January

1

Judges rule patrons may sue nude bars for lap-dance overcharges

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Judges rule patrons may sue nude bars for lap-dance overcharges
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Saturday, April 23, 2005

A three-judge Texas Court of Appeals ruling will allow men who were overcharged at nudie clubs to sue for refunds and damages.

The two plaintiffs, Paul Brian Meekey and Michael Fulmer, had their cases heard because they were charged more than a regular lap dance fee when they used a credit card, typically $25 for a $20 dance.

“Texas law is pretty clear that you cannot charge someone extra for using a credit card,” said Sandra Krider, an attorney for the patrons. “The fact that they are strip clubs shouldn’t mean they get away with it.”

A lawyer for the businesses, Rick’s Cabaret and the Men’s Club, argued a case based on the type of employment the ladies agreed to perform.

“Since the dancers are independent contractors and not employees of the club, the clubs are not the ones selling the dances,” said attorney Albert Van Huff.

But the men’s attorneys said the win could potentially become a class-action suit with many hundreds of men claiming their day in court. That could present a problem for other patrons who may not want their name and their use of a credit card at a nudie bar released in court transcripts.

“They are going to want the (strip) clubs’ credit card companies to give them the names of all the different people who have charged dances there,” said Van Huff.

The 14th Court of Appeals, a Texas court with headquarters in Houston, had reversed a ruling of a lower trial judge that this case should be heard before the state Finance Commission instead of in a judicial proceeding. The case was sent back to be tried again.

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January

1

Family seeks prosecution over loss of UK Nimrod jet in Afghanistan

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Family seeks prosecution over loss of UK Nimrod jet in Afghanistan
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Following a new report into the loss of a Nimrod jet belonging to the UK’s Royal Air Force over Afghanistan the family of one of the victims is seeking a criminal prosecution. Sergeant Ben Knight, aged 25, was among the fourteen killed when Nimrod XV230 crashed in 2006.

Knight’s parents have applied via their lawyers Smithfield Partners to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider evidence contained in a report by Charles Haddon-Cave QC, who is due to appear before the House of Commons next month. The Loss Of RAF Nimrod XV230, A Failure Of Leadership, Culture And Priorities stated that the accident was preventable and that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) made spending cuts a priority over safety. A 2005 review into Nimrod safety was “riddled with errors,” the report found.

Smithfield Partners have also written to the Health and Safety Executive, asking for the MoD to be investigated for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The letter was addressed directly to deputy chief executive Kevin Myres.

XV230 had shortly completed air-to-air refueling on September 2, 2006, when it was destroyed by an explosion. “We had a 25-year-old healthy son, who used to play squash and, to put it bluntly, he ended up as a plastic bag full of bits,” said Graham Knight. “That is something which is very hard to cope with.”

The Knights met Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell in London yesterday. Rammell said he was unable to comment on possible legal action against individuals, but promised to provide answers to other questions posed by the Knights and other families. The Crown Prosecution Service has promised consider the matter, and the Health and Safety Executive said it could not comment this early on in developments. The latest report names five people in the MoD, three with BAE Systems and two with defence company QinetiQ, as responsible.

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January

1

A Day At The Spa

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byalex

If you have been running and busy from sun up to sun down and just haven’t been able to find some time for yourself, you might want to call a spa Kaneohe HI and schedule yourself an appointment. There are many things that you can experience at a spa that will leave you feeling relaxed and ready to face another day. Some spa packages might last you many hours and other might take only a couple hours, depending on what you feel like you need in your spa package.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdiMLXrGt3E[/youtube]

Having a day at the spa might be a good idea for a bride and her girlfriends the day before the wedding. At the spa, they can enjoy some girl chat and some relaxing time together before they have to be on their feet all day the next day. There are different packages that they might be able to experience while they are at the day spa. Perhaps all the girls will want to have the same package together, or perhaps they will all want to do their own thing. Some of the things that are available in a spa package might be available for a group and other things might only be available individually.

Some of the things that might be included in a spa package from a spa Kaneohe HI facility are things such as different types of massages, facials, and even a lunch or a beverage while you are pampered. The elements that are included in each spa package will help to determine the length of the spa treatment and also the price of the spa package. Some spa packages are specifically for men, which might include a man’s haircut, a man’s facial, some sort of massage, and a beverage or a lunch menu. There are many other packages that might be specific for women and could include haircuts, massages, and different types of waxes. If you are pregnant, there are certain spa treatments that might be just right for you in allowing you to relax and have some of the pains of pregnancy relieved.

A day at a spa Kaneohe HI facility might be just what you need so that you can relax and feel the pains and stresses of life become relieved. Going to the spa might be something that a group of friends or family would want to do together, or you might want to just go and relax by yourself and forget about your worries and cares.

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January

1

Dam removal proposal for Klamath River

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Dam removal proposal for Klamath River
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Thursday, January 17, 2008

A proposal was made to remove four hydroelectric power generating dams across the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Intended to improve the habitat and range of salmon, the project requires agreements with the dams’ owner PacifiCorp and several federal government agencies. A coalition of Native American tribal leaders, fishermen, farmers, various governmental agencies, and environmental groups developed the proposal after two-years of negotiations.

The project would cost an estimated $1 billion to complete, and would be the largest project of its kind in U.S. history. The earliest dam removal would begin is 2015.

WaterWatch, Oregon Wild, the Hoopa Valley Tribe, and some farmers oppose the proposed agreement for a variety of reasons.

If implemented the removal would allow for 300 more miles of river habitat for spawning salmon. It would also include a new tribal reservation covering 90,000 acres for the Klamath Tribe. Funding has yet to be allocated for the entire project that includes habitat restoration in addition to the removal of the dams.

Additionally, it has yet to be determined who would pay for the actual demolition of the dams owned by PacifiCorp. Discussions that led to this proposal began in 2004 after PacifiCorp applied to renew its power generating licenses for its dams on the river.

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December

30

Venezuela opens granite processing facility in Bolívar

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Venezuela opens granite processing facility in Bolívar
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Monday, February 18, 2013

Venezuela’s government has opened a granite processing plant in the state of Bolívar, with the intention of providing about 25% of the granite required nationwide.

Ricardo Menéndez, vice president of the Productive Economic Area, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has yearned for the creation of this project to empower Venezuelan construction. Granito Bolívar is reportedly the most modern Venezuelan granite plant, not consuming community water or electricity, and is also the largest, with a daily capacity to supply enough material for use in construction of about 820 houses.

Menéndez said, “These granite blocks are the natural resources of our country, are the wealth we have as a country and often [some] simply decided to remove this richness from our country and take them to other countries” ((es))Spanish language: ?Esos bloques de granito son la riquezas naturales de nuestro país, son las riquezas que tenemos como patria y que muchas veces sencillamente esas riquezas decidieron sacarlas de nuestro territorio nacional y llevarlas a otros países.

According to Menéndez, with the help of a state plan, Venezuela intends to exploit its 40,000 million cubic meters or more of granite reserves, generating a set of factories. “[T]he central theme is that these plants, all these factories, are for the construction of socialism; that means using our potential, develop the value chain within the country and of course that yields benefits from the point of view of the production system’s organization…. [Granito] Bolívar is not only the vision that historically we had of exposing richness, but the industries, basic industries we have, that level of our workers in the basic industries and in addition the development of the potential we have in the state” ((es))Spanish language: ?el tema central es que estas plantas todas estas fábricas son para la construcción del socialismo, eso significa utilizar nuestras potencialidades, dessarrollar la cadena de valor dentro del país y por supuesto que eso genere beneficios desde el punto de vista de la organización del sistema productivo … Bolívar no solamente es la visión que históricamente se tuvo de exponer las riquezas, sino que son las empresas, las empresas básicas que tenemos, ese nivel de nuestros trabajadores de la empresas básicas y adicionalmente el desarrollo del potencial que tenemos en el estado.

For the construction of the plant, supplied by 23 quarries, the government of Bolívar provided about 30 million bolívares (US$4.7 million) and the national government €2.3 million (US$3 million). Bolívar reportedly has reserves of about 40,000 million tons of red, black, pink and white granite, sufficient for domestic demand for 200 years.

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December

28

Bangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire

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Bangladesh security tightened following Pilkhana massacre and Bashundhara City fire
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Friday, March 20, 2009

Following the Pilkhana massacre which occurred February 25 and 26 leaving 74 dead and the inferno at the Bashundhara City shopping mall complex March 13 leaving seven dead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said security measures are being tightened countrywide across Bangladesh.

Fire drills will be enacted at all key-point installations (KPI). Fire fighting systems will be examined by the fire brigade and the public works department (PWD) to ensure functionality. Security measures will be enhanced supplementing areas under private security such as at the Bashundhara City Complex.

The Fire Service and Civil Defence Department requires modernization and needs new equipment to fight fires past the sixth floor of buildings. The Fire Brigade says it needs turntable ladders, snorkels, foam-tenders, lighting units, emergency tenders, fireproof uniforms, and rescue ropes for fire fighting and rescue operations. Transportation to fires is also an issue due to narrow roads, low electrical wires and congestion.

The Bangladesh National Building Code requires fire fighting equipment installed in buildings over seven floors. This code is to be monitored by authorities to ensure compliance with the new guidelines and to make sure buildings are being maintained.

The Bashundhara City Complex opened Monday for shoppers two days after Friday’s blaze. A probe is underway to determine the cause of the fire and to assess structural damage.

Loss of life was minimized as the blaze broke out on a Friday, the beginning of the weekend in Bangladesh, so offices in the upper floors were empty. The lower eight floors are used for shopping and the upper floors are all Bashundhara Group offices.

The mall is valued at Tk 7.0 billion (US$100 million). It is not known if the complex is covered by fire insurance.

It is estimated that it will take over two years to rebuild the area damaged by flames which were burned down to a skeleton. Bashundhara City’s technical advisor, Latifur Rahman, estimated damages at Tk 2.0 billion (US$29m).

Only one television cameraman has been allowed in to film the burnt area. None of the 2,500 shops, cinemas or cafes were burnt by the inferno. The seventh and eighth floors still experience smoke damage, and there was water damage to merchandise.

A three member committee is currently investigating the cause of the fire which will consist of Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary of the ministry, representatives of the police, IGP Noor Muhammad, and fire brigade, Director General Abu Nayeem Md Shahidullah. The committee is required to report within the week with their findings. The forensics department is also sifting through the burnt remains.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also formed a committee which has begun interviewing witnesses and recording their testimony alongside the government committee.

It has been discovered that 150 closed circuit cameras were not being used when the fire started. Another mystery is why the mall fire fighting system has been found unused.

Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think….These matters seem to be mysterious

“In the shopping mall there is an ultra-technology elevator which runs even without electricity but we have found that locked,” Iqbal Khan Chowdhury, joint secretary (Police) of the home ministry, said. “Why the fire burnt so fiercely is a matter to think. We have to see if there was any incendiary substance there. These matters seem to be mysterious.”

Mall management has been asked to submit substances and items which would have been in the upper floors when the fire started. The fire erupted on the 17th floor and spread quickly to the two floors above and engulfed the three floors below. The aerial ladders belonging to the Fire Service and Civil Defence reached as high as the 13th floor of the 21-storey building.

Videos have been sent to the United States (US) for examination to assist in determining the cause of the fire and to help in the damage assessment. Experts from the US are expected to arrive soon.

Firefighters were brought to the rooftop of the 20-storey tower by helicopter. The only fatality in this operation was Baki Billa, a firefighter of Bashundhara City firefighting department, who fell when climbing down a rope from a helicopter to the roof of the building. Three other firefighters made the transition safely. At this same time, the chief security officer was safely rescued by the Bangladesh Air Force helicopter, a Bell 212. Six security officers of the complex also lost their lives.

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December

28

British And Irish Lions Tour To South Africa 2009}

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British and Irish Lions – Tour to South Africa 2009

by

Lyn Davison

The British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa is happening just around the corner, May to July 2009! With three test matches and seven provincial games to be played in Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg, rugby fans worldwide are going crazy with anticipation of the much awaited clash between the two rugby giants.

Lets have a quick recap of the previous encounters between the British Lions and the South African Springboks over the past four decades. The most recent tour was over a decade ago (1997), where the British Lions managed a near whitewash, winning two out of three tests and losing only two games. In 1980, the Springboks managed a 3 1 defeat over the Lions with the test matches, although the Lions thrashed them 14 0 with the non-test games. In 1974, the Lions had the upper hand, not loosing any test matches and clinching the series; whilst the opposite happened in 1968, with the Springboks crushing the Lions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmhrDoJsENU[/youtube]

So, what will happen this time around? Will the mighty British Lions be able to ward off the current rugby world cup champs, Springboks who have the advantage of playing on their homeground? The tour head coach, Ian McGeechan “Geech a rugby legend himself having played with the Lions twice in the 1970s and captained the Scottish team nine times; and the tour manager Gerald Davies are confident of a Lions victory!

For fans, there is much to look forward to with amazing package deals and numerous prize trips to be won to travel to South Africa and witness the action live! The British and Irish Lions 2009 clothing line has been released with rugby T-shirts and polo shirts available in various sizes and colours for everyone including ladies and kids! With lots of choices such as replica kits, hats, tracksuits, jackets, scarves, ties, rugby balls and pin badges available, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Whether you plan on flying to South Africa to watch the matches live, or will be following the matches on your telly at home, you may want to wear the shirts in support for the occasion or keep the merchandise to remember the much awaited encounter. Visit Lovell Rugby to have a look at the latest British and Irish Lions official rugby shirts and merchandise.

Lyn Davison sent the information on

British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa 2009

. Find out more details on

British Lions

here.

Article Source:

eArticlesOnline.com}

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December

27

Garden Sheds: How Do You Treat Yours?

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By Sara Lungley

Once you have erected your garden shed it is important to maintain it correctly. If treated and maintained correctly you should enjoy your shed for many years.

Apart from the floor joists, sheds are usually supplied completely untreated. It is strongly recommended that you treat your shed within 2 weeks of installation. When treating your shed, bear in mind that colours may appear slightly different due to the individual qualities of timber.

When applying treatment to sheds, it is important that you stipple it into the corners and log slots as this will help prevent moisture from seeping in.

When choosing your treatment ensure that it is suitable for use on planed wood, and not for sawn timber.

Aftercare

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKStoEHlOM[/youtube]

Appearance of gaps

Timber is a natural product and thus will vary with changes in humidity and changes in temperature. When the weather becomes extremely dry, small cracks may well appear between the boards.

These cracks between boards will disappear when the weather normalizes. Small cracks that are formed after a long drought period cannot be avoided; however, they do not affect the static load bearing capacity of the shed.

If gaps begin to appear between the boards of then it’s quite possible that the storm braces have been fitted too tightly. The first thing to do in this case is to loosen off the bolts of the storm braces to see if this allows the shed to settle back into position.

If problems persist with gaps appearing between logs and loosening the storm braces does not resolve the problem, you can try placing a block of wood into the ends of the logs and using a mallet, hit them back into place gently.

Gaps will also likely appear between the boards if you restrict the movement of the boards in anyway. It is strongly advised that you do not install any fixtures that will restrict the movement of the shed.

Other problems

Roofing felt is liable to some movement with changes of temperature that can quite often result in a rippling effect. Do not be alarmed as this is perfectly normal and will not reduce the quality of the roofing felt.

Also, doors and windows will expand and contract with changes in humidity and changes in temperature. To minimise the risk of any problems occurring, ensure that all of the sheds windows and doors are treated using an appropriate product. It may be necessary to adjust the screws holding the shed in place from time to time.

About the Author: The Author, Sara Lungley, wrote this article on garden sheds and recommends you visit gardeningthoughts.co.uk for more information on log cabins, sheds, garden buildings and accessories.

Source: isnare.com

Permanent Link: isnare.com/?aid=183306&ca=Gardening

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December

26

Former Indonesian president, Suharto in critical condition

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Former Indonesian president, Suharto in critical condition
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Saturday, January 5, 2008

Former Indonesian President Suharto, 86, is in a Jakarta hospital in critical condition. Doctors say he is suffering heart problems. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta.

The former president was admitted to a hospital on Friday with swelling throughout his body. Doctors say Mr. Suharto’s heart has become too weak to pump blood properly, and his kidneys are deteriorating.

Andi Mallarangeng, spokesman for current president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, says the president visited Mr. Suharto in the hospital Saturday and found him too weak to talk.

He was conscious, he was not in a coma in that sense, he was conscious, but he was very weak

“He was conscious, he was not in a coma in that sense, he was conscious, but he was very weak,” he said. “The presidential doctors informed the president that President Suharto is in [a] critical situation.”

Suharto ruled Indonesia for 32 years, stepping down after widespread demonstrations and rioting during the Asian economic crisis of 1998.

He has since lived quietly in an upscale district of central Jakarta.

The anti-corruption organization Transparency International says Mr. Suharto embezzled more from Indonesia than any other modern leader, an estimated $15 billion to $35 billion. Mr. Suharto has steadfastly denied such accusations.

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December

23

Australian government provides $15.8 million for North Adelaide Technical College

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Australian government provides $15.8 million for North Adelaide Technical College
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Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Australian Minister for Vocational Education and Training, Gary Hardgrave has announced the government will provide AU$15.8 million to establish an Australian Technical College in North Adelaide. The minister said the government was entering into a partnership with the Archdiocese of Adelaide and consortium of industrial and manufacturing companies.

The North Adelaide college will be located in Elizabeth and be operated as an independent non-government school. The college is one of 25 to be established across the country.

Enrolments at the college will begin in 2007 and will offer courses in areas where identified skills shortages exist in the North Adelaide region, specifically – engineering, construction, electronics and cooking.

Mr Hardgrave said that the proposed college had been popular among the North Adelaide business community. “This important initiative has been well received by North Adelaide business and industry, and will help to address skills needs and provide opportunities for those in greatest need, including a lot of Indigenous students in the region,” Mr Hardgrave said.

“The fact that this College is being led by local employers, local government and other key stakeholders, means it will be truly industry and community driven,” he said.

Australian Technical Colleges were established to cater for year 11 and 12 students who wish to do an apprenticeship as part of their school education.

The Australian Education Union has expressed a number of concerns about the model put forward by the government. In a report, they claim that trade facilities at TAFE colleges (operated by state governments) will deteriorate as funding is diverted to the ATCs. The union is also concerned that ATCs are supposed to be selective VET schools. According to the union they will have selective entry and preferential funding. It is feared that teachers will be lured away from schools and TAFE colleges to higher paid positions in ATCs.

The Education Union suggested that the government invest in schools that already offer vocational education programs.

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