text:
This is also called female arousal disorder, it is characterized by minimal vaginal lubrication or no lubrication et all during sexual excitation along with absence of feeling of excitation. In one study many women complained of lack of sexual arousal so that they get very little lubrication & vagina does not relaxes so that sexual intercourse is painful. In population many women complain of difficulty in getting excited. Many of such women complain of absence of orgasm & sex may be even be painful. It can be from beginning of sexual life or may start later in life. In some arousal may be absent with one partner whereas it is normal with other partner.
Disorder of sex centre: So that vagina & muscles around it goes into painful spasm at the point of penis entry rather than relaxing.
- Hormones Disorder: Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (hypothalamic or pituitary deficiencies) Hypogonadisms, Hypothyroidisms, Testosterone deficiency, hyperprolactinemias, Hypogonadotropics states: Hypothalamic - pituitary deficiencies: Idiopathic GnRH deficiency, Kallman syndromes, Prader-Willi syndromes, Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndromes, pituitary hypoplasia, Ovarian Dysfunctions Hypothyroidisms Untreated endocrinopathies & Diabetics Glucorticoids excess, Cushings disease, Addisons disease
- Excess asthenia i.e. chronic asthenia is a also a significant cause of low sexual excitation & arousal.
- Chronic vulvo-vaginitis, and chronic urethritis.
- Addiction as chronic alcoholism, chronic smoker, heroin or cannabis use.
- Drugs: Sedative: Narcotics, tranquillizers, amphetamine, cocaine, many antidepressant, and anti-psychotics, anti-hypertensives, many other drugs.
- Psychiatric disorder as depression, neurosis, & many other psychiatric disorders.
- Any kind of sexual dysfunction in man leading to non-enjoyment of sexual act by female may lead to absent arousal & excitement.
- Any cause of painful sexual intercourse (as due to vaginismus or dyspaerunia) will also lead to secondary loss of excitation in women whether married or unmarried.
- Decreased blood supply to vagina due to various medical conditions can lead to diminish vaginal lubrication, pain during intercourse
- Infections: In genital tract or vulvae vestibule, vulvo-vaginitis
- Less lubrication due to various reasons as hormone deficiency
- Connective tissue diseases leading to dryness
- Psychological problems: as depression & other psychiatry disorders
- Sicca syndrome
- Idiopathic
- Decreased blood supply to vagina due to various medical conditions can lead to diminish vaginal lubrication, pain during intercourse
- Vulvar vestibulitis
- Restrictive upbringing, Inadequate sexual information, early insecurity in psychosexual role.
- Obstructive vaginal lesions: Vaginal stenosis, vaginal scarring, post surgical problems, retroverted uterus, organic diseases of uterus, endometriosis, adenomyosis, tubes or ovaries, chronic pelvic inflammatory diseases, urethral diverticulum
- Idiopathic vulvodynia
Disorders of sex centre
In the brain there is a particular center in the hippocampus part of fore brain, which regulates the desire of sex. Sex center has some well-defined portion, which control different component of normal sexuality These are as follows as one part of sex center controls sexual desire other parts controls excitation i.e. lubrication in response to sexual excitation, time taken in orgasm & enjoyment of sexual act including enjoyment of orgasm. So any disorder of sex center due to various causes can lead to less excitation in response to sexual stimuli. This occurs due to arousal & excitation-controlling portions of sex center does not work properly so that inspite of not having any physical or mental disorders the patient does not gets sexually excited. Beside absent excitation patient may be sexually otherwise be fit or may be suffering with some other sexual disorder.
The causes of sex centre dysfunction can be divided into two groups
- Immediate cause
- Remote causes.
Such a classification is helpful in the treatment of absent excitation. If the absent excitation & arousal is due to immediate causes, a removal of these factors results in adequate excitation & lubrication & enjoyment by women. If it is due to remote causes, then detailed sex therapy may be necessary for a more lasting cure.
First step in proper treatment of absence of sexual excitation & arousal is accurate diagnosis of cause of her absence of sexual excitation & arousal. So we first try to find out cause. We take detailed history, thorough sex counseling and physical examination by female doctor, examination genitals. After that depending on likelihood of particular, cause relevant tests are done at our centre. Thus you may consult us at our centre & at same time you may get all test done also. The time taken in getting all the reports ready is 36 hours. So if you are from out of Delhi, you may come here for two days.
Onset: We take detailed history, as for duration of absence of sexual excitation & arousal whether it is from the beginning or of recent onset, whether it is mild, moderate or severe. Then we decide whether it occurs all the time or only occasionally. How is the response of previous treatment? Response to previous therapy, pain during sex, Stress (physical or mental), History of precipitation by some drugs any past history of sexual abuse or painful sex.
We examine whether any Sexual Development defect is present or not. The vagina is examined for some local problem. If the vaginal examination is very painful with accompanied spasm is proof of the some local cause. Status of female hormone is assessed by examination of various estrogenic signs. Galactorrhoeas & features of other hormones disorders are checked up. Blood supply of vagina is assessed by, palpating texture of vaginal wall. Nerves supplying the female genitals examined by sensation testing & Deep Tendon reflexes. Then other systems of body are also examined.
At our centre we have all the facility for complete investigation of cause of absence of sexual excitation & arousal & other difficulties. So we perform following tests, step by step depending on their need based on history & examination. The various diagnostic tests needed/performed are as follows: -
Complete sex hormones profile as Estradiol, SHBG etc.
- Thyroids test
- Serum prolactins
- Androgen levels
- Investigation for systemic diseases
- Other tests which may be required depending on likelihood of the any of above causes.
- Detailed Sex Counseling: detailed sex counseling session, in which our male & female sex counselors meet with respective patient, talking in detail resulting in detection of primary cause leading to absence of sexual excitation & arousal.
- In biochemistry Tests as liver function or kidney function tests are done.
These tests confirm the diagnosis of absence of sexual excitation & arousal confirmed.
After the diagnosis of cause of absence of sexual excitation & arousal is made, treatment includes medicines to cure the basic cause.
The various treatment options are:
- Hormone Therapy: When female sex hormone deficiency is found or disorder of other glands the correction of hormone dysfunction is done. Hormone therapy is very effective in curing absence of sexual excitation & arousal, when hormone is the cause for absence of sexual excitation & arousal. It is given in the form of oral tablets. Skin cream, local application of gels. These medicines are given in well tested prescribed doses as described in authentic textbooks. Some hormone precursors have also been used for increasing sexual excitation in many patients in whom no hormone disorder is found.
- Se therapy is offered in which we teach the patient about the various techniques in such a way that it increase the enjoyment of body touch better excitation & arousal in female. This leads to good lubrication of vagina thus women enjoys the sex more pleasurable. Due to this more enjoyment of sex leads to women getting orgasm more often. All this improves the desire of sex as well as enjoyment of sex.
- Treatment of chronic asthenia is done by replacement of antiasthenic drug with good results.
- Treatment of Urogenital infection balanitis, prostatitis, and epididymitis gives immediate relief & very dramatic increase in absence of sexual excitation & arousal.
- Stop Offending drugs which patients is consuming is identified after detailed history & drug challenge is discontinued with permanent cure of the absence of sexual excitation & arousal.
- Treatment of psychiatric disorder are diagnosed & treated.
- Oral supplement of DHEAS is also effective.
- Treatment of sex center disorder: In cases of absence of sexual excitation & arousal due to sex center disorder there are many drugs, which improve the sexual excitation & arousal like hormone precursors, sex center stimulator drugs. These drugs act on sex center & correct the biochemical defect in sex center, leading return of the sexual excitation & arousal.
- Treat other systemic disease when they are detected.
Response of Treatment
When treated is started after the diagnosis of cause. After appropriate drug therapy, sex education & sex therapy patient recover in two months time. The sexual excitation & arousal of patient recovers. After return of libido to normal her family relationship also normalizes.
Side Effects
It has no side effects if given in proper doses and in-patients when it is really indicated. This it is absolutely safe when given by our qualified doctors, in proper doses.


text:
The Fertility Preservation Research Group of the Federal University of São João Del Rei was founded in 2014 to investigate reproductive disorders and assisted reproductive techniques, mainly related to male and female fertility preservation. This group is coordinated by Doctor Paulo Henrique Almeida Campos-Junior, and nowadays our main interest is gonad auto and xenotransplantation, cryopreservation and hormone nano-delivery.
Target Sex:
- Not sex-specific
Praça Dom Helvécio 74 - Dom Bosco36301-160 São João Del Rei , MG
See map: Google Maps
Minas Gerais BR
Email Address:
+55 32 3379 248
+55 32 98525288
- English

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Human Normal Gall Bladder Progenitor Stem Cell Culture - Frozen Vial
Also Avaliable as:
T25 plated cells $550.00 shipped at room temperature. Cat#36158-14N-T25
T75 plated cells $750.00 shipped at room temperature. Cat#36158-14N-T75
T150 Plated Cells $2500.00 shipped at room temperature. Cat#36158-14N-T150
T225 Plated Cells $5500.00 shipped at room temperature. Cat#36158-14N-T225
120 Population doublings or up to 12 passages.
One million viable cells upon thawing of frozen cells, frozen vial of cells shipped in dry-ice.
This product would require pre-coated flasks with Human Normal Gall Bladder Progenitor Stem Cell Culture Complete Extra-cellular Matrix Cat# E36158-14N and Media with Serum Cat# M36158-14NS, and for serum free conditions M36158-14N is required provided the cells are weaned off the serum, as indicated in their specified protocol provided with purchase of these cells.
Cells are only guaranteed with purchase of Celprogen Media, Extra Cellular Matrix, Trypsin EDTA, 1X PBS, and freezing media for the appropriate cell culture, for 30 days from the date of shipment.
For non-academic use, please inquire for pricing.
1000 individual donors are fully characterized proprietary patient-derived xenografts (PDX) representing all major histotypes and capturing tumor diversity.
Subcutaneous, orthotopic and disseminated models. Extensive molecular and pharmacological characterization as well as information on patients' pretreatment to help you select the most appropriate model.
Integrated approach: use the same PDX models and/or the corresponding cell line in 2D/3D screening assays and follow-up in vivo studies, identify biomarkers predicting tumor sensitivity for your compound.
Individually tailored study designs: proof of concept, dose level and schedule optimization, combinations, biomarker identification, etc.
Cancer Stem Cells Being Utilized in Cell-based Assay Screening Publication
The Role of CXCR3-Ligand Axis in Cancer
View Product Data Sheet
View Safety Data Sheet
View Compliance Documents


text:
The Zoo - Liberty of London Cotton Nightshirt - We will be back with new prints soon!
Sold Out :(
Free shipping in Canada!
The finest addition to your nightwear collection this Liberty London Nightshirt is the epitome of everyday luxury. Ultra-soft, woven cotton gives the look and feel of silk. Supreme comfort and heritage style, courtesy of the iconic and luxurious Tana Lawn cotton - Liberty London's signature.
The Print: Children's author and illustrator, OK David, collaborated with the Liberty Design Team to create the Queue For The Zoo fabric design. Hand-drawn and painted exclusively for Liberty, OK David's animal print represents the Third Floor's Childrenswear Department.
- Roomy Fit to allow restless sleepers sweet dreams;
- 100% Cotton;
- Machine wash cold and tumble dry low / Medium Iron / May be dry cleaned;
- Handmade Ethically in Mumbai, India from original Liberty of London fabric.
Find out more about Liberty London's history and legacy here.
If you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
- Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
- Professor, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University
- Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cardiac Physiology
- Associate Member of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University
Academic Affiliations
- Affiliate Professor , Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
- Adjunct Professor, Department of Cellular and Physiologcial Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
- Professor, School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Science, Simon Fraser University
Academic background
- PDF, Niigata Yakka Daigaku, Niigata, JP. 1980
- MSc, PhD, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. 1979
- B.Ed, McGill University, Montréal, QC. 1970
Research Interest
- Myocardial excitation – contraction coupling: ontogeny and phylogeny
Although the neonate heart is completely responsible for delivering blood to the body, it is still immature in many respects. This is particularly true of the cardiac contractile system and its regulatory mechanisms. The strength of cardiac contraction is determined by the amount of calcium (Ca2+) delivered to the contractile element. Thus the levels of Ca2+ inside each cell (or cardiomyocyte) rise and fall each beat, and peak value can vary substantially in response to physiological needs and/or hormones such as adrenaline. How this is achieved in the neonate heart, although poorly understood, is quite different from the adult heart. This has clinical implications; for example, in children with congenital heart disease (present in 1% of live births), the heart must often be arrested during surgical correction. However, these techniques are largely derived from our understanding of the adult heart. We hope to improve the success rate of surgical correction, and better understand "normal" heart development and the deviations that occur in congenital heart diseases.
Current Projects
Molecular mechanisms of electrogenesis in the neonate heart
CIHR funded project focusing on the molecular and cellular mechansms of junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET). JET is an arrhythmia that occurs with relatively high frequency in neonates after open heart surgery. The etiology of JET is poorly understood and as a consequence existing treatments are non-specific and often lack efficacy.
Ontogeny of myocardial excitation- contraction coupling mechanisms
CIHR funded project with the objectives of determining the molecular and cellular changes in cardiomyocytes from the earliest stages post-partum until adulthood with an eye to understanding certain congenital heart diseases.
Regulation of cardiac myofilament sensitivity to calcium
Heart and Stroke Foundation funded project that addresses the structure function relationship of troponin C and its ability to bind Ca2+, a primary determinant of cardiac contractility. The research involves making mutations of troponin C and understanding how the structural changes that result affect Ca2+ binding to the regulatory domain of the molecule. Information from this project will be directed to the development of a novel class of Ca2+-senstizing drugs which may be used to treat heart failure.


text:
Agency Directory
Online Services
Last Updated: June 11, 2020
The publications listed below are
available on-line by clicking the title of the publication. All materials may be copied without permission.
One copy of each publication listed below is available free of charge. If you would like a hard copy of a publication, a
link to the publication order form is provided below. Your request will be filled within 7 to 10 days.
glossary of insurance terms and definitions commonly used in the insurance business is available on the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's (NAIC) website at
Auto Health Homeowner's Liability Life Insurance and Annuities Other
A guide intended to assist consumers in locating resources aimed at the treatment of opioid addiction and other substance use disorders.
Wisconsin Insurance NewsThe Wisconsin Insurance News is published quarterly by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to provide interested parties with information affecting regulation of the Wisconsin insurance market.
Wisconsin Insurance ReportThe Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is required by statute to submit a report to the Governor and to the legislature that includes an organizational chart of the Commissioner's Office, a general review of the insurance business, a summary of complaints, a summary of rules promulgated, a list of insurers authorized to do business in the state, a list of all revocations of licenses or certificates of authority and any legislative changes.
Online Order Form
Printable Order Form
If you want more than one copy of any one publication, please call 1-800-236-8517 (in state only) or (608) 266-3585 or send an e-mail request including your name, phone number, and e-mail address and publication requested to
email@example.com. All materials may be copied without permission. Information regarding
bulk orders is available on OCI's Web site.


text:
The ONA Dublin schedule has been released! Visit the detailed agenda here, and stay tuned for keynote speaker announcements.
Here's the general schedule to help with your planning:
Thursday, May 18
Welcome Reception at Google EU Headquarters, Dublin
Join us for networking and refreshments provided by our host, Google. RSVPs will be required. More information to come.
Time: 6:00p – 8:00p
Locaton: Gordon House, Barrow St, Dublin 4, Ireland
Friday, May 19
The full schedule is now available! We'll have an exciting day of networking and educational programming — as well as the opportunity to test drive some digital tools — at our host venue, Facebook Dublin.
5:30 p.m. – Storyful will be hosting a networking reception once the keynote wraps.


text:
[ login or create an account ]
Research carried out at Victoria University suggests smokers of roll-your-own tobacco may be more intensely addicted to the habit than those who puff on manufactured cigarettes.
PhD graduate Dr Amy Lewis investigated how tobacco smoke influences the proteins involved in biological addiction to cigarettes. These include monoamine oxidase enzymes or MAOs which break down brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and adrenalin which impact on people's mood.
Much of the smoking-related research carried out to date has focused on nicotine, but Dr Lewis studied the effect that other, non-nicotine components of tobacco smoke have on enzymes such as MAOs. She found that cigarettes contain a number of addictive elements within tar.
"This is concerning for roll-your-own smokers as New Zealand loose leaf tobacco has a significantly higher ratio of tar to nicotine than manufactured cigarettes."
Dr Lewis says in addition to being exposed to higher levels of tar, the habits of roll-your-own smokers may increase their level of addiction. This includes the size of the cigarette rolled, not using filters and drawing more intensively because the cigarette doesn't burn as steadily as manufactured brands.
A range of brands and tobacco types were used in the research with samples sent to an overseas laboratory where a smoking machine isolated and extracted the tar. The tar was then used to treat human cells to measure its impact on MAOs.
Dr Lewis also looked at the effect tobacco has on another protein, the Mu opioid receptor (MOR), which helps to mediate the effects of drugs of abuse. Her studies show tobacco smoke increases the abundance of MOR in cells, indicating that this protein is also likely to be a factor in tobacco addiction.
Dr Lewis' work has highlighted a whole new area of research into tobacco addiction.
"The vast majority of work done to date focuses only on nicotine and how it impacts on addictive pathways in the brain but my work shows that other components in tobacco also play a big part.
"It's a bit like watching an orchestra at workthere are so many different brain pathways all working together to establish and fortify tobacco addiction."
Dr Lewis, who is a non-smoker from a smoking family, hopes her work will help in the development of new strategies to help people quit smoking.
"Even though most smokers say they want to quit, few are successful and nicotine replacement therapies have proven to be remarkably ineffective at helping them break the habit.
"More in-depth understanding of what it is about smoking that gets people hooked could help us come up with a new generation of smoking cessation therapies."
All articles and comments on Voxy.co.nz have been submitted by our community of users. Please notify us if you believe an item on this site breaches our community guidelines.
Voxy: Your Voice


text:
A recent Tampa truck accident involving an overturned truck and several crushed cars shocked passing drivers with the appearance of having caused numerous injuries. Fortunately, the collision only involved a tractor trailer that had lost control and overturned while hauling a number of vehicles down the interstate.
Michael Hall was driving the truck for International Core Supply and turning onto the I-275 from Bearss Avenue when the accident occurred. The 39-year old is uncertain as to the actual cause of the accident but stated that he could feel the semi-truck's load shifting as he merged onto the interstate resulting in the entire vehicle turning over. Mr Hall was the only person involved in the accident and suffered a small cut at the back of his head.
Investigations are now under way into the cause of the accident. Mr Hall says he has held a professional driving licence since 1996 and has not had any previous accidents. Jeremy Chohen, a FHP trooper, said that that they would need to look at the weight of the vehicle and how fast Mr Hall was actually driving before determining what or who was responsible for the Tampa truck accident. There was also a state transport inspector on hand to help with the investigations.
Traffic on I-275 was unaffected by the Tampa truck accident but Bearss Avenue was completely closed. Drivers who were on Bearss Avenue at the time of the accident reported narrowly avoiding collisions of their own. However, by the time the truck and crushed cars were cleared from the area, there had not been any further car accidents, damages to vehicles or further injuries as a result of the Tampa truck accident.


text:
Professor Elected to the American Philosophical Society
Michigan State University evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski was inducted into the American Philosophical Society (APS) — the oldest "learned society" in the United States — on Nov. 9 in Philadelphia.
The society was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743 for the promotion of useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach, with 2018 marking the society's 275th anniversary. Lenski, along with 34 others, was elected to the society in April 2018.
"It's amazing to be a part of the American Philosophical Society and to think of its impressive history, starting with Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington," Lenski said. "My own first meeting was terrific, with talks by experts that spanned the spectrum from the humanities and social justice to engineering and science."
Lenski, the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology at MSU, is renowned for his experimental studies of the evolutionary process including his Long-Term Evolution Experiment with E. coli bacteria. He is also a founding member of the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, which brings together biologists, computer scientists, and engineers to illuminate and harness the power of evolution.
Lenski takes an experimental approach to evolution research: watching the process in action. In an on-going experiment that he started in 1988—known as the Long-Term Evolution Experiment or LTEE)—Lenski and his team have been monitoring and analyzing 12 populations of E. coli bacteria as they evolve in a controlled environment more than 70,000 generations. His work has provided fundamental insights into the process of microbial adaptation, the dynamics of genome evolution and the origin of new functions.
"Richard is eminently qualified to take his place in this society along with great thought leaders, from Franklin and Jefferson to contemporary winners of Nobel prizes," said Erik Goodman, BEACON Center director. "He has made enormous contributions to our understanding of evolution through his Long-Term Evolution Experiment.
"Induction into the American Philosophical Society will give Richard additional opportunities to interact with some of the world's leading thinkers from all fields, and he will bring to that distinguished group his unrivaled understanding of evolutionary processes going on in the world around us," Goodman added. "We at Michigan State, and particularly in the BEACON Center, are proud of his many accomplishments and grateful for his many contributions to our understanding of evolutionary processes."
Lenski holds joint appointments in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and in the Department of Integative Biology, both in the College of Natural Science, and in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Ecology in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He is one of seven scholars honored in the APS biological sciences category this year and the second faculty member at MSU honored by induction into the APS. The first MSU facultymember elected to the APS was Jack Liu, who was inducted in 2015.
In addition to this honor, Lenski has received fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations, holds an honorary degree from Wageningen University, and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Molecular Biology Organization, and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
- College of Natural Science News


text:
It isn't often that you hear the words "Dallas-based author" and "ultimate orgasm" in the same sentence, but for Jenny Block, that's just life. Her first book, Open, a book about "sex within the context of open marriage," thrust Block into the world of "sexperts." From there, she became a speaker on sex-positive issues, and has since penned O Wow, a book that promises to help women "find their ultimate orgasm."
When Block first began researching O Wow, she had to decide to fully throw herself into the study of the female orgasm. "When you start to write a book or an article, you start to wonder if you're really an expert. If I was going to be the "orgasm girl," what does that look like," says Block. "I googled Betty Dodson, and I thought it would be so cool to meet her, and then I realized that she was still hosting Bodysex workshops. It cost $1200, and I thought that there was no way I could do that on my writer's budget."
For the uninitiated, Betty Dodson is a legendary feminist sex educator, whose entire mission in life is to help women have better orgasms. Since the 1970s, Dodson has been hosting these Bodysex workshops, in which groups of women learn to masturbate together, in the same room. "She's 85 years old, and she's still doing these workshops in the same Madison Avenue apartment where she was hosting swingers parties in the 1970s. I knew I had to do it," says Block. "So I called my dad, and he's not some Texas oil man, just a rabbi and regular dad, and he said that he'd already put the money into my account, because I had to go masturbate with Betty Dodson.
Block calls her experience, detailed vividly in O Wow, one of the most "life-altering" moments of her life, and not just because of the earth-shattering orgasm that she experienced in Dodson's workshop. From there, Block set out to write a book that would dispel the terrible, outdated myths that women hear about their own orgasms, including one factoid that came from her own publisher. "My publisher says to me, "did you know that there are fifteen different kinds of orgasms? Look into that and see if there's a book there," says Block. "I started doing the research and realized that not only are there not fifteen different kinds of orgasm, there is only one kind of orgasm that comes from way more than fifteen places, and no one is talking about it."
As Block not-so-subtly puts it, the average sex life of a heterosexual couple isn't exactly enthralling for women. In fact, it's often pretty bad. At least 20% of women — and that number is likely much higher — report having never experienced an orgasm of any kind, a fact that doesn't surprise Jenny Block one bit. "We're all walking around pretending that you just put a penis in a vagina and then magic happens," says Block. "We are having procreative sex, sex designed just for making babies, for recreation. Only half of the attendees at the party are having a good time, and that just doesn't seem fair to me."
As for her own sexuality, Block now identifies as a "old-school, wish there was a gold star, boring lesbian," but over the course of her life has had a variety of sexual partners of all genders. "I've had good sex with men, and I've had shitty sex with men," she says. "Focusing on the female orgasm is actually good news for men because you don't have to worry about being bad in bed. It's not your fault, you didn't know. If girls are faking it, and movies are telling you the wrong way to do it, how the heck would you know how to make someone come?"
In that, Block highlights a particularly important point in the world of female sexuality — the fact that it has been long neglected by science, dating back to the days when a woman's doctor would masturbate her with a rudimentary vibrator to treat "hysteria." Until the 1980s, the clitoris, the only organ on any human body created only for pleasure, was barely even acknowledged in medical literature. As such, she's not surprised that so many men (and women!) have no idea how to make a woman have an orgasm. "The men that I've shared this information with have said that I'm their hero," Block says with pride. "I wrote about facilitating female orgasm on Playboy.com and it was their #1 story for a week. Good guys care about female orgasms."
She also notes that the ideas that men have been fed about female sexuality isn't exactly helping them get their partners off. "Women think that you sometimes have to choose between a good lay and a good guy. And that's because we've told boys that they're not supposed to ask us to touch ourselves or ask us what we like," says Block. "All that shit that tells us that women are frigid, that they don't want it as much as men do comes from bad sex. Why would you want to have sex with someone who climbs on top of you, goes in and out a few times, and then falls asleep. That is literally being treated like a sex toy."
We Believe Local Journalism is Critical to the Life of a City
Engaging with our readers is essential to the Observer's mission. Make a financial contribution or sign up for a newsletter, and help us keep telling Dallas's stories with no paywalls.
Support Our Journalism
Also discarded in the book is the notion that women are somehow at fault for their "lack of desire." Low sex drive, or hypoactive sexual desire disorder, is the most commonly reported sexual dysfunction among women, and Block is not surprised. "To blame women for a lack of female desire is stupid, because we don't address female desire," she says. "We say that women don't like sex because we're not having sex that pleasures them. There are secrets that everyone has been keeping from you, guys. It's called the clit, get to it."
As an exhibitor at this weekend's eXXXotica Expo, Block also calls bullshit on the puritanical response to the Expo from Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings and the Dallas Women's Foundation. When she attended the Adult Video News Awards, the "Oscars of porn," a few years ago, Block recalls not being able to tell the difference between attendees at the porn awards, and the thousands of people that flooded into Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. "There were men from all walks of life there that waited four or five hours in line to see their favorite porn star, and when they met, say, Jessie Jane, they were crying and telling her how much they loved her," says Block. "I thought, "you jack off to her! She makes movies showing her stuff, and you're crying about it. It was surreal."
Despite her own love of porn, Block does caution against pretending that what happens in pornographic films is in any way a representation of sex in real life. She calls it "sexertainment," and views porn much in the way that many of us would view sitcoms or fiction novels — it's entertainment, not an educational experience, and exactly why she's decided to be the "regular girl's" orgasm expert. "Most of the books written about orgasms are written by porn stars and sexperts," she says. "That's great, but my audience is the regular girl. The girl who is sleeping with girls or boys and just wants to be having the best orgasms she can have.
This weekend, Block leads a seminar based on the principles and techniques in O Wow at eXXXotica, which will help educate female and male attendees on how to give their partners (or themselves!) the best orgasm possible, and to help destigmatize the idea that women want to have sex — and have orgasms — just as much as men. "I want to call bullshit on everything — bullshit on porn's expectations, bullshit on the religion nonsense. Everybody is fucking. And I think everyone should be fucking as well as possible. That's my whole message."


text:
Cedar Creek Battle App
by: American Battlefield Trust • 22
All Android applications categories
All Android games categories
by: American Battlefield Trust • 22
The Cedar Creek Battle App is the perfect Civil War touring partner for your exploration of the Cedar Creek battlefield in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Or GPS-enabled touring application will guide you to all the historic spots on this 1864 Civil War battlefield - from the sites where the Confederate surprise attack rolled over the Union lines to the climactic counter-attack that led to a crushing Union victory. Click on our "virtual signs" to access a wealth of information related to the very spot where you are standing. Onboard historian videos, audio account of soldiers from the battle, photos, orders of battle, chronologies, key facts, and more are just a click away. Our detailed maps allow you to locate just where certain Union and Confederate units were during different phases of the battle. Never has so much valuable information been made available in such a portable device.
The cedar Creek Battle app is the sixth offering in our expanding Battle App lineup. To learn more about all of our Battle App offerings visit our website at www.civilwar.org/battleapps
from 22 reviews
Download Cedar Creek Battle App
Free - 1.6 - 39M
Share this app


text:
- Home
- Turtles and Turtle Tank Supplies
- Baby Turtles for sale
- Baby Yellow Belly Slider Turtles
Product Description
Baby Yellow Belly Slider Turtle for sale at the best prices on the Internet. Born this year, they are all very active and healthy. Just now starting to feed on our baby turtle pellet food. Myturtlestore.com recommends feeding your new baby yellow belly slider turtle two times a day in a separate bowl that is designated a feeding bowl. Put 2 or 3 of the sample turtle food into the water with your turtle. Give it about 20 minutes to eat then return the turtle to its home. Remember to always wash your hands and feeding bowl with soapy water. All turtles with a shell of less than 4inches are sold for scientific, educational and export purposes only. Here are a few things to know about your new turtle.
Our baby yellow belly slider turtles are about one inch in size and will grow at about a rate of 1 to 2 inches per year. As with most water turtles the male yellow belly slider is smaller than the female. Males getting to be about 6 inches and females up to 12 inches or more. Turtles need good water filtration, a quality uva/uvb bulb, some good baby turtle food and somewhere to get out of the water to bask. If you can provide these few small things your baby yellow belly slider turtle that you buy here can be with you for 20 years or more. You can rest assured knowing that we will get your baby yellow belly slider turtle to you with no problems. We ship all our baby turtles using Ups Next Day Air and 2nd Day Air anywhere in the United States. Plus as an added bonus we offer a free 10-day health guarantee on every baby yellow belly slider turtle for sale here at myturtlestore.com
Find Similar Products by Category
Customers also viewed


text:
VII. Blunt Violations of Human Rights in Other
CountriesThe United States is following
unilateralism in international affairs and has frequently
committed blunt violations of human rights in other
countries.Regardless of the strong call for no war
from the international community, the United States,
together with a few other countries, launched a war against
Iraq on March 20, 2003. The war, which has openly violated
the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, has caused
casualties of innocent Iraqi civilians and serious
humanitarian disasters.During its air attacks
against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2002, the US
troops dropped nearly a quarter-million cluster bomblets and
raided a number of non-military targets, causing heavy
civilian casualties. The Time newsweekly disclosed civilians
killed in the Afghan war had exceeded 3,000.The
cluster bombs also left an estimated 12,400 explosive duds
that continue to take civilian lives to this day (Fatally
Flawed: Cluster Bombs and Their Use By the United States in
Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch, Dec. 18, 2002). In 2001 the
US bombing of Mudoh village reduced the local population to
100 from 250 and leveled all buildings in the village to the
ground. A similar attack on Kakrakai village in central
Afghanistan on July 1, 2002 left at least 54 civilians dead
and more than 100 others injured (Newsweek, July 22, 2002).The rights and interests of prisoners of war (POWs)
were also violated. According to CNN (Cable News Network), a
total of 12,000 Taliban fighters were reported to have been
captured since the US launched its military action in
Afghanistan, but only 3,500 to 4,000 of them survived. It
was found that these POWs were locked into unventilated
steel shipping containers after their capture, and many of
them died of sweltering heat, suffocation or extreme thirst
en route to the prison. Numerous mass graves in which the
bodies of the dead POWs were dumped have been found in
Afghanistan. There are also evidence
of US troops' involvement in the shipping of the POWs. In
November 2001, some 1,000 Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters who
had surrendered in the northern Afghan city of Konduz died
on their way to the prison after they were packed tightly
into unventilated container trucks (Washington, Aug. 18,
2002, AFP).According to media reports, in 2002 the
United States was holding more than 600 detainees from 42
countries, mostly captured during the Afghan war, in its
military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, the
detainees were denied "prisoner of war" status by
the US government and therefore faced uncertainty of their
futures.It was unclear for how long they would
remain in custody or what kind of treatment they would
receive. These detainees were allegedly confined for 24
hours a day to small cells and were not allowed to meet
their families or lawyers. Former Al-Qaeda members were also
subject to torture or other forms of maltreatment.Hundreds of thousands of US troops are stationed
overseas, and such troops have committed crimes and human
rights abuses wherever they stay. Each year US troops
stationed in the Republic of Korea (ROK) are caught
responsible for more than 400 traffic accidents, but only
less than 10 cases would go for trial in ROK courts.On June 13, 2002, two US soldiers driving an armored
vehicle crushed two 14-year-old South Korean girls to death,
but both offenders were acquitted by a US military tribunal
in November. On Sept. 2, three other US soldiers in
Kyonggi-do, ROK, started a tussle on a road, and they
deliberately smashed a taxi car parked on the roadside and
beat up its Korean driver.Earlier reports said six
American soldiers stationed in the ROK were charged with
sexual harassment, assault and scuffle after drinking.The US troops in Okinawa, Japan has long been
notorious for its constant involvement in criminal cases
such as arson and rape. Investigation shows that after World
War II US soldiers have committed more than 300 sex crimes
in Okinawa, with over 130 rape cases reported since 1972.In the wee hours of Jan. 7, 2002, Frederick Thompson,
a US Navy marine stationed in Okinawa, was arrested by local
police on charges of trespassing on private property after
he broke into the apartment of a 24-year-old woman. On Dec.
3 the same year, the police department of Okinawa prefecture
issued an arrest warrant against Major Michael Brown of the
US Marine Corps, who was accused of attempted rape and
damaging of private articles, but the US side refused to
hand him over to the police department. (Asahi Shimbun, Dec.
15, 2002)According to a news report in the Spanish
newspaper El Mundo of April 1, 2002, there are more than
52,000 illegitimate children in the Philippines fathered by
US marines stationed in this Southeast Asian country before
1991. Recently tens of Filipino teenage girls, some of them
not yet 13, were sent to Mindanao in southern Philippines,
to entertain US marines stationed there.VIII.
Double Standards in International Field of Human RightsThe United States, taking a negative attitude toward
the international human rights conventions, is one of the
only two countries in the world that have not ratified the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. To
date, it hasn't ratified the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, which have got ratification from or accession of
most countries in the world.In 2002, the United
States shrank remarkably from its previous stance on
international human rights affairs. It used to ask for the
removal of any text in UN draft resolutions that involved
human rights conventions which all countries were expected
to observe or the US government had not yet ratified, on the
pretext of the US being not a state party to these
conventions. When its request was rejected, the United
States would ask for a separate voting on the text, or even
cast the only dissenting vote. In July 2002, the United
States withdrew a 34-million-dollar contribution it had
promised to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),
forcing the UNFPA to cancel its projects of assistance to
women in countries like Burundi, Algeria, Haiti and India.The United States has been releasing annually Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, censuring other countries
for their human rights situations, but it has turned a blind
eye to serious violations of human rights on its own soil.
This double standard on human rights issues cannot but meet
with strong rejection and opposition worldwide, leaving the
United States more and more isolated in the international community.


text:
Three Valleys: the best mountain restaurants
As far as we are concerned, no ski holiday is complete without top notch food. Our chefs will impress you at dinner time, but that leaves plenty of time during the day for another pit stop, or two! There are course plenty of local specialities to try… We have skied and eaten our way around the Three Valleys and sampled a lot of what's on offer (it's been tough!). And gathered recommendations from our guests' experiences along the way. The result is a compilation of our favourite tried-and-tested mountain restaurants in the Three Valleys.
Restaurants to suit all budgets
While the Three Valleys is renowned for some top notch Michelin star restaurants, there are also a huge selection of mid-range dining spots. Or, if you're on a budget, there are few options to keep the costs down, without much compromise on taste. We've included three levels of mountain restaurants to choose from, to suit all tastes and budgets. You can always mix it up too, and try a mixture of all three.
Three Valleys specialities: must eats!
No visit to the French Alps is complete without oodles of cheese, and the Three Valleys is certainly no exception. Got a craving for a tartiflette, fondue, raclette or a beaufort tart? You'll definitely find some hearty fare in the mountain restaurants of the Three Valleys. We've created a list of our local Savoyard specialities to ensure you don't miss out!
Skiing in a group?
We would advise booking restaurants for big groups for lunch, do ask a member of the team and they will happily reserve a table for you.
We hope you enjoy eating your way around the Three Valleys. And if you have any other suggestions or feedback on our selection we'd love to hear from you, to ensure this is up to date and to share the love of food!
Top End
La Blanchot, MÉRIBEL Altiport
Located at the top of Le Lapin run to Meribel Village, Le Blanchot is a pretty chalet-style restaurant with a great sun terrace. It serves elegant French food and is a great lunch spot for beginners. Don your straw hat (supplied!) and enjoy a long rosé lunch!
La Marine, VAL THORENS
An unexpected nautical themed restaurant in the lofty heights above Val Thorens! A beautiful terrace, wonderful food from a large menu and friendly staff make this a popular choice. Watch out, they only take bookings on a daily basis so be sure to decide early if you are going to dine at 2500m! Located on the Dalles piste off the top of the Cascades chairlift.
Le Plans des Mains, MÉRIBEL
This relatively new restaurant has proved very popular - either opt for white table clothes and posh nosh in the restaurant upstairs or something from the snack bar downstairs. Extremely well located at the base of Mt Vallon with unbeatable access to the 3Vs.
La Bouitte, ST MARTIN DE BELLEVILLE
Awarded it's 3rd Michelin star in 2015, the gastronomique pride of the Belleville Valley, La Bouitte sits in our neighbouring village of St Marcel - this is mountain dining at it best, but your wallet will be slightly lighter when you leave! While away an afternoon working your way through one of their tasting menus of 'surprises' and indulge of some of the finest food out there. Ideal for bad weather days or a glorious long lunch on the terrace – and they will bring you home afterwards!
Jean Sulpice, L'Oxalys, VAL THORENS
This fabulous little Michelin 2* restaurant is ideal for a cosy indoor lunch on a snowy, cold day, or dine al fresco with a view to die for! Delightful family-run restaurant serves fabulous food at reasonable (for the quality!) prices, and with less of a fanfare than at La Bouitte. We love it!
La Portetta Hotel Restaurant, Courchevel 1650
Ski all the way down into Courchevel 1650 and find this recently refurbished hotel located on your right. Great for soaking up the rays and watching the world ski by. Super friendly staff and a great menu make this a lovely place for lunch in the sunshine.
Cave Des Creux, Courchevel 1850
Sitting above the altiport on Courcehvel, this swanky new restaurant offers slap-up lunches and a fabulous view. The huge terrace boasts a firepit to sit around, and there's an incredible dessert buffet! Ski the fabulous Park City piste on your way down to lunch.
Le Roc, COL DE LA LOZE summit
Great, fairly simple food and, in our experience, fantastic friendly service and a huge terrace. Located at the top of both the Loze and Dou des Lanches chairlifts. Admire the colourful swarms of parapentes (paragliders) overhead and increase your dutch courage to have a go after lunch with a glass or two!
Le Bel Air, COURCHEVEL 1650
One of the most popular restaurants in all the 3 Valleys with a great sun terrace facing out onto the piste aligned with plenty of deck chairs in which to sit back and relax. The food is simple and yummy - plus very good value. Reservations are essential, as it gets very booked up on sunny days.
La Ferme de Reberty, LES MENUIRES
Located in Reberty 2000 - La Ferme has a welcoming interior which opens onto a large terrace on the slopes and has extensive lunch and dinner menus. Though this one of the top three places in Les Menuires, the fixed-price menu can be relatively affordable at about €30 for 3 courses.
La Ferme de Choumette, ST MARTIN DE BELLEVILLE
Located just above the tunnel coming in to St Martin, La Ferme is still a working farm with huge windows in the restaurant looking down on the barn below, with cows, sheep, chickens and a goat or two! The menu is huge with excellent food (especially for carnivores) and it's easy to while away lunchtime on their sunny terrace. Great place to meet non-skiers for lunch slightly out of St Martin.
Les Cretes, TOUGNETE SUMMIT
Found at the summit of Tougnete (at the top of St Martin 2 and Tougnete 2 lifts) at a dizzy 2300m, Les Cretes offers great local Savoyard cooking at fair prices and super friendly staff. Watch out for their Plat du Jour – it hasn't disappointed yet!
Le Bouc Blanc, LA TANIA
Found at the top of the La Tania bubble this efficiently run restaurant serves HUGE omelettes, salads and offer a fantastic plat du jour at reasonable prices. Well worth a visit, if only to stop on the huge sunny terrace for a coffee.
La Folie Douce, MERIBEL & VAL THORENS
This wouldn't be a respectable mountain restaurant guide if we didn't include the legendary Folie Douce! There are two in the Three Valleys: one in Meribel (access via the mid station of the Saulire Express) the other in Val Thorens (Les Pionniers or Plein Sud lifts). Both offer two dining experiences – La Fruitiere is the smart restaurant, or there is a more informal self-service option offering more simple but tasty fare. But what most visitors come for is the DJs, the music, the dancing on tables and the incredibly flamboyant dancers and musicians shaking their thang in spectacular costumes and sky-high heels! You've not done après unless you've done Folie Douce après...
Cheap(er!) and cheerful mountain grub
If you want to just stop for a quick bite or need to feed the whole family on a budget try…
La Loy, just above ST MARTIN DE BELLEVILLE on the Biolay piste
One of our local favourites – expect speedy, friendly service and great mountain food for a refuel. A huge south-facing terrace is a lovely place for lunch and for a sundowner before the short ski back to the village.
Le Village des Pains, MÉRIBEL VILLAGE
For a fabulous picnic, head to the glorious bakery in Méribel Village at the bottom of the Golf chairlift - huge baguettes filled to the brim with local cheese and ham, pastries, pizza, chocolate treats - you'll be wanting to stop for picnic lunch as soon as you get to the top of the chairlift!
Petit Rond Point, MÉRIBEL
Snack bar on the lower ground floor of the Rond Point, a great base for families and serves good Paninis and chips. The 'Ronnie' has a huge terrace and live music for après-ski every night, just don't forget the last lift home!
Mottaret Snack Bar, MÉRIBEL MOTTARET
Snack bar at the main lift area in Mottaret (find the big plastic cow and walk straight back into the corner behind it!), home of the legendary €7 Mountain Burger, complete with melted Raclette cheese, each enough to feed a small family!
La Boulotte, COURCHEVEL 1650
Tucked behind the 'Front de Neige' in Courchevel 1650, Katie offers a small but ever-so-tasty lunch menu, including a falafel wrap to die for if you have had your fill of ham and cheese!
Adray Telebar, MÉRIBEL
It's the best place for a cake and hot chocolate pit stop, hidden in the trees. For only 6 Euros you get a huge wedge of cake and a jug of hot chocolate by the fire. Lunch is more pricey but a great plan on a snowy day.
Le Plans des Mains, MÉRIBEL
Extremely well located in the heart of the 3Vs this is a great lunch spot. The snack bar downstairs offers a huge and good quality sandwich, vat of soup and drink for only 10 Euros. A bargain!
The best drinks
VIN CHAUD (glühwein or mulled wine)
Hugely difficult to chose (someone's got to do it…), but we love the vin chaud at Les Peupliers in Courchevel Le Praz – challenge yourself down the black Jockeys piste before ambling over to this charming hotel for a wonderfully spiced and fruity vin chaud – Santé!
The Bubble Bar in Courchevel 1650 serves hot chocolate so heaped with cream and marshmallows, you have to eat it with a spoon, and quickly before it overflows! Or try the artisan traditional hot chocolate served in the bakery, Le Village des Pains in Méribel Village.
It's got to be the Folie Douce in Val Thorens! For some serious decadence, chose the magnum on the high wire that wizzes over the dancing crowds to the bar!


text:
Increase Sought For Drug Strategy
Washington--President Bush is seeking an additional $1.1 billion to finance a revised national drug strategy that contains no major new efforts in drug education.
The $10.6-billion plan, unveiled last month, includes a total of $617.7 million for the Education Department, up from $562.5 million this year. It would boost funding for drug education by 10 percent, from $539 million this year to $593 million in fiscal 1991, and allot nearly $25 million for programs in areas most affected by drugs.
The plan also would more than double, to $102 million, the amount available for comprehensive community anti-drug programs that include schools and neighborhood groups.
The strategy, which updates the program outlined by Mr. Bush last September, earmarks $6 million to assist babies born addicted to cocaine, and would increase funds for demonstration projects that target adolescent addicts.
The plan also calls for the expansion of two major federal surveys of drug use. The National High School Senior Survey would be expanded to include dropouts and younger students. And the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse would be conducted annually, instead of every three years, and would see its sample size more than doubled, to 20,000.
Both surveys have been charged by some experts with failing to adequately document the full extent of adolescent drug use. (See Education Week, Oct. 18, 1989.)
The new plan revises upward several goals outlined in the September strategy. Within the next two years, the plan states, the nation must work to reduce by 15 percent the number of teenagers reporting any use of an illegal drug during the previous month, and to reduce by 30 percent the number reporting cocaine use during the previous month.
In addition, the plan calls for drug use reported by teenagers for the previous month to be reduced by 55 percent within the next 10 years.
In a repeat of what happened when the Administration's previous plan was released, Congressional Democrats called the proposals inadequate. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware last month unveiled an alternative, $14.6-billion drug strategy, which includes an 80 percent boost in drug-education funding.--ef
Vol. 09, Issue 20
We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.


text:
The Whigham couple are expecting their first child and decided to surprise the maternal grandma.
Read: Parents Parody Walk the Moon's 'Shut Up and Dance' For Double Pregnancy Announcement
The Whighams, 37, gave her a box with two beaded bracelets inside, one pink, the other blue. Inside was also a charm that said, "#1 Grandma," but it wasn't attached to either bracelet. Since she already has grandchildren from her other daughter, the couple assumed that she would think the charm would apply to them.
"We will let you know which bracelet to attach it to when we find out which sex it is," she told her mom. Everything came together when she realized it was a pregnancy announcement and began screaming and jumping out of her chair in excitement, barely able to get any words out.
"I'm shocked, oh my God!" she screamed.
Read: Pregnant Mom and Her Daughter Show Their Impressive Dance Moves
Inside the card, along with the bracelet, was a touching poem written as if it was from the baby, "I do not have soft cheeks to kiss, I don't yet have a name. You can't yet hold my tiny hands, nor whisper in my ear. It's still too soon to sing a song, or cuddle me so near."
Watch this wife surprise her husband with a pregnancy announcement after five years of infertility


text:
A fairly remarkable feature of the 2016 election is despite the chaos at the top of the ticket for both parties, only one Member of Congress has been defeated in a primary (and that's because he was under federal indictment). That will change tonight, and North Carolina has at least one House seat where that will be the case.
In the first instance, that is due to redistricting, which has now put Congressman George Holding up against Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (and also former Senate candidate Greg Brannon, who has minimal chance of winning). Several national conservative groups have taken aim at Ellmers for her support of the Export-Import Bank. However, from my perspective it would be great to see her lose tonight because she is the only Member of Congress to have received Donald Trump's endorsement. Trump eked out a primary win of Ted Cruz back in the day, and Trump did do fairly well in this district, so that may end up helping Ellmers out. His actual endorsement is as vague as you would expect, promising the usual list, and "so many other things."
The second instance may have Congressman Walter Jones lose his primary to Taylor Griffin, who only lost to him by 5% in 2014. This race has baffled me for a while, because Jones has a record that most outside groups would normally instantly determine as being worthy of a primary. In 2014, I wrote that:
Taylor Griffin needs to win. Incumbent Congressman Walter Jones has an abysmal record on just about everything from Israel (one of only two Republicans to be endorsed by J-Street, the other one being Ed Whitfield of Kentucky) to Iran (voted against sanctions) to America's role in the world (preaches American decline) to his voting record (most liberal Republican in congress) to just about anything else. He has tried to impeach both president Bush and Obama, said that Dick Cheney will join Lyndon Johnson in Hell, advises the Ron Paul Institute (look no further than here, here, and here to understand that this organization is as insane as its namesake suggests).
To sidetrack for a second, let's look at just how insane the Ron Paul institute is. As always, Jamie Kirchick is worth quoting at length:
That honor [of the craziest member of its Board] likely belongs to the Dickensian-named John Laughland, a British writer who has never met a Central or Eastern European autocrat he didn't like. A prominent defender of the late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Laughland penned a book on his Hague war-crimes trial titled Travesty (the "travesty" in question not being the Bosnian Serb genocide of Muslims, which Laughland denies ever took place, but the "kangaroo court" that brought Milosevic to justice and which Laughland blamed for his 2006 death). Laughland has also defended Ukraine's Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych (whose attempt to steal the 2004 election sparked that country's peaceful Orange Revolution) and lamented the fate of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Europe's last dictator, victim of "humiliating treatment" at the hands of a "propaganda campaign waged against" him "by the West."
Animating Laughland's defense of these loathsome individuals is his belief that "Washington is promoting a system of political and military control not unlike that once practiced by the Soviet Union." But the common thread uniting these alleged victims of Western imperialism is their resistance to the democratizing, liberal reforms insisted upon by the U.S., the European Union, and NATO, not to mention their chumminess with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Laughland is joined in this venture by fellow Ron Paul Institute board member and Oxford historian Mark Almond. The two are trustees of a sinister and deceptively named organization, the British Helsinki Human Rights Group (BHHRG), which trades on the good name of the international civil liberties monitoring organizations founded as a result of the 1975 Helsinki accords.
The BHHRG was an early defender of Milosevic and Serbian behavior in the Balkans generally; Laughland has argued that it is NATO leaders, and not the wartime Serbian political and military leadership, who should be tried for war crimes. (Laughland has long claimed that reports of Serbian-created mass graves in Kosovo were either fabricated or exaggerated). Almond referred to Belarus's 2006 presidential election as a "landslide" for Lukashenko, "demonized" because "after the death of Slobodan Milosevic, the West did not need to look far to find another bogeyman." The election results were rejected by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; EU leaders deplored the farce as "a sad exception … on a continent of open and democratic societies."
In addition, the BHHRG regularly advocates positions that regurgitate Russian nationalist talking points, minimize xenophobic and illiberal attitudes prevalent in the former Eastern bloc, or excuse authoritarian tendencies. Its website, for instance, claimsthat the Baltic republic of Latvia was "incorporated" into the Soviet Union, not violently invaded by Stalin (who sent over 100,000 Latvians to the gulag) and occupied for nearly half a century, all of which is a "myth." Daniel McAdams, Paul's erstwhile congressional foreign-policy adviser and the new executive director of his institute, who has "monitored" elections for the BHHRG, published an article for Rockwell's website referring to Lukashenko's "authoritarianism" in scare quotes.
Next on the list of Paul Institute board members are the 9/11 conspiracy theorists. Most prominent among them is Judge Andrew Napolitano, a legal analyst for Fox News who has said that "It's hard for me to believe that [7 World Trade Center] came down by itself" and that the 9/11 attacks "couldn't possibly have been done the way the government told us."
He is joined by Eric Margolis, who, despite an apparent lack of a Ph.D. or appointment at an institution of higher learning, is listed as a member of the organization's "academic board." Margolis says that "conclusive proof still lacks" connecting Osama bin Laden to the 9/11 attacks and has speculated that the events could have been "a plot by America's far right or by Israel or a giant cover-up."
Southwestern Law School professor Butler Shaffer, in an article for Rockwell's site titled, "9/11 Was a Conspiracy," asks, "In light of the lies, forgeries, cover-ups, and other deceptions leading to a 'war' in Iraq, how can any intellectually honest person categorically deny the possibility of the involvement of American political interests in 9/11?"
And what would an enterprise featuring Ron Paul be without a little Civil War revisionism? For that, there's Walter Block, an anarcho-capitalist professor of economics and fellow at the Mises Institute. Like many in Rockwell's neo-Confederate circle, Block believes that the wrong side won the "war against Southern succession" and blames most of America's current problems on "the monster Lincoln."
Also on Paul's board are prominent former government officials who claim that American Jews constitute a "fifth column" aimed at subverting American foreign policy in the interests of Israel. Michael Scheuer, a former CIA intelligence officer, has used this precise phrase, alleging that a long list of individuals, organizations, and publications are "intent on involving 300 million Americans in other people's religious wars."
Of course, Griffin did not win in 2014, and that election was back when Palin had more credibility than she does now (although the fact that she backed Trump in her bizarre speech may also play well in North Carolina). However, it will be interesting to see if Griffin can pull off a win this cycle. There is a third candidate this time, who will probably perform better than the third candidate in 2014, but hopefully he won't detract from Griffin's performance too much.
We will see what happens tonight. Everyone will be looking at California's Democratic primary results for good reason. I actually think that last night was the worst possible time for the AP to call the Democratic race for Hillary Clinton, because it has energized Bernie Sanders's supporters in California at just the right time for them to turn out and vote, and Hillary supporters won't feel nearly as likely to vote, since their race is called (even Trump's supporters stopped turning out at the same levels after he won the Indiana primary–it's only a natural decrease in turnout). However, it is definitely worth keeping an eye on what happens in North Carolina.


text:
Historic Trust: Voice your feelings about possible village center garage
To the Editor:
Imagine historic buildings in the Village Center gone and, in their place, a multitude of parking garages three stories high.
Zoning regulations were meant to protect the cultural and architectural history of our town, not give permission to destroy it.
Below is the proposed amendment to the New Milford Zoning regulations for the Village Center District that will do just that:
o c. Parking Facilities, both covered and uncovered, shall be permitted as a primary use subject to acquisition of a special permit and site plan approval in accordance with Chapters 175 and 180 and subject to the following conditions:
1. All off-street motor vehicle parking facilities shall comply with the provisions of Section 135-060: Off-Street Parking and Facilities Specifications, of these regulations.
2. No facility shall be greater than three (3) stories or 35' in height.
3. Landscaping shall be provided along all street fronts. The Commission may require additional landscaping or more mature planting if unusual conditions dictate more extensive screening.
Public hearing date: July 28, 2009.
The zoning regulations say the purpose of the Village Center District was created to "safeguard the heritage of the Town of New Milford, by preserving districts which reflect elements of its cultural, social, economic, political and architectural history and the stabilizing and improving of property values, the fostering of civic beauty, the strengthening of the local economy, controlling the flow of traffic and promoting the health, safety and welfare of the townspeople, by assuring orderly and integrated development."
What one should consider about this proposal:
nThe Village Center District is in our National Historic District.
nThe proposal makes parking facilities a primary use in the Village Center.
nThe proposal does not consider historic properties in the Village Center.
nThe proposal does not protect the historic properties within the district.
nThe proposal allows any property to be demolished for the use of a parking garage of up to three stories.
nThe proposal does not preserve the district to reflect our architectural history.
nThe proposal will not improve property values.
nThe proposal will increase traffic in the Village Center.
nThe proposal increases carbon monoxide emissions in a populated area.
nThe proposal does not improve quality of life in the Village Center.
nThe proposal may make a parking garage the gateway to the Village Green.
nThe proposal will allow New Milford Hospital to build a three story garage in the Village Center, as first proposed in 2003.
nThe proposal does not consider the residents of the Village Center.
One reason this regulation is being proposed is to allow parking on the site of the former Mobil Gas station to become a parking lot.
It is on the corner of West Main Street an Bridge Street.
The vacant lot cannot be built on in the foreseeable future due to the hundreds of gallons of gasoline that leaked into the soil years ago. Environmental remedies are continuing.
In order for this property and others like it to be used due to is past problems, the Trust proposes a change in the proposed regulations as follows:
c. Parking Facilities, both covered and uncovered, shall be permitted as a primary use on any site either used, or formerly used, as a service station subject to acquisition of a special permit and site plan approval in accordance with Chapters 175 and 180 and subject to the following conditions: (same as above).
The passage of this proposal will allow the paving of paradise to create more parking.
Two churches met that fate in the 1970s. They were the Methodist Church and St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic church, located on Elm Street.
Their legacy is just a pair of driveways entering a large Village Center parking lot. Should the remaining buildings on that street or other streets in the village share their fate?
If you think they should not, attend the Zoning Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 28 in the Loretta Brickley room of town hall.
Give your opinion during public participation. Don't allow another loss of our architectural heritage.
Please sign our petition at our booth on Village Fair Days against the Zoning Commission's passage of this proposed regulation: Chapter 80 Section 080-020c: Parking Facilities in the Village Center District, and then attend the Zoning Commission meeting.
for Historic Preservation


text:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Losing Nemo
This year's snow coverage has been horrible. Front and center is The Weather Channel's naming of winter storms. The weekend blizzard was called "Nemo."
The Weather Channel said it started the naming thing to increase public awareness of potentially dangerous storms. Do you really think we're that stupid?
Naming winter storms is a marketing gimmick, hype, and downright silly. We can all see that. Stop it. Stop it now.
There's an opening and a need for a good cable weather channel you can drive a truck through-- informative without being alarmist, reliable and entertaining. But, wait a second. The Weather Channel is owned by Comcast, one of nation's largest cable companies. Do you really think it would open the system to competition?


text:
With 75 days to go to Brexit, KPMG is one of the few consulting firms to put its head above the barricades.
James Stewart, Head of Brexit at KPMG UK said today, "These are extraordinary times for business, a period when nobody seems to know what's going to happen and the stakes are sky high. Despite the parliamentary gridlock most business people still expect some sort of deal to be done somehow. However confidence is thinning and we continue to see heavy client activity on no-deal planning.
"A number of UK businesses are looking very closely at their working capital and financing. This means pricing up any potential penalties and the direct financial costs of a no-deal situation.
"Others, particularly foreign owned multinationals, don't really see cashflow as their primary issue. For them Brexit is more about reputation, margins and new regulatory hurdles. We think everyone should be looking at contracts, supply chain security and workforce planning. Even at this stage we are still seeing massive variations in preparedness.
"Firms that are capital intensive or operating a negative working capital model will be particularly vulnerable to cost or revenue shocks. Also companies who sell in sterling and buy in dollars could be in real trouble if they haven't hedged correctly. A raft of businesses in automotive, retail and hospitality remain very exposed."


text:
Samsung's new LTE 4G Android handset leaks, will be Verizon bound
Gizmodo has received a tip of a new Samsung phone heading to Verizon's LTE networks very soon, with a early January CES launch on the cards.
According to he tipster, the new Samsung LTE 4G smartphone will feature a first for a Verizon device – a front-facing camera, the device currently runs Froyo and Samsung's custom UI TouchWiz.
There's not much else to go on other than a decent shot of the screen (no Mr Blurrycam here), leading us to think its not quite a leak but possibly a very tightly controlled marketing exercise by Samsung.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) commences at the beginning of January, we are sure that this 4G beauty will be among a number of new devices unveiled by the world's largest smartphone manufacturers.


text:
10 Simple Steps for Optimization of Your Social Accountsby QArea Team on January 28, 2014
The world is rocked by social media success of a few companies like Starbucks, Coca Cola and Virgin America. Far more companies desire to succeed on social media yet. The major challenge about this campaign all companies run into is lack of the proved strategy and resources. The major challenge about this campaign all companies run into is lack of the proved SEO strategy and web development resources.
To gain some insight in what to base your social media strategy on, consider the following easy guide of 10 steps which will help you efficiently optimize the social media channels you use.
- Analytics
Social media analytics is essential when a evaluating your social profiles' effectiveness across content format, content type, time of day, topic and other dimensions. You should be always tracking your social media reach, traffic and engagement. Eventually you are to draw conclusions from these to inform the subsequent social sharing on.
- Consistent branding
In terms of personal social media usage, it's recommended to use one profile photo across the social channels. Thus, followers familiar with you on Twitter can recognize you on Youtube. It means the consistent photo breaks the barrier on your way to gaining new followers. When it comes to corporate accounts, use one logo everywhere. Or in case of running a campaign, using one campaign theme on all channels is consistent.
- Cross-promotion
Despite your major aim to be useful on each social channel separately, it sometimes makes sense to promote your other accounts on social sites in order to inform your users of your presence elsewhere. Besides, you may incorporate your other accounts to drive more awareness of contests, campaigns, events and other activities you're running on a specific network.
- Engagement
Rather than social media automation, your company's presence on social channels should be engaging. Only by retweeting, sharing content, commenting, responding and engaging in all ways you can retain the customers.
- Following back
After getting a new Twitter follower, what you need to do is verify they're real and follow them back. Following back on social media is considered a nice gesture. Besides it's a chance to listen to your followers. Twitter also lets your followers send you a private message that is often an effective customer service channel.
- Hyperlinks
You may as well check out the valuable hyperlinks afforded on your Google+ page and take advantage of them. It's possible to drive clicks for your web site from your social profile views. Besides, the inbound links help in Search Engine Optimization. However, the important thing is to make sure the anchor text of your link aligns with the linked page.
- Linking to others
Sharing a post on your social account, make a habit of providing links to both the author and publication. First, your company will get noticed by the author. Second, the author may retweet, follow or give you a response.
- Paid advertising
It's advised to incorporate some paid advertising as well to increase the chances that your fans notice your content, thus helping you extends your social reach to those not following you yet.
- Proactivity
Social media users expect you to promptly answer to their comments or issues. That's why you should be mindful of what they say and respond quickly. If you are late to give an answer the same hour, try at least not to miss the day.
- Social trade tricks
Make use of Twitter's retweets, Google+ Hangouts and other service-specific features of social sites, because after learning these unique things well you'll master beneficial services of social media for your company more effectively.
To conclude, it's fair to say that social media can boost tremendous value for your company. That's why any business striving for social media success needs an informed strategy and social marketing campaign which you can start by implementing 10 steps given above.


text:
[Petitioners] assert the petitioners do not seek to exercise the right to marry but rather a new and nonexistent "right to same-sex marriage." Glucksberg did insist that liberty under the Due Process Clause
must be defined in a most circumscribed manner, with central reference to specific historical practices. Yet while that approach may have been appropriate for the asserted right there involved (physician-assisted suicide), it is inconsistent with the approach this Court has used in discussing other fundamental rights, including marriage and intimacy. Loving did not ask about a "right to interracial marriage"; Turner did not ask about a "right of inmates to marry"; and Zablocki did not ask about a "right of fathers with unpaid child support duties to marry." Rather, each case inquired about the right to marry in its comprehensive sense, asking if there was a sufficient justification for excluding the relevant class from the right.
It is now clear that the challenged laws burden the liberty of same-sex couples, and it must be further acknowledged that they abridge central precepts of equality. Here the marriage laws enforced by the respondents are in essence unequal: same-sex couples are denied all the benefits afforded to opposite-sex couples and are barred from exercising a fundamental right. Especially against a long history of disapproval of their relationships, this denial to same-sex couples of the right to marry works a grave and continuing harm. The imposition of this disability on gays and lesbians serves to disrespect and subordinate them. And the Equal Protection Clause, like the Due Process Clause, prohibits this unjustified infringement of the fundamental right to marry.
These considerations lead to the conclusion that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty. The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry. No longer may this liberty be denied to them. Baker v. Nelson must be and now is overruled, and the State laws challenged by Petitioners in these cases are now held invalid to the extent they exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples.
Of course, the Constitution contemplates that democracy is the appropriate process for change, so long as that process does not abridge fundamental rights. Last Term, a plurality of this Court reaffirmed the importance of the democratic principle in Schuette v. BAMN, noting the "right of citizens to debate so they can learn and decide and then, through the political process, act in concert to try to shape the course of their own times." Indeed, it is most often through democracy that liberty is preserved and protected in our lives. But as Schuette also said, "[t]he freedom secured by the Constitution consists, in one of its essential dimensions, of the right of the individual not to be injured by the unlawful exercise of governmental power." Thus, when the rights of persons are violated, "the Constitution requires redress by the courts," notwithstanding the more general value of democratic decisionmaking. This holds true even when protecting individual rights affects issues of the utmost importance and sensitivity.
The dynamic of our constitutional system is that individuals need not await legislative action before asserting a fundamental right. The Nation's courts are open to injured individuals who come to them to vindicate their own direct, personal stake in our basic charter. An individual can invoke a right to constitutional protection when he or she is harmed, even if the broader public disagrees and even if the legislature refuses to act. The idea of the Constitution "was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts." This is why "fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections." It is of no moment whether advocates of same-sex marriage now enjoy or lack momentum in the democratic process. The issue before the Court here is the legal question whether the Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry.
No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed.


text:
Top Management consists of the Chief Executive Officer and three Directors
Top Management consists of the Chief Executive Officer and three Directors
Chief Executive Officer
Prof. Dorington O. Ogoyi is the CEO of National Biosafety Authority . Prior to his appointment, Prof. Ogoyi was an Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology and Director of Research and Development at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK). He also taught for several years at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Nairobi.
Over the years, he has carried out research and mentored a number of graduate students in a wide range of research areas in Molecular Biology and Proteomics. Prof. Ogoyi obtained his BSc, MSc. and Ph.D. (Biochemistry) degrees from the University of Nairobi in the years 1986, 1990 and 1994, respectively. He gained his postdoctoral exposure at the Department of Experimental Zoology, University of Utrecht, Netherlands (1995-1996) and at the National Institute of Entomological Sciences (NISES), Tsukuba, Japan (2000-2002). He is also a holder of MBA (Strategic Mangement) from Moi University.
Prof. Ogoyi is currently the National Focal point for the Biosafety Clearing House and a member of the Advisory Adhoc Committee on Biosafety Clearing House. Recently, he was also selected to represent the African region in the Compliance committee of the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety. Prior to joining NBA, he participated in a number of Biotechnology and Biosafety awareness creation initiatives in the country incuding the agitation for the enactment of Biosafety Act, 2009. He is curretly a member of the African Food Safety expert network under the African Biosafety Network of Experties (ABNE).
Since joining NBA he has facilitated the establisment of a functional Biosafety regulatory framework in Kenya through establishment of a transparent and prectictable mechanism of review of applications based on sound science.
She is a qualified accountant and administrator with vast experience in the public sector. She holds a Master in Business Administration-Finance major and Bachelor's Degree Finance Major from the University of Nairobi. She is also a CPA(K), a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants Kenya (ICPAK). She has held various senior management positions in the Kenya public sector including County Treasury Director, Finance Manager, Grants Manager, and Senior Accountant among others. She is an abridged trained trainer and participates a lot in civic education, youth counselling and secondary school motivational talks.
Ms. Margaret Njuguna is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Certified Public Secretary (CPSK). She holds an LLB degree from the University of Nairobi, a post-graduate certificate in Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology from Ghent University, Belgium; and Masters degree in Governance and Ethics from Mount Kenya University. Ms. Njuguna also holds a B.Ed degree from the University of Nairobi.
Ms. Njuguna has had extensive training in diverse areas including corporate governance, intellectual property laws, biosafety and leadership among others. Prior to joining NBA, she held various positions in the public sector and has extensive experience.
Prof. Theophilus M. Mutui, PhD is the Acting Director, Technical Services, National Biosafety Authority. He oversees all strategic and regulatory operations of Technical Division. He holds a PhD in Horticultural Sciences (Molecular Biology and Post-harvest Physiology) from Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany. He did his post doctorate studies at University of Georgia, USA and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Maryland under a fellowship from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Previously Prof. Mutui was a faculty member in the Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, University of Eldoret (formerly Moi University) in Eldoret, Kenya. He has many years of experience in research, consultancy and teaching. He is a member in good standing of many local and international professional societies such as the International Society for Biosafety Research (ISBR), International Society of Horticultural Sciences (ISHS), Horticultural Association of Kenya (HAK) and a member of Kenya DAAD Scholars Association (KDSA). Prof. Mutui has widely published in international refereed journals and and he is regularly invited as a guest speaker in International scientific conferences.
Physical address: Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) Building, Loresho, Off Waiyaki Way.
Postal address: P.O. Box 28251 / 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 0202678667
Cell: 0713854132
Email: email@example.com
Copyright © 2020 National Biosafety Authority. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Hyundai, workers reach agreement on salary hikeMonday, October 29, 2012
Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country's second largest car maker, reached an agreement with workers on pay raises following a similar increase by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
The salary increase ranges from Rs 11,000-Rs.13,000, excluding the components such as the variable dearness allowances and other welfare benefits, the company said in a statement.
Workers will get an average salary increase (including variable pay) of Rs 14,283 over three years, according to the United Union of Hyundai Employees (UUHE).
The benefits have also been enhanced.
The salary is a 45% hike over the settlement made in 2009, when the average salary increase was Rs 9,820.
"We tried our best to get the best settlement. A majority of our workers are happy with the settlement," said G. Vinayagan, president, UUHE.
According to the three-year agreement, which will become effective from 1 April 2012, the 2,000 permanent workers at the company will get 40% of the salary increase in the first year and 30% in the next two years, the company said in the statement.
The company has also increased the night shift allowance to Rs 65 from Rs 55 per night and the housing loan interest subsidy to a maximum of Rs 650 per month from the current Rs 354.
The medical scheme has also been revised so that the employees can claim Rs 2.5 lakh if admitted in a hospital compared with the Rs 1 lakh amount earlier.
Critical illness cover has been doubled to Rs 6 lakh from Rs 3 lakh.
Outpatient claims have been increased by Rs 2,000 to Rs 8,000 a year.
In September, India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki announced an average wage increase of Rs 14,800 a month that will be spread over three years, in addition to benefits such as interest-free personal loans up to Rs 20,000 and low-cost housing options.
Arundhati Ramanathan
Source: www.livemint.com


text:
President Obama has vetoed a ban on Apple products after losing a patent battle to Samsung. Is this a favor between old friends?
Apple has long been a Democrat Party and Obama supporter. Apple's founder Steve Jobs personally helped Obama in his 2012 re-election campaign, while Bill Clinton reportedly sought Jobs advice on the Monica Lewinsky scandal, among many other things.
The official explanation for the veto on the ban by the International Trade Commission, according to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, is that patent holders such as Samsung 'could harm consumers and competitive conditions in the U.S. economy.' This is a surprising reason, given that US courts have upheld product bans based on similar patent claims—some favoring Apple against Samsung. In fact, patent hogs damage the US economy regularly. Why the change of criteria now? Why veto this product ban and no other similar bans?


text: Three friends take a slow, casual trek through every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. One has never seen the full series before, seeing the show for the first time. The other two have seen it before and look on it with varying levels of fondness. Occasionally, there might be special guests.


text:
|Chicken McTurko
Location - 1001 Direk Mah. Sultanahmet - İstanbul, Turkey
Price - 10.30TRY = ~5.74USD
Calories - ~470kcal
Rating, More Photos, Receipt and more, after the break.
2016 Edit - This looks to have since been discontinued at McDonald's Turkey. At the time of writing in 2012 it was still on the regular menu.
After flying into IST from CPH, I quickly hit up the Turkish Airlines lounge (which is pretty great), had a shower, a couple cups of Turkish coffee, loads of fruit, and headed out into the city to go exploring for the next 20 hours. I had spent most of the morning exploring the old city and though I had walked past the Sultanahmet branch of McDonald's (which was the only one I saw in the Old City) a couple of times, I decided to go in slightly after the lunch rush. As is normally the case, I saw a few items being promoted that weren't on the website: a Kiwi Smoothie, and a 'Browni Intense' McFlurry. I even debated trying one of the 'Böğürtlen' McFlurries as even the cashier couldn't tell me what it was, Google Translate later told me it's just Blackberry (which I've had previously in China). Though promotional items, I passed on these dessert items because I just had a special McFlurry in Denmark the evening before.
What I did end up deciding on was the 'McTurko Chicken', being similar to a kebab, it was the most unique thing on the menu. The reason why I was hesitant to choose this was because it was similar to the 'Chicken Foldover' which I had in Malaysia back in 2005 (and which I have since learned is a Ramadan promo item) and Lebanon in 2007. Everything in Istanbul was slightly more expensive than I expected it to be, and at 10.30TRY (~$5.70USD) for the combo, which I thought was a little pricey. It was packaged in its own unique tearable box. You tear off the top half, and use the bottom to hold it. Inside the tearable box, the sandwich was wrapped with another piece of wax paper, which made the bottom difficult to eat, and I ended up just using my fingers for the last 2 bites.
The restaurant had a nice mix of tourists and locals, and though the interior seating area was pretty full with locals there was a quiet outdoor seating area that was only accessible for McDonald's customers. Though the branch was on a busy street, this seating area was behind the building, shielding it from the noise. The trees and sunshine gave it a nice atmosphere that I haven't had at other branches. In Turkey, you had the option of having Beef or Chicken, and I chose chicken because I had beef in Malaysia and Lebanon, though when I found out that it was breaded and fried chicken, I regretted not choosing beef. I think the McTurko would have worked a lot better with grilled Chicken, McDonald's in Turkey does offer a Grilled Chicken Burger, and it's even served on a whole wheat bun (same as Denmark), so it must be cost cutting reasons why they do not offer it in the wrap. When I ordered, I assumed it would had a thin bread (similar to Pita), which was the case in Malaysia and Lebanon. But the bread was thick, soft, and hearty, that you needed to have a lot of filling inside or else all you would taste would be bread, and it did not disappoint. Not only did it have two full size chicken patties, but it also had a decent filling of large tomato pieces and copious amounts of lettuce. Long time readers know that I don't like it when my sandwich has too much sauce on it, but this had just the right amount of the tangy, slightly garlicky (similar to Tzatziki) sauce.
All in, the only disappointment I had with it was that it was lukewarm, if the bread would have been served piping hot, it would have been great. Another point was that the website states a Chicken Turko, with medium fries, and Coke Zero, would be only 820kcal. If the fries make up ~350kcal, (and naturally, Coke Zero having 0kcal) that leaves ~470kcal for the sandwich, which I find hard to believe with the sheer amount of bread and the two fried chicken patties in the sandwich ,I think it would be closer to ~600kcal.


text:
Favorite Leafy Green - Kale.
Favorite Beatle - Paul.
Favorite Pasta Dish - Linguini Carbonara.
Favorite Food Group - Dairy.
Favorite Coffee beverage - Starbucks Venti Non-Fat Caramel Macchiato.
Favorite Rolling Stones song - You Can't Always Get What You Want.
Favorite Beatles song - Hey Jude.
Favorite Dylan song - Simple Twist of Fate.
Favorite Rose - Sterling.
Favorite Saint - St. Therese of Lisieux.
Favorite Footwear - Barefoot.
Favorite Woody Allen movie - Annie Hall.
Favorite Scorcese movie - Good Fellas.
Favorite Mel Brooks movie - Young Frankenstein.
Favorite First Lady - Eleanor Roosevelt.
Favorite TV Game Show - Jeopardy!
Favorite One-Hit Wonder Song - Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry.
Favorite Stooge - Curly.
Favorite Meryl Streep Movie in Which She Does an Accent - Sophie's Choice.
Favorite Meryl Streep Movie in Which She Doesn't Do an Accent - Kramer Vs. Kramer.
Favorite Keanu Reeves Movie -
Favorite Day of the Week - Monday.
Favorite Shakespearean Play - Twelfth Night.
Favorite Cheesy Celebrity Autobiography - A Paper Life by Tatum O'Neal.
Favorite Sushi Roll - Yellowtail Roll With Shiso.
Favorite Simpson - Marge.
Favorite '80's Supermodel - Paulina Porizkova.
Favorite Little-Known 14th Century Martyr - Margery Kempe
Favorite Fruit - Peach.
Favorite Buddy Film - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Favorite John Wayne Movie - The Cowboys.
Favorite Katherine Hepburn Movie - The Philadelphia Story.
Favorite Tom Cruise Movie Back When I Used to Like Tom Cruise - Risky Business.
Favorite Rock and Roll Icon Who Died of an Overdose - Janis Joplin.
Favorite Potato Chip - Tim's Potato Chips Dill Pickle Flavor
Favorite Tea - Earl Grey
Favorite '70's Single-Camera Sitcom - M*A*S*H.
Favorite '70's Three-Camera Sitcom - The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Favorite NFL Team - Dallas Cowboys.
Favorite Children's Book - Charlotte's Web.
Favorite Tree - Pine.
Favorite Weed - Dandelion.
Favorite Composer to Sing - Handel.
Favorite Composer to Listen to - Beethoven.
Favorite Composer in an Academy Award Winning Movie About His Life - Mozart.
Favorite Flower - Daffodil.
Favorite Catwoman - Julie Newmar.
Favorite Shade of Green - Kelly.
Favorite Toni Morrison Novel - Beloved.
Favorite Gabriel Garcia Marquez Novel - Love in the Time of Cholera.
Favorite Wife of Henry VIII - Catherine of Aragon.
Favorite Fictional Dwarf - Bashful.
Favorite Real-life Dwarf - Peter Dinklage.
Oh, and...
Favorite color - Red.
Hurry, hurry and visit our other spinners...
VandyJ at The Testosterone Three and Me
Kendra at Life in the slow lane
Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie - NEW on FRIDAY!!
Next week on The Spin Cycle...
It's a laugh riot this week on The Spin Cycle!!
Have you got a favorite joke? Share it with us all! I'm afraid I won't be doing this, as I can NEVER remember a joke. I am actually a fairly good joke teller, but a poor joke rememberer. I could really use a comedy writing staff.
Or maybe you have a hysterical video or picture you want to share?
Comedy of Errors? Comedy Club? Comedy Central? Comedy Traffic School?
Write your spin. Let me know. I'll link it here.
Share your spin!
Highlight the code.
Copy to your HTML.
Et voila! Linked!