Banned

“An attack upon our ability to tell stories is not just censorship – it is a crime against our nature as human beings.”–Salman Rushdie Whenever …

Banned

Waiting for Tropical Storm Ian, formerly known as Nine: It’s a mood

Petchary's Blog

Jamaica is under a Tropical Storm Watch this evening. The National Hurricane Center‘s map is covered with yellow “x” marks and red spinning tops with names – Fiona, Gaston, and Hermine – but the one Jamaicans were focused on was a red, hollow circle with the inscription “NINE.” It has just turned into a storm, and has been renamed Ian, so it has morphed into a red spinning top.

Currently, Tropical Storm Ian is expected to pass to the south-west of us – it’s currently still a few hundred miles from Kingston – and it will start raining tomorrow (Saturday) and into the night, when we might have gusts of wind too. We will all hunker down on Sunday, when we expect a lot of rain. My concern is that we have already had so much rain over the past few weeks that Ian (formerly known as Nine)…

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Venezuelans slam DeSantis after migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard

“One in five Floridians is an immigrant,” said Ferro in an email. “Stop using Venezuelans as props for your political games! You cannot rail against Nicolás Maduro and then despise Venezuelan immigrants when they seek refuge in your state.”

Source: Venezuelans slam DeSantis after migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard

Pennsylvania Man Indicted for Assaulting a Reproductive Health Care Provider | OPA | Department of Justice

According to court documents, Mark Houck, 48, of Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, is alleged to have twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health clinic escort. The two-count indictment charges Houck with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate, and interfere with anyone because that person is a provider of reproductive health care.

The charges stem from two separate incidents on Oct. 13, 2021, where Houck assaulted the victim, identified in the indictment as “B.L.,” because B.L. was a volunteer escort at the reproductive health care clinic.

If convicted of the offenses, Houck faces up to a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines of up to $350,000.

Source: Pennsylvania Man Indicted for Assaulting a Reproductive Health Care Provider | OPA | Department of Justice

Mädchen und Frauen im Iran

Senioren um die Welt

In keinem Land wurden wir so offen und so herzlich empfangen wie im Iran, ganz besonders von den iranischen Mädchen und Frauen. Alle wollten wissen woher wir kämen und ob uns ihr Land gefallen würde, und wir wurden immer wieder eingeladen. Im Iran haben wir sehr liebenswerte und warmherzige Menschen kennengelernt, deshalb fiel uns der Abschied vor allem von den Menschen dort sehr schwer. Aber wir hatten ihnen versprochen, bald wiederzukommen.


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Here, There, And Other Places — Voting

Filosofa's Word

Here’s how it works in New Zealand per our NZ friend Barry …

* ease of voter registration. The law requires that everyone over the age 18 register on the electoral roll. However if you haven’t registered, you can do so when you go to vote. It only takes a few minutes.

* no queueing. Polling places are set up everywhere including churches, mosques, schools, community centres, shopping malls etc. I’ve voted every three years in every nation and local election since 1972 in four different electorates (voting districts) and I’ve never had to wait for more than five minutes, and those occasions were at peak times. .

* polling day is always on a Saturday as fewer people work on that day. Polling booths are open from 7am to 7pm on polling day and most are open every day in the two weeks prior to polling day

* you…

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