitlements; 21 of these had been allowed.30.  A new remedy was also provided for in the draft of the new Romanian Code of Civil Procedure, due to enter into force in June 2012; the preliminary judgments procedure gave both the applicants and the courts giving final judgments in their case the possibility of lodging an application with the High Court of Cassation and Justice where specific legal issues relating to the merits of their case had been interpreted differently across the country. In such proceedings, the High Court was required to give an answer within three months from the date of the application; the judgment thus given, setting out guidelines for the correct interpretation of the legal texts in issue, was binding on all the courts and not only on the parties to the case.31.  The most important general measure envisaged by the Government to address the issue of divergences in the case-law of the national courts was therefore to continue to improve the implementation of the mechanisms mentioned above.32.  As to the applicants' complaints of discrimination, the Government submitted that the mere existence of divergences in the case-law could not be regarded as discrimination. Moreover, the applicants had not indicated any criteria on the basis of which they had allegedly been discriminated against.Referring to the Court's case-law on similar issues (Tudor Tudor, cited above; Veselinski v. "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", no. 45658/99, 24 February 2005; Ferrazzini v. Italy [GC], no. 44759/98, ECHR 2001‑VII; and Karakaya, cited above), the Government asked the Court to dismiss the complaint as ill-founded.33.  The applicants briefly submitted that they maintained their claims as formulated in their initial applications.2.  The Court's assessment(a)  General principles34.  In its recent Grand Chamber judgment in Nejdet Şahin and Perihan Şahin v. Turkey ([GC], no. 13279/05, 20 October 2011), the Court reiterated the main principles applicable in cases concerning the issue of conflicting court decisions (§§ 49-58). These can be summarised as follows:(i) It is not the Court's function to deal with errors of fact or law allegedly committed by a national court unless and in so far as they may have infringed rights and freedoms protected by the Convention (see García Ruiz v. Spain [GC], no. 30544/96, § 28, ECHR 1999‑I). Likewise, it is not its function, save in the event of evident arbitrariness, to compare different decisions of national courts, even if given in apparently similar proceedings, as the independence of those courts must be respected (see Ādamsons v. Latvia, no. 3669/03, § 118, 24 June 2008);(ii) The possibility of conflicting court decisions is an inherent trait of any judicial system which is based on a network of trial and appeal courts with authority over the area of their territorial jurisdiction. Such divergences may also arise within the same court. That, in itself, cannot be considered contrary to the Convention (see Santos Pinto v. Portugal, no. 39005/04, § 41, 20 May 2008, and Tudor Tudor, cited above, § 29);(iii) The criteria that guide the Court's assessment of the conditions in which conflicting decisions of different domestic courts ruling at last instance are in breach of the fair trial requirement enshrined in Article 6 § 1 of the Convention consist in establishing whether "profound and long-standing differences" exist in the case-law of the domestic courts, whether the domestic law provides for machinery for overcoming these inconsistencies, whether that machinery has been applied and, if appropriate, to what effect (see Iordan Iordanov and Others, cited above, §§ 49-50; see also Beian (no. 1), cited above, §§ 34‑40; Ştefan and Ştef v. Romania, nos. 24428/03 and 26977/03, §§ 33-36, 27 January 2009; Schwarzkopf and Taussik, cited above, 2 December 2008; Tudor Tudor, cited above, § 31; and Ştefănică and Others, cited above, § 36);(iv) The Court's assessment has also always been based on the principle of legal certainty which is implicit in all the Articles of the Convention and constitutes one of the fundamental aspects of the rule of law (see, amongst other authorities, Beian (no. 1), cited above, § 39; Iordan Iordanov and Others, cited above, § 47; and Ştefănică and Others, cited above, § 31);(v) The principle of legal certainty, guarantees, inter alia, a certain stability in legal situations and contributes to public confidence in the courts. The persistence of conflicting court decisions, on the other hand, can create a state of legal uncertainty likely to reduce public confidence in the judicial system, whereas such confidence is clearly one of the essential components of a State based on the rule of law (see Paduraru v. Romania, § 98, no. 63252/00, ECHR 2005-XII (extracts); Vinčić and Others v. Serbia, nos. 44698/06 and others, § 56, 1 December 2009; and Ştefănică and Others, cited above, § 38);(vi) However, the requirements of legal certainty and the protection of the legitimate confidence of the public do not confer an acquired right to consistency of case-law (see Unédic v. France, no. 20153/04, § 74, 18 December 2008). Case-law development is not, in itself, contrary to the proper administration of justice since a failure to maintain a dynamic and evolutive approach would risk hindering reform or improvement (see Atanasovski v. "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", no. 36815/03, § 38, 14 January 2010).(b)  Application of these principles to the present cases35.  The Court notes at the outset that from 2008 onwards conflicting approaches emerged across the country, concerning the interpretation and implementation of the legal provisions granting all public servants specific allowances, in the absence of precise criteria for the calculation of those allowances (see paragraph 15 above). As admitted by the Government, the issue complained of in the present cases affected a large number of people (see paragraph 27 above).36.  In the same context but on a more general level, as the Government also acknowledged, the Court observes that the High Court of Cassation and Justice gave more than one hundred judgments on appeals in the interests of the law between 2008 and 2011, designed to ensure the uniformity of the case-law on various legal provisions interpreted and/or applied differently by the domestic courts (see paragraph 29 above).37.  The Court therefore views with concern the scale of the divergent domestic court practices on the same legal matter, including the one referred to in the present cases (see paragraphs 27 and 28 above).38.  The Court reiterates that the persistence of conflicting court decisions, especially when the impugned divergence involves massive numbers of applicants, can in certain circumstances create a state of legal uncertainty likely to reduce public confidence in the judicial system, which is clearly one of the essential components of a State based on the rule of law (see also Relevant international instruments, paragraphs 16 to 18 above).Divergences of approach may arise between the courts as part of the process of interpreting legal provisions while adapting them to the material situation. These divergences may be tolerated when the domestic legal system is capable of accommodating them (see Nejdet Şahin and Perihan Şahin, cited above, §§ 86-87).While the accommodation of divergences in isolated cases (see Karakaya, cited above) may in practice prove to be less demanding, however, when the divergence involves judicial matters affecting large parts of the public, their confidence in the judicial system may be particularly undermined. It is why the system must put in place effective mechanisms that need to be fully and promptly implemented via the highest courts responsible for ensuring the uniformity of the case-law, so as to rectify at the appropriate juncture any inconsistencies in the decisions of the various domestic courts and thus maintain public confidence in the judicial system.39.  Turning back to the present cases, the Court observes that the applicants had the benefit of adversarial proceedings, in which they were able to adduce evidence and freely formulate their defence and in which their arguments were properly examined by the courts. Likewise, the courts' conclusions and their interpretation of the relevant law cannot be regarded as manifestly arbitrary or unreasonable.It remains therefore to be examined whether the national system provides a mechanism capable of ensuring consistency in the practice of the national courts, notwithstanding the fact that the process of unifying and ensuring the consistency of the case-law may require a certain amount of time (see Schwarzkopf and Taussik, cited above).40.  In this respect, the Court notes that on 21 September 2009 an appeal in the interests of the law was granted by the Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice, which laid down binding guidelines for the uniform interpretation of the legal provisions in issue.The High Court's ruling brought the divergence on this subject to an end, as the Court has already acknowledged in its decision in Zelca and Others v. Romania (no. 65161/10, 6 September 2011), a case very similar to the present ones. In that decision (see § 15), the Court held that the mechanism provided for by Article 329 of the Romanian Code of Civil Procedure, as a mechanism designed to resolve, and not preclude, conflicting court decisions, had proved to be effective, since in a reasonably short period of time it had put an end to the divergence in the case-law concerning the issue of the granting of grade and salary-step allowances to public servants.41.  It is true that in the present cases, in contrast to the case of Zelca and Others, the impugned judgment dismissing the applicants' claims was given before the High Court had had the opportunity to give a uniform interpretation of the legal texts in issue. Nevertheless, the approach adopted by the domestic courts in the applicants' case was similar to that advocated by the High Court only a few months later in its ruling on the appeal in the interests of the law (see Usnul v. the Czech Republic, no. 33945/06, 29 March 2011).42.  From that perspective, even though in the present cases the impugned judgment was given at a time when the divergence still existed, the Court sees no reason to depart from its findings in Zelca and Others regarding the effectiveness of the appeal in the interests of the law, a mechanism which was set in motion relatively promptly, as it was lodged with the High Court around one year after the onset of the impugned divergence. The High Court, in its turn, assessed the matter promptly and gave unequivocal guidelines on the correct interpretation of the legal text, as a result of which the divergence ceased rapidly and the domestic courts' interpretation became uniform (see, by contrast, Tudor Tudor, cited above, § 30, and Ştefănică and Others, cited above, § 38). As already mentioned above, achieving consistency of the law may take time, and periods of conflicting case-law may therefore be tolerated without undermining legal certainty (see Nejdet Şahin and Perihan Şahin, cited above, § 83), provided that the domestic legal system proves, as in the present cases, capable of accomodating them.43.  Having regard to all of the above, the Court considers that there was no breach of the principle of legal certainty in the applicants' cases. It further holds that there has been no violation of Article 6 of the Convention.44.  In view of its findings in paragraphs 41 to 43 above, the Court considers that it is not necessary to examine separately the applicants' complaint under Article 14 of the Convention.II.  ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 1 OF PROTOCOL No. 1 TO THE CONVENTION45.  Under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, the applicants complained in substance that as a result of the wrongful interpretation of the law, the court of appeal had deprived them of their right to be awarded the allowances relating to their grade and to their salary step. Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 reads as follows:"Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties."46.  The Court notes at the outset that Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 applies only to a person's existing possessions. Thus, future income cannot be considered to constitute "possessions" unless it has already been earned or is definitely payable (see, for example, Koivusaari and others v. Finland (dec.), no. 20690/06, 23 February 2010). However, in certain circumstances, a "legitimate expectation" of obtaining an "asset" may also enjoy the protection of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. Thus, where a proprietary interest is in the nature of a claim, the person in whom it is vested may be regarded as having a "legitimate expectation" if there is a sufficient basis for the interest in national law, for example where there is settled case-law of the domestic courts confirming its existence (see Kopecký v. Slovakia [GC], no. 44912/98, § 52, ECHR 2004-IX).However, no legitimate expectation can be said to arise where there is a dispute as to the correct interpretation and application of domestic law and the applicant's submissions are subsequently rejected by the national courts (ibid., § 50).47.  In the present cases, the applicants' alleged salary entitlements, although expressly recognised by the State in the relevant domestic legislation, cannot be regarded as having sufficient basis in domestic case‑law, since the courts gave varying and even conflicting interpretations of the relevant legal provisions, resulting in a long-lasting divergence in the case-law on the matter.In this connection, it cannot be argued that the applicants had a possession within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. Likewise, as to the existence of a general climate of uncertainty, incompatible with the concept of "settled case-law", regarding the outcome of the proceedings brought by the applicants, the Court considers that the latter cannot be said to have had a "legitimate expectation" either (see, mutatis mutandis, Liepājnieks v. Latvia (dec.), no. 37586/06, 2 November 2010, §§ 95-96).Moreover, the High Court's ruling of 21 September 2009 on the appeal in the interests of the law, which ended the divergence on the matter, confirmed that civil servants were not entitled to the allowances claimed, an interpretation which was in line with what the court of appeal had held when it dismissed the applicants' claims.It follows that the applicants did not have a possession within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.48.  The complaint under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 is therefore inadmissible as being incompatible ratione materiae, in accordance with Article 35 §§ 3 and 4 of the Convention.FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT UNANIMOUSLY1.  Declares the complaint under Article 6 taken alone and in conjunction with Article 14 concerning the divergence in the case-law of the domestic courts admissible and the remainder of the applications inadmissible; 2.  Holds that there has been no violation of Article 6 of the Convention; 3.  Holds that there is no need to examine separately the complaint under Article 14 of the Convention.Done in English, and notified in writing on 10 May 2012, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court. Santiago Quesada Josep Casadevall Registrar PresidentNo.Applicationno.Lodged onApplicant's name,date of birth,place of residence1.                     34796/0910/06/2009Dorin Petru ALBU13/06/1959Baile Herculane 2.                     34797/0910/06/2009Ana ANGHELOIU23/02/1955Resita  3.                     34798/0910/06/2009Stefania BONTEA08/04/1954Resita  4.                     34799/0910/06/2009Marioara Viorica BUDIMIR20/08/1951Resita  5.                     34800/0910/06/2009Ion BERBENTEA18/07/1957Resita  6.                     34801/0910/06/2009Simona BENGA12/08/1975Resita  7.                     34802/0910/06/2009Claudiu Mihai BALABAN30/10/1978Resita  8.                     34803/0910/06/2009Gheorghe Vasile BALAJ24/02/1969Resita  9.                     34804/0910/06/2009Codrut Dan BUCATES21/08/1969Resita  10.                  34805/0910/06/2009Sebastian BUZORI04/10/1973Bocsa 11.                  34806/0910/06/2009Floarea BOROZAN17/01/1971Bania 12.                  34807/0910/06/2009Emanuel CRING27/02/1969Moldova Noua 13.                  34808/0910/06/2009Daniela CORICOVAC11/02/1970Resita  14.                  34809/0910/06/2009Iulica DINA01/08/1970Resita  15.                  34810/0910/06/2009Marius DUMBRAVA16/11/1962Resita  16.                  34811/0910/06/2009Elena DRAGHICESCU27/01/1954Otelu Rosu 17.                  34812/0910/06/2009Ovidiu George DRAGILA27/02/1976Resita  18.                  34813/0910/06/2009Gheorghe DRAGHICI06/07/1967Resita  19.                  34814/0910/06/2009Maria DITESCU29/03/1963Resita  20.                  34815/0910/06/2009Daniela Lavinia DANILIUC30/05/1980Moldova Noua 21.                  34816/0910/06/2009Mircea Laurentiu GRIGORE26/09/1968Resita  22.                  34817/0910/06/2009Ileana HREBENCIUC22/08/1963Resita  23.                  34818/0910/06/2009Caius ISAC05/11/1962Resita  24.                  34819/0910/06/2009Dorina GROZA28/03/1951Bocsa 25.                  34820/0910/06/2009Carla Maria GOAGA10/08/1972 26.                  34821/0910/06/2009Lenuta Liliana LINTA10/11/1969Resita  27.                  34822/0910/06/2009Viorel Florin LAZAR17/09/1974Caransebes 28.                  34823/0910/06/2009Dorin Ioan LUCA IORGA14/07/1974Bocsa 29.                  34824/0910/06/2009Alina LOTOROSANU17/12/1981Resita  30.                  34825/0910/06/2009Ramaian MITRICA04/09/1979Resita  31.                  34826/0910/06/2009Maria MURGU05/10/1973Resita  32.                  34827/0910/06/2009Ion MARAN07/05/1967Ciclova Romana 33.                  34828/0910/06/2009Florica MALACHI19/10/1957Resita  34.                  34829/0910/06/2009Carmen NECHITA15/12/1952Baile Herculane 35.                  34830/0910/06/2009Nicolae NEGRU30/10/1953Moceris 36.                  34831/0910/06/2009Nicolae NOVACESCU13/04/1963Caransebes 37.                  34832/0910/06/2009Cristian Sandel PAPUC09/09/1972Resita  38.                  34833/0910/06/2009Marius PUIE18/04/1977Resita  39.                  34834/0910/06/2009Alina Silvia ROSCA23/09/1971Resita  40.                  34835/0910/06/2009Alina Domnica PETRE16/08/1974Resita  41.                  34836/0910/06/2009Constanta POP20/05/1958Resita  42.                  34837/0910/06/2009Daniela PRUNA10/08/1965Resita  43.                  34838/0910/06/2009Lidia RADU10/05/1954Anina 44.                  34839/0910/06/2009Emilian Marius RADOI04/09/1971 45.                  34840/0910/06/2009Alexandru SUTA29/10/1956Resita  46.                  34841/0910/06/2009Ion STIRBU28/02/1953Resita  47.                  34842/0910/06/2009Loredana STAMATE27/02/1975Resita  48.                  34843/0910/06/2009Mihaela STETA28/01/1965Resita  49.                  34844/0910/06/2009Ana TOMA22/06/1951 50.                  34845/0910/06/2009Calina TURCIN15/11/1964Obreja 51.                  34846/0910/06/2009Elisabeta TOMA22/08/1958Resita  52.                  34847/0910/06/2009Marius ZAVELCUTA07/07/1975Resita  53.                  34848/0910/06/2009Dumitru MIU28/12/1949Resita  54.                  34849/0910/06/2009Iosif CORCAN11/07/1945Resita  55.                  34850/0910/06/2009Florina Veronica LUNGU12/07/1973Resita  56.                  34851/0910/06/2009Gheorghe Sabin POP02/07/1954Resita  57.                  34852/0910/06/2009Virginia MIU25/10/1961Resita  58.                  34853/0910/06/2009Nicolae ARDELEAN09/07/1945Oravita 59.                  34854/0910/06/2009Ioan Mihai BALMEZ08/11/1957Resita  60.                  34855/0910/06/2009Rodica Stefania BIRCEA21/05/1966Resita  61.                  34856/0910/06/2009Dorin TANASESCU25/05/1963Resita  62.                  34857/0910/06/2009Erika INISCONI28/07/1972Resita  63.                  34858/0910/06/2009Ion VISAN26/01/1952Resita  64.                  34859/0910/06/2009Aneta NEGOIANU12/09/1957Resita


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Inside Washington July 7, 2013
July 7, 2013 - 07:59 am
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This week on Inside Washington: A fresh look at the Bill of Rights—in the age of the terrorist, how free is the land of the free?
How much are we willing to sacrifice in the name of security?
The first amendment—freedom of religion, speech and the press, and abuses thereof.
The second amendment and the right to bear arms. George Washington said a free people ought to be armed
The fourth amendment and the right of Americans to be secure in their persons, their houses and their papers—have NSA officials read this one lately?
Would you like to contribute to this story? Join the discussion.

subset: commoncrawl


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Greetings from Pune on this Ganesh Chaturthi.
September 18, 2012
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Greetings from Pune on this Ganesh Chaturthi.
August 23, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Greetings on Ganesh Chatruthi. May Vigneshwara (the remover of obstacles), Ekadanta (the One with the one Tusk), Mahakaya (One with the Huge Body), etc., remove the obstacles to your ventures. I am sure that he will remove the writer's block … Continue reading


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Look Inside | Enlarge Cover
Enlarge Cover
Celestial Arts | Mar 31, 2004
| 224 Pages
| 5 x 7
Celestial Arts
| Mar 31, 2004
| 224 Pages
| 5 x 7
Celestial Arts
| Apr 11, 2012
| 224 Pages
"Affirmations (positive self-statements) are a simple and time-proven way of redirecting the mind to accentuate the positive. When you turn your mind to something positive and life affirming, the negative has no place in your mind to dwell. It's as if the neurons literally light up a different pathway or circuit in the brain. The repetition of affirmations over time will change negative, fear-producing thoughts into positive, uplifting ones, thereby leading to a change in mood." —from the IntroductionEvery thought produces a neurochemical reaction that in turn affects the way we feel. With this in mind, author and counselor Douglas Bloch developed a daily program of self-care strategies to enhance one's mood. Based on his best-selling book WORDS THAT HEAL, WORDS THAT HEAL THE BLUES uses the power of daily affirmations to alleviate the painful symptoms of depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mood disorders. Each day includes a self-care lesson, a series of affirmations, and an activity to help transform the lesson into positive action. These healing words will comfort and inspire you to let go of fear and worry, and let wellness and harmony into your life, one day at a time.
DOUGLAS BLOCH is a teacher and counselor who writes and speaks on topics of psychology, healing, and spirituality. He has authored ten books including the inspirational self-help trilogy Words That Heal, Listening to Your Inner Voice, and I Am with… More about Douglas Bloch
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Is it that easy to mug a Jew these days? Seth didn't even put up a fight. Of course, I probably wouldn't either, considering I'm only about an inch or two taller than he is.
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text:
Clean Sweep For Champion Illini
The top-seeded University of Illinois men's tennis team achieved perfection today, as the illini earned their third consecutive Big Ten Tournament title with a 4-1 win over third-seeded Purdue at the Varsity Tennis Courts in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Orange and Blue went undefeated in conference play for the second straight season at 13-0 and have now won 32 consecutive Big Ten duals.
"The guys fought hard and played very solid tennis throughout the weekend," head coach Craig Tiley said. "Their competitiveness, fight and intensity helped pull the team through in this tough tournament. This is the fourth tourney final for our seniors and their third win in a row. These guys deserve this success because of all their hard work."
The Illini were challenged in doubles for the second consecutive day by three tough Purdue tandems. The Boilermakers are the last Big Ten team to win a doubles point against Illinois, claiming two of three matches in April of 1998. Purdue was not as successful today, as the Illini won at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots to claim the doubles point for the 22nd straight match in Big Ten play.
At the top spot, Illinois' third-ranked doubles team of Oliver Freelove and Cary Franklin fell behind early for the second straight day, as PU's pair of Derek Myers and Laith Al-Agba broke the UI duo's serve to build a 6-5 advantage. On this day, Freelove/Franklin would respond by breaking back and then holding a serve of their own to reclaim a 7-6 lead. With the match on the line, Franklin hit a high-arching lob that hit just inside the baseline to win the match 8-6. The Illinois duo is now 32-8 this season and 23-4 in all dual matches.
While the No. 2 doubles match remained tight, Illinois' No. 3 pair of Jakub Teply and Matt Snyder were up a brak and held a 7-6 advantage with Snyder serving for the match. Teply smashed an overhead lob for the match point, as the UI duo defeated Purdue's team of Jamie Gordon and Dan Swan 8-6. Teply/Snyder improve to 17-3 on the season and end the conference season a perfect 9-0.
Singles were just as competitive, as Purdue won the first set in three of the six matches. For the second straight day, Freelove was the first player off the court as he defeated Gordon 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 position. The Illini senior was down 3-0 in the third set before his booming serve took over, allowing him to rattle off six-straight points and give Illinois a 2-0 advantage in the team scoring. Freelove is now 32-14 on the season.
Purdue rallied with a straight-set win of its own just minutes later at the No. 3 spot, as Laski was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Chris James to narrow the score to 2-1. Meanwhile, at the No. 4 position, Teply had gone to a second-set tie-breaker in his battle with Purdue's nationally-ranked Jason Marshall. Teply dropped the first point before rolling to a 5-1 advantage in the tie-break. After another Marshall point, the Illini senior served for the match and clinched it when Marshall's return was long. Teply's 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory gives him 34 wins on the year, just six wins shy of the school record of 40 set by fellow-senior Gavin Sontag last season.
The deciding match was between the Nos. 2 and 6 positions. Both Franklin and Snyder had split their first two sets, and Snyder was up 4-1 in the third against Dan Swan. At the same time, Franklin was down 3-1 in his third set before he took his game to another level. The Georgia-native broke down Derek Myers' serve three times and reeled off five straight points to clinch Illinois' third-straight conference tourney crown. Snyder was up 5-2 at the No. 6 position and had match point on Swan's serve when Franklin clinched his match at the No. 2 spot, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
"Every year our goal is to win a conference and national title and we will continue on our quest in the coming weeks," Tiley said. "This team is primed for more post-season success. They know how to compete in championship situations."
The Illini wrap up the conference portion of their schedule at 25-3 overall and 13-0 in the Big Ten. The squad will learn of its NCAA fate on Wednesday, May 5, as Illinois has a shot at hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships at the Atkins Tennis Center from May 15-16.
Illinois 4, Purdue 1


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- Ordered December,1977 - Unrestored- Matching numbers 400 CI engine- Original window sticker- Rust proofed- AM/FM radio with 8-track playerTo be sold at the... More
JUST IN AND GREAT VALUE! THIS CAR HAS NOT BEEN DETAILED YET READY FOR SALE. LOTS OF PHOTOS COMING SOON. IF YOU WANT US... More


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Audio Samples
Album Summary
Notes & Reviews:
The Invisible City of Kitezh, completed in 1905, is a remarkable opera that fuses folklore, mysticism and realism. Its subject is the story of the advancing Mongol army's entry to Great Kitezh and the city's subsequent miraculous survival. Rejecting archaisms and the more religiously inclined suggestions of his librettist, Rimsky- Korsakov sought to create an opera that "is contemporary and even fairly advanced". It is therefore through-composed, hinting at times at Wagnerian procedure, and flooded with the composer's rich, apt and brilliant orchestral palette, fully supportive of the powerful vocal writing. From 2001 until 2009 Alexander Vedernikov was Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Bolshoy Theatre. Under his direction the orchestra of the Bolshoy toured extensively, including Athens, Hamburg and Paris in February 2008, and for a season of opera and ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
David's Review Corner
The performance is conducted by the highly acclaimed former Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, Alexander Vedernikov, who extracts a performance from the Cagliari opera orchestra that goes far beyond the call of duty, the orchestral picture of The Battle near Kerzhenets, drawing a very exciting and virile account. He also has a highly enthusiastic chorus in its many guises.
American Record Guide, July / August 2012
The sound is good, though there is some stage noise and applause. No libretto is supplied, and as yet, there is not one at the Naxos website. The main competition for this recording comes from Gergiev on Philips. His cast includes Galina Gorchakova, Yury Marusin, Vladimir Galouzine, and some fine Russian singers in the smaller roles. It's more expensive than the Naxos but a better performance.
Recording information: Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (05/02/2008/05/04/2008).
ReviewsThere are currently no reviews, be the first one!
Also Purchased
Works DetailsRimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai : Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya
- Conductor: Alexander Vedernikov
- Ensemble: Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari
- Notes: Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (05/02/2008/05/04/2008)
- Running Time: 3 min. 2 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Form: Opera/Operetta
- Written: 1907


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Just askin'...Now that they get to fight they can and will get a say in other things, right?
Obama thanks Putin for thank you card sent after START ratification, adds he didn't know Russian for "thanks" was "dosvedanya".
Dems propose new Don't Ask Don't Tell policy that allows Congress to never find out what is in bills after voting for them.
Dems say they might agree to GOP demand to read the Constitution in next Congress if someone would explain to them what it is.
Attorneys issue CIA cease and desist order upon creation of the WikiLeaks Task Force citing ownership of "WTF" branding by Obama Administration.Add a comment
Potential GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says Sarah Palin's wrong and Michelle Obama's right, at least when it comes to the first lady's push to combat childhood obesity.
"With all due respect to my colleague and friend Sarah Palin, I think she's misunderstood what Michelle Obama is trying to do," the former Arkansas governor said Tuesday on the "Curtis Sliwa Show.".....
(said Huckabee) "Michelle Obama's not trying to tell people what to eat or not trying to force the government's desires on people," Huckabee said. "She's stating the obvious, that we do have an obesity problem in this country."
See the entire article at Politico (h/t Memeorandum)
Yeah, this is why anyone with the name Huckabee shouldn't be elected president.
Remember when "Just Say No" had the force of law behind it? The Obama family is not merely "stating" anything. They are "telling" people what to do about it. I would say that Huckabee would be smart enough to know the difference, but his name is Huckabee.
How is the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act NOT an imposition of "the government's desires on people?" It's now law! I think the flashy lights of his Fox News studio are making Mikey a little blind to what is really obvious.
I know this is an issue near and dear to his heart, but if personal baggage made good law then toilet seats would be narrower than the human head and 10 year-old bed-wetters will be eligible for a presidential medal of honor when I'm in charge of this joint.
How about this? If anyone can tell me which federal law Huckabee used to guide him in dropping his 100 pounds I'll back off the issue, and because I'm a nice guy I wont make beeping sounds while I do it.
All Palin is doing is playing a little gander to Michelle's goose by employing Obama's BFF Saul Alinsky's fifth rule:
"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage."
This kind of nonsense needs to be ridiculed until election day, when it can be defeated.Add a comment
This is kind of meant to be a companion piece to A Yuletide Target of Michelle Obama's War On Obesity?...
Biden is left despondent after realizing FCC Net Neutrality will do nothing to help his beloved L.A. Clippers.
Jon Stewart laments he could help preclude the 9-11 health bill by bestowing the healing power of laughter on first responders that are liberal.
Sen. Coburn says he would end opposition to 9-11 health compensation bill if it could be made deficit neural with "good intentions and pixie dust."Add a comment
As usual the guys at Jib Jab nail it.
h/t iOwnTheWorld.Add a comment
I know...a little weird, but the thought popped in my head, and it made me laugh...Merry Christmas....
If it's tough to read you can click the image to see a larger version.Add a comment
Fears sparked Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal that Barney Frank will celebrate by "showing off his privates" ease with revelation he meant his harem of enlisted men.
Obama Administration says president rebounding from bad 2010 citing one poll that actually touts 75% approval among his immediate family .
Michelle Obama rejects warning of START treaty critics that it's passage is greater threat to national security than missiles carrying warheads made of ding dongs.Add a comment
"I want to say one thing about the budget that didn't get passed, the omnibus bill. You know, we talk a lot about – we just passed this huge tax cut in part because business said, you know, we have to plan, we have to know what kind of tax cuts we have. Well, these agencies, including the Defense Department, don't know how much money they've got and for what. And I was at – forgive the expression – a Christmas party at the Department of Justice and people actually were really worried about this," NPR's Totenberg said on PBS this weekend.
See the video at Real Clear Politics
Wait a second. Christmas is now an expression? Don't get me wrong, I'm kind of open to the idea because thinking of Christmas as the day the Son of God was born was...forgive the expression...heavier than growning gravitational pull threatening the objects that orbit Michael Moore.
While we're at it what other expressions should we forgive?
Barack Obama should be in a certain type of database for the way he – forgive the expression – molests those teleprompters.
Joe Biden could never be a teacher because he – forgive the expression – is sharper than a deflated soccer ball.
Before becoming a justice on the Supreme Court Elena Kagan should have – forgive the expression – gained some relevant experience on American Idol.
Michelle Obama is a very stylish and modern First – forgive the expression – Lady.
Harry Reid fought really hard for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell because he is – forgive the expression – tired of only wearing the uniform for his Village People cover band.
The BP oil spill created a – forgive the expression – marine habitat for liberals.
Nancy Pelosi is not – forgive the expression – biodegradeable.
Rahm Emanuel wishes everyone – forgive the expression – a Merry F-ing C#*@$%mas.
NPR radio kind of – forgive the expression – makes my brain bleed out of my ears.
Luckily for Nina do you know who would forgive the expression of "Christmas Party?"......
Why the heck not?!? Even though it's not illegal actors can't smoke on screen anymore without someone having a fit. How could something like this not be next?
Hey! We could finally recognize Santa as a threat to national security! How progressive!Add a comment


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With turquoise beads and golden brass wire at hands you are able to make a dainty pair of dream catcher earrings within 15 minutes.view details
I made this video to show my favorite technique for creating embellishments, earrings, or pendants using wire and beads.view details
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When you need assistance in keeping your elders on their feet, don't hesitate to approach us here at Morningside Ministries Senior Living. We offer quality senior care at our retirement homes, and our staff is very understanding when it comes to the needs of the elderly. In our nursing homes, you can rest assured your parents or grandparents will be looked after with genuine care and concern.
We understand the challenges of caring for the elderly, especially with their special needs. Here at our nursing homes, your loved ones will be attended to properly. Our main goal is to keep them healthy and active during their stay at our retirement homes. Call us at (210) 307-4080 and let us provide compassionate senior care. Morningside Ministries Senior Living: Caring for those who cared for us.
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Felt Sunflower Topperuser rating
Four-oz. tubes filled with our Rainbow blend of Sunny Seeds and accented with a felt sunflower topper. These sunny treats are perfect for party centerpieces or gourmet gifts.
About the Producer
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Sunflower Food Company is the home of sunflower seed and quality gourmet snacks--Sunny Seeds, Fishbowl Party Snacks, Lucky Twist Gourmet Pretzels, Jack'snak and honey toasted nut products. Using the bright, familiar sunflower as inspiration, we have created many outstanding products: Midwest-grown Farmer's Popcorn Cob, Sunflower Seed Cookies, chocolate-covered and candy-coated sunflower nuts we call Sunny Seed Drops, and Sunflower Seed Vinaigrette. At Sunflower Food & Spice Company, quality and market appeal are the foundation of our success. Thanks to our customers, we are like the sunflower: We continue to grow and grow until we can almost reach the sky.


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from The Lottery
The Lottery
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton lying on a table giving us a long look down her low cut black shirt at her cleavage as some guys pin her down and then put a strap over her before covering her mouth with a cloth and pouring water on her face all while she continues to fight. From The Lottery.Sexy 0:26 - 9.19 MB - 1280x720 px May 6th, 2015 @ 2:30 pm Marley Shelton - The Lottery - S01E02.mp4
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from (Untitled)
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton falling down on a rug with a guy as they undress each other, Marley ending up in a black bra that shows some nice cleavage and a pair of black panties. From (Untitled).Sexy 0:24 - 8.53 MB - 1280x528 px October 29th, 2010 @ 4:56 pm Marley Shelton - Untitled - 1.mp4
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton looking through a closet, giving us a close-up view of her black bra in this quick clip. From (Untitled).Sexy 0:03 - 1.11 MB - 1280x528 px October 29th, 2010 @ 4:55 pm Marley Shelton - Untitled - 2.mp4
from Women in Trouble
Women in Trouble
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton making out with a guy in an airplane bathroom, shedding her shirt to reveal a white bra. The guy then kneels down in front of her and goes down on her as Marley begins to moan. From Women in Trouble.Sexy 1:08 - 23.60 MB - 1280x720 px April 3rd, 2010 @ 3:49 pm Marley Shelton - Women in Trouble.mp4
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from The Last Kiss
The Last Kiss
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton lying on her side in bed, her bare back visible as she answers the phone. Shen then rolls over to face the camera, baring her left breast in the process. Hi-res DVD capture of a deleted scene from The Last Kiss.0:16 - 3.91 MB - 624x240 px January 12th, 2007 @ 3:48 pm firstname.lastname@example.com
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from Hercules in the Underworld
Hercules in the Underworld
Marley Shelton
Marley Shelton (credited as Marlee Shelton) of Sugar & Spice fame dropping her robe and jumping into some water nude giving us a brief view of her butt and then swimming around in the water and diving once again all as a guy watches her skinny dip. Hi-res DVD capture from Hercules in the Underworld.1:07 - 19.14 MB - 624x480 px September 23rd, 2006 @ 7:57 pm email@example.com


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Fundação Assefaz - O melhor plano para a sua sa&uacu...
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This website has a content focused on arte, assefaz, avtur, convênios, credenciados, crianças, cultura, diversão, empregos, eventos, farmácia, fazenda, fotos, fundação, informação, internet, jornalismo, ministério, moda, notícia, opinião, plano de saúde, planos, planos de saúde, politica, saúde, saúde, últimas notícias, viagem, vídeo, vitabel topics. We detected general outline is
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— Greenland's base metals explorer
Avannaa Resources is a mineral exploration company founded in 2006 and working exclusively in Greenland.
Avannaa's present project portfolio comprises:
Kangerluarsuk Pb-Zn
A sedex-type lead-zinc project in a major Palaeo-Proterozoic lead-zinc basin that is host to the nearby Black Angel mine (partner opportunity)
Disko-Nuussuaq Ni-Cu-PGE
Noril'sk-type magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE targets at the base of the West Greenland Tertiary basalt province which has one of the world's largest accumulations of high-magnesium picritic lavas (partner opportunity)
Avannaa's objective is the discovery of new deposits in Greenland. We aim to find giant deposits with robust economics, and to this end we focus on base metals that have a large market, and on a limited group of deposit types that we believe will deliver these objectives.
Avannaa has strong expertise in grass roots exploration and knowledge of the geology and mineral exploration opportunities in Greenland.


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On today's show we're getting productive with our favorite staff app picks of the week. Watch the show to see Tapsbook and Quip in action. Have any new apps you're loving this week? Make sure to share them in the comments.
AppAdvice Daily: Get Productive With Quip And Tapsbook
BY Robin Rhys on document sharing ipad photos photos Productivity Quip tapsbook


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analysisBy Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh
In a similar vein, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) also exceeded its 2011 revenue target by GH¢1,161.7 million, representing 15.4%, according to the Commissioner-General.
At the end of December 2011, the GRA had collected provisionally, GH¢8,706.39 million, exceeding the target by GH¢161.73 million.
In the 2011 Budget and Economic Policy Statement of the government, the GRA was given an overall collection target of GH¢7,208.97 million, excluding upstream petroleum revenue.
However, in May, 2011, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning revised the revenue target upwards by 4.7%, bringing the total revenue target for 2011 to GH¢7,544.64 million.
Breaking down the collection for 2011, the GRA recorded domestic taxes (direct) of GH¢3,733.94 million, showing an excess of GH¢603.60 million or 19.3%, as against a target of GH¢3,130.38 million.
The Authority mobilised GH¢1,367.64 million in domestic taxes (indirect) depicting an excess of GH¢21.85 million, or 1.6%, as against the GH¢1,345.76 million target.
Furthermore, the GRA recorded customs of GH¢3,604.82 million, representing an excess of GH¢536.30 or 17.5%, as against a target of GH¢3,068.49 million.
Amazingly, Ghana is also facing infrastructural development challenges, which should not be the case, if these resources and revenues were properly managed.
Banking Sector Developments
Total assets of the banking industry increased by almost 21 per cent on year-on-year basis to GH¢23.2 billion in April 2012. The growth in assets was funded mainly by deposits (which went up by 29.1 per cent to GH¢16.9 billion), and net worth which recorded a 20.8 per cent growth to GH¢3.1 billion. Of the total net worth, GH¢206 million was from banks recapitalisation.
The financial soundness indicators of the banking industry remained strong. The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) was well above the 10 per cent threshold, but declined to 16.8 per cent at the end of April 2012, compared to 18.1 per cent in April 2011. The asset quality of the banking system improved, as the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio declined to 14.1 per cent in April 2012, from 17.4 per cent in April 2011. Earnings performance also improved.
Total private sector credit expanded by 37.4 per cent on an annual basis to GH¢9.3 billion in April 2012, compared to a growth of 17.3 per cent in the same period of 2011. In real terms, private sector credit growth was 25.9 per cent.
Growth in broad money supply (M2+) slowed to 30.1 per cent in April 2012, compared to 41.5 per cent a year ago. The source of change in M2+ was a 51.5 per cent growth in the Net Domestic Assets (NDA) of the banking system.
Interest Rate Trends
Interest rates continued to trend upwards in the year to May 2012. Cumulatively over the first five months:
The 91-day Treasury bill rates increased to 19.4 per cent, while the 182-day Treasury bill rates went up to 20.2 per cent.
The average rates on the 1-year note went to 20.5 per cent, and the 2-year fixed notes to 21.2 per cent.
The rate on the 3-year fixed bond increased to 24 per cent, while the 5-year fixed bond rate was unchanged at 14.3 per cent.
The average savings deposit rates increased by 45 basis points to 5.5 per cent in May 2012, while average base rates of banks declined to 20.6 per cent, from 22.4 per cent in the same period. The average lending rate declined to 25.9 per cent in May 2012, from 27.5 per cent a year earlier. Similarly, the Annual Percentage Rates (APR) of banks declined by 47 basis points to 28 per cent in May 2012, relative to the same period a year earlier. The interbank overnight rate rose to 13.3 per cent in May, from 8.1 per cent in January 2012.
Balance of Payments and Exchange Rate Developments
Total merchandise exports were US$6.6 billion over the first five months of 2012, representing a year-on-year growth of 24.6 per cent. There were higher receipts from gold, cocoa beans and crude oil exports, as commodity prices increased during the period.
Export receipts from gold amounted to US$2.7 billion, cocoa beans US$1.6 billion, while crude oil was US$1.2 billion during the period. Other exports, including nontraditional, amounted to US$768.2 million.
Total merchandise imports were US$7.5 billion during the five months, indicating a growth of 27.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Oil imports were US$1.5 billion, compared with US$1.2 billion in the same period of 2011. Of this, crude oil amounted to US$483.4 million while refined oil products were US$967.9 million. Gas imports through the West Africa Gas Pipeline are estimated at US$73.5 million.
Total non-oil imports, categorised by the Broad Economic Classification (BEC), amounted to US$6 billion, compared with US$4.7 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2011. Of this, capital imports was estimated at US$1.3 billion, intermediate imports US$2.9 billion, consumption goods US$1.3 billion, and other imports US$439 million.
The balance on the trade account therefore, registered a deficit of US$937.3 million by end May 2012, compared with a deficit of US$597.2 million recorded in the same period a year ago.
For the first quarter of 2012, the Balance of Payments recorded a deficit of US$1.3 billion, compared to a deficit of only US$154.2 million in the same period of 2011. The widening balance of payments is attributable to the deterioration in both the current account and the financial and capital accounts.
The Gross International Reserves of the Bank of Ghana declined to US$4.3 billion as at June 8, 2012, from U$5.4 billion in December 2011. This is equivalent to 2.5 months imports cover of goods and services.
Cumulative inward remittances through the banking system were US$5.9 billion at the end of April 2012, representing a year-on-year growth of 7.5 per cent. Of this, US$622.3 million accrued to individuals, recording a growth of 6.6 per cent over the same period in 2011.
During the first five months, the cedi depreciated cumulatively by 15.1 per cent against the US dollar, compared to 1.9 per cent depreciation in the same period of 2011. In recent weeks however, the pace of depreciation of the cedi has moderated as a result of the measures introduced to restore stability. The real effective exchange rate depreciated by 6.8 per cent in January - April 2012, compared with a real appreciation of 5.9 per cent in the same period of 2011.
Dollarisation of the economy and depreciation
Ghana recently announced intentions to curtail the free fall of the local currency, the Cedi. The government was nursing plan to stop residents of the West African nation from holding foreign accounts.
If the intention was to go on, individuals and companies would not hold bank accounts either in US dollars, pounds or euros in Ghana.
If the measure is implemented, the existing foreign accounts would be converted into cedi accounts.
Also, the measure, when implemented, will augment processes of mitigating the high levels of dollarisation in the country.
Dollarisation is when individuals and companies use foreign currencies like the dollar for financial transactions and quotations of goods and services. Examples are the purchase of cars, payment of school fees, mortgage loans, rental payments, airline tickets etc. The service providers quote exchange rates that are significantly off-market. The fringe exchange rates trickle down into the market and become benchmark rates, unduly influencing market rates.
Meanwhile, it appears the cedi is somewhat stabilising against the dollar on the interbank market. Analysts, however, attribute this to inflows from the recent bond issue and the rise in interest on cedi investments, rather than the Bank of Ghana's intervention measures.
If you are in Ghana, you would need GH¢1.95 to buy the dollar on the Forex Market, while you will need GH¢1.89 on the interbank market, while you need GH¢2.90 to purchase a Pound Sterling and GH¢2.30 to get a Euro on the forex market.
Ghana's laws allow both residents and non-residents to operate foreign exchange accounts.
Any individual or corporate body that operates such an account can easily convert cedis to dollars and pay these monies into the foreign account. Many people have built huge dollar deposits in bank accounts. The share of foreign currency deposits to total deposits in our banking system has increased from 27.9 per cent in April 2010 to 28.2 per cent in April 2011, and further to 31.8 per cent in April this year. Some banks have more foreign currency deposits than domestic currency in their total deposit.
However, analysts say if care is not taken to address the free fall of the cedi, as well as inflation risks, the country's economy may lose its bearings.


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News of Riverton, Lander and Fremont County, Wyoming, from the Ranger's award winning journalists.
Cowboys put game away with 19-5 run in 67-60 win over Southern to end tourney
Nov 18, 2012 - The Associated Press
LARAMIE -- The University of Wyoming Cowboys needed something - anything - to get going late in the second half on Friday against Southern.
The Cowboys trailed the Jaguars and the team's first loss looked like a real possibility.
Then sophomore guard Riley Grabau calmly stepped up and nailed a deep 3-pointer with 5:52 to go. It was the spark the Cowboys needed.
Grabau's 3 started a game-ending 19-5 run by the Cowboys for a 67-60 win in the finale of the Global Sports Hoops Showcase before a crowd of 5,019 at the Arena-Auditorium.
The Cowboys (4-0) went 3-0 in the round-robin tournament, the only team to finish the tourney undefeated.
"It was a team effort and it was Leonard (Washington) that got us all together and just said, 'Hey, we talk about this all the time, facing adversity,'" Larry Nance Jr. said. "We did it. We definitely took on what they had to offer and got through it."
UW struggled most of the way against the Jaguars (1-4). Southern - playing its fifth game on a week-long road trip that started with games at Iowa State and Nebraska before coming to Laramie - led for most of the first half.
Wyoming opened the second half with a quick 7-3 run and led 36-31 on a Derrious Gilmore 3-pointer with 15:40 left.
But Southern used a 15-2 run for a 46-38 lead with 10:29 to go. The Jaguars still led 55-48 with 6:17 to play when Grabau - Wyoming's most consistent player this season - changed the momentum with his big 3-pointer.
Larry Nance Jr. followed the 3-pointer with dunk, then Luke Martinez hit a 3 of his own (his first after four straight misses) and the game was tied 56-56 with 3:54 to go.
Southern took its last lead at 58-56 on a hoop by Jameel Grace on the Jaguars' next possession, but two free throws apiece by tournament MVP Leonard Washington and Martinez gave UW the lead for good at 60-58. Martinez then followed with another 3-pointer and the game was over.
Grabau and Nance sealed with win with two free throws apiece over the final 24 seconds.
Washington finished with a game-high 17 points and added eight rebounds and three assists.


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(832) 355-3627
Appointments available. Call us at 832-355-3627 or find a Doctor using our online search tool.
There is a wide range of ailments and conditions that affect the hand and wrist. Here are several that we treat at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is becoming more and more common. It is a condition that is caused by increased pressure on a nerve in the wrist. This nerve is called the median nerve. The median nerve (nerve affected in carpal tunnel syndrome) lies within a tunnel along with nine other tendons.
For various reasons, this nerve becomes squeezed in this tunnel.The compression of this median nerve causes symptoms consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms may include numbness, tingling, pain in the hand, wrist and arm. Sometimes, the pain may radiate up the arm to the shoulder. The numbness or tingling most often involves the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers.
These symptoms are often worse at nighttime or during the morning time.Some people complain of either pain or numbness or tingling when they are at the computer or driving a car.
It is important to remember that carpal tunnel syndrome is not always associated with pain. As carpal tunnel syndrome worsens, some patients develop a weaker grip, occasional clumsiness, and may drop things.In severe cases, the sensation may be permanently lost and the muscles at the base of the thumb may shrink (thenar atrophy).
The cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is still elusive.We do know that pressure on the nerve cause carpal tunnel syndrome.But, we do not know what causes the pressure on the median nerve.Theories include: swelling of the lining of the flexor tendons (flexor tenosynovitis), fractures of the hand or wrist, arthritis, joint dislocations, and keeping the wrist bent for a long period of time.Fluid retention during pregnancy can cause swelling in the tunnel and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (which may improve after delivery). Other conditions, such as thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes can be associated with carpal tunnel syndrome.
A detailed history and physical examination is crucial in diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome. X-rays will be done in the office to rule out other causes for these symptoms.
Typically, your Physician will order an EMG-NCV (electromyogram nerve conduction study) to corroborate the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. This study will eliminate some other nerve problems, which may mimic carpal tunnel syndrome.
Symptoms can often be relieved without surgery. Identifying and treating medical conditions, changing the patterns of hand use, adjusting the ergonomics at work, using carpal tunnel supports at nighttime may relieve some symptoms from carpal tunnel injections. At times, we will consider anti-inflammatory medications to improve carpal tunnel syndrome.In certain cases, a cortisone injection may be utilized to improve carpal tunnel syndrome.
When the symptoms are advanced, surgery may be needed to make more room in the carpal tunnel for the median nerve.There are many different options to perform this surgery.Many of us utilize the mini-open technique. This is performed under either a local block or regional anesthesia.This means that in most cases, general anesthesia is not employed during the surgery.The surgery takes less than 30 minutes.It is an outpatient surgery.Some of our doctors use a splint for a couple of weeks after surgery.
Some patients experience some soreness in the wrist area for 3-6 months after the surgery.It may take several months for strength in the hand and wrist to return to normal.After the surgery, many patients will feel improvement in the numbness or tingling and pain.However, for patients with severe carpal tunnel syndrome, these symptoms may not abate.The design of the surgery is to decrease the chance of the carpal tunnel syndrome worsening, and to give the patient a chance for improvement.
Please consult your doctor (FIND A DOCTOR AT BAYLOR ST. LUKE'S MEDICAL CENTER) for any additional questions.For symptoms that are left untreated, permanent nerve damage, weakness and muscle atrophy may ensure.Therefore, if you have any of the above-mentioned symptoms, please let your doctor know.
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A trigger finger or trigger thumb is a condition, which involves the pulleys and the tendons in the hand. These tendons are used in flexing our fingers. The tendons work like long strings that connect the muscles of the forearm with the bones of the finger and thumb.
In the finger, the pulleys are a series of rings that form a tunnel through which the tendons must glide, much like the guides on a fishing rod through which the line (or tendon) must pass. These pulleys hold the tendons close against the bone.
Trigger finger/thumb occurs when the pulley at the base of the finger (A1 pulley) is too thick and constricting around the tendon, making it hard for the tendon to move freely through the pulley. Sometimes the tendon develops a nodule (knot) or swelling of its lining.
Because of the size discrepancy between the tendon and the pulley, one may feel pain, popping, or a catching feeling in the finger or thumb. When the tendon catches, it produces inflammation and more swelling. This causes a vicious cycle of triggering, inflammation, and swelling. Sometimes the finger becomes stuck or locked, and is hard to straighten or bend.
Causes of Trigger Finger
The causes of trigger finger are not always clear. Some trigger fingers are associated with medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and diabetes. Local trauma to the palm/base of the finger may be a factor on occasion, but in most cases there is not a clear cause.
Signs of Trigger Finger
Patients with trigger finger/thumb may experience discomfort felt at the base of the finger or thumb, where they join the palm. There may be tenderness noted at this area. A nodule may sometimes be felt in this area. When the finger begins to trigger or lock, the patient may think the problem is at the middle knuckle of the finger or the tip knuckle of the thumb, since the tendon that is sticking is the one that moves these joints.
Treatment of Trigger Finger
The goal of treatment in trigger finger/thumb is to eliminate the catching or locking and allow full movement of the finger or thumb without discomfort. There are nonoperative ways to approach the trigger finger/thumb. Anti-inflammatory medications may be effective in some cases. Often times, wearing a night splint can decrease some of the symptoms of trigger fingers. A cortisone injection into the hand can also help decrease or eliminate the symptoms of trigger finger/thumb. If non-surgical forms of treatment do not relieve the symptoms, surgery may be recommended.
We perform these surgeries as an outpatient. The anesthesia is local anesthesia with some intravenous sedation. The surgery takes less than 30 minutes to complete. During surgery, a small incision is made over the A1 pulley (in the palm of the hand). The pulley is released. Immediately after surgery, active range of motion of the fingers is initiated. Normal use of the hand can usually be resumed once comfort permits. Some patients may feel tenderness, discomfort, and swelling about the area of their surgery longer than others. Occasionally, hand therapy is required after surgery to regain better use. A consultation with your treating surgeon can help decide the best options for you.
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Arthritis refers to any condition that irritates or destroys a joint. The most common type of arthritis is degenerative or osteoarthritis. This occurs when the normal joint lining (cartilage) wears out. The joint space then narrows. Bone spurs may form as a result of the process. During the transformation of the normal thumb joint to an arthritis joint, patients may experience increasing pain, weakness, stiffness and deformity. Patients with arthritis at the base of the thumb often complain of difficulty with pinching, including opening jars, turning doorknobs or keys, and writing.
As the disease worsens, some patients may describe pain at rest and at night, and patients often note loss of pinch and grip strength. In severe cases, progressive destruction and mal-alignment of the joint occurs and a "bump" develops at the base of the thumb, which is caused by the thumb metacarpal moving out of position in relation to the trapezium. The picture below demonstrates a patient with arthritis at the base of the thumb. The arrow is pointing to a bump that may form in severe cases of thumb arthritis.
An xray of this patient is below. One can appreciate the narrowing of the joint along with spuring. The picture on the left is an arthritic thumb joint. The picture on the right is a thumb joint without any arthritis. If you compare where the arrows are pointing to, you can perhaps tell the difference in the radiographic appearance of arthritis.
Arthritis at the base of the thumb is more common in women and usually starts after age 40. The cause of this form of arthritis is unknown in most cases. Past injuries to the joint, such as fractures or severe sprains, and generalized joint laxity may increase the chances of developing this form of arthritis at a younger age. The diagnosis of thumb arthtritis can be made with a good history, physical examination and the use of x-rays. The appearance of the thumb and the location of the pain are usually very helpful in identifying this condition. The treatment options for thumb arthritis vary depending upon several factors.
For less severe thumb arthritis, some patients will usually respond to non-surgical care. Pain medication, topical agents, splinting, and limited use of corticosteroid injections may help improve pain. Patients with advanced arthritis or who do not respond to non-surgical treatment may be candidates for surgical reconstruction. A variety of surgical techniques are available that can successfully diminish or eliminate pain and improve thumb position and function.
Common surgical procedures include: removal of arthritic bone and joint reconstruction (joint arthroplasty), bone fusion or realignment techniques. A consultation with your treating surgeon can help decide the best options for you.
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CHI St. Luke's Health – Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center | 6720 Bertner | Houston, TX | 77030 USA | Telephone: 832-355-1000
CHI St. Luke's Health: Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center | Sugar Land Hospital | The Woodlands Hospital | Lakeside Hospital (located in The Woodlands, TX)
The Vintage Hospital (Located in Northwest Houston) | Patients Medical Center (located in Pasadena, TX) | Emergency Services
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are here:
Space Shuttle Orbitor Collection Model
Handmade spacecraft models are of museum quality. With extremely accurate details the NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter spacecraft model is a realistic scale replica of the original. Specs: Scale: 1/200 Span: 7 inches Length: 31 inches.
American Astronaut N. Jan Davis Holding Space Shuttle
Premium Photographic Print. Product size approx. 12 x 16 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space - your source for high quality fine art posters & prints.
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Any suggestions or comments on AeroSpaceGuide's Space Shuttle Model Section, click on Contact Info.
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I don't have a suitable phone, but I'd like to sync more than 2GB. Can I somehow buy a 20GB pack?
Take the 2-minute tour ×
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From Ubuntu-One website. https://one.ubuntu.com/plans/#storage_panel
No phone is required. Only the music steaming and contact sync requires a phone, and a separate ubuntu-one subscription add-on
You sure can. Check out the FAQ here.