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Suzanne-Deanna Grover pleaded not guilty today when she was arraigned on a felony assault indictment.
Grover is accused of stabbing Lindsay Harmon in the eye during an early tiffany pendants sale incident in a downtown nightclub parking lot.
State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller ordered her to remain jailed.
Defense attorney Debra K. Bender disputed prosecutor Michael J. Flaherty Jr.’s description of the 21-year-old as a “flight risk” because she had moved to Florida sometime after the Jan. 1 incident outside Roxie’s.
But the judge ruled the $75,000 bail set in City Court two months ago “will stand.”
After the brief mid-morning arraignment on the one-count indictment handed up against tiffany earrings sale, Bender insisted Harmon, 29, and several of her friends attacked Grover.
Bender said “Suzanne was defending herself” with a knife after Harmon, who has lost sight in her right eye, and several of Harmon’s girlfriends began “kicking and stomping” her after an altercation of some sort.
Flaherty and Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III declined to comment on the defense attorney’s claims. Grover faces a possible 7-year state prison term if convicted.
The grand jury rejected hate-crime charges linked to alleged sexual epithets Grover directed at Harmon. A hate crime conviction would have left Grover facing a possible 15-year prison term.
Sedita told The Buffalo News this week that that Flaherty presented “every known and available tiffany necklaces sale” to the grand jury and there was insufficient evidence that Grover’s admitted stabbing was motivated by “the victim’s sexual orientation.”
Friends, family members and strangers sang and prayed at a Federal Way church Wednesday evening in memory of a woman slain there last week.
Carol Parsons, 38, was shot and killed March 17 by her ex-husband, Charles L. Parsons, police say. They had been at a counseling session at Calvary Lutheran Church, 2415 S. 320th St.
Dozens of people listened somberly in the church’s parking lot as Calvary’s pastor, the Rev. Lori Cornell, told them to pray for Parsons’ three children, Haley, 11, Max, 9, and Kurt, 5.
“This is a moment of crisis,” Cornell said before asking God to “help us in our confusion and guide our actions.”
Cornell prayed for Carol Parsons’ killer, as well. “Turn him away from evil … so that he will fully repent,” she said as crowd members shielded the flames of their candles from the evening breeze.
Charles L. Parsons, 41, of Lakewood, was charged with first-degree murder and was in the King County Jail. Bail was set at $5 million.
At the end of the ceremony, church staff members handed three balloons — shaped like an orange star, a purple heart and a green heart — to Carol Parsons’ family. They released the balloons one by one, watching them drift above the church’s roof.
All of Carol Parsons’ children attended the day care and preschool at the church, said day care worker Sandy Foshage.
Carol Parsons was a warm, consoling presence for the other parents there, Foshage said.
“If anyone had any problems, she’d listen,” she said. “She wanted her children to accept everyone.”
Carol Parsons’ brother Howard Hales said that their mother, Roberta, plans to take in the children.
“Carol really wanted to be a mother,” Hales said. “When I was 21 and my sister was 16, she used to nag at me because I wasn’t married with kids. Even at a young age, she was thinking about family life.”
Cornell added that the church is helping Carol Parsons’ family to renovate and sell her former home in Lakewood, so they can place the money in a trust for the children.
“It’s a time for us to be supportive and surround the family with our love,” she said.
Marie K. Bower, 25, was arraigned Sept. 16 on five charges including two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and one count each of third-degree grand larceny, falsifying business records and second-degree forgery.
Bower pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny and said she took money from Prior & Prior, an Arkville law office and Empire Abstract Inc. by writing and cashing checks.
Bower’s plea to fourth-degree grand larceny involved taking money from the safe at Ski Plattekill and moving it to a shelf because she said she intended to take it.
Bower also admitted to falsifying business records between December 2007 and March 2009 to conceal acts of larceny.
“I changed bank statements and computer records to show that money wasn’t being taken,” Bowers said.
According to the terms of Bower’s plea agreement, she will be sentenced April 5 to six months in jail and five years of probation. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,760.75 to the Delaware County Department of Social Services and $9,390.27 to Prior & Prior.
Delaware County deputies said the investigation included a forged document filed with Delaware Opportunities and revealed that Bower stole more than $1,000 in benefits from the county Department of Social Services to which she was not entitled.
In another case, Joseph Maggiore, 42, of Walton, pleaded innocent to four counts of first-degree criminal contempt, two counts of second-degree criminal contempt, three counts of aggravated harassment and one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree harassment.
Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup said he has multiple recordings that substantiate the charges against Maggiore.
Maggiore appeared in court with retained attorney Larisa Obolensky, but requested that he be given a court-appointed attorney because he couldn’t afford to pay for his defense.
Delaware County Judge Carl Becker told Maggiore to fill out an application for assigned counsel and to include copies of his 2009 income tax records. Maggiore works for Delaware Opportunities, Obolensky said.
Maggiore is free on $25,000 bail that was posted in the Sidney Town Court and $4,500 posted in Hancock Town Court.
Becker agreed to lower Maggiore’s bail to $10,000 cash, but warned him “if you violate any state or local law or order of protection, bail will be violated and you will sit in jail.” Maggiore was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from the victim, her home and her place of business. His case is scheduled during the July 19 trial term.
Obolensky said the charges were related to “the most acrimonious divorce I have ever been involved with.” In other cases:
“‘ cents Charles Elliot, 35, of Afton, pleaded innocent to two counts of driving while intoxicated and one count each of first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, aggravated DWI, parking on the pavement and consumption of alcohol in a vehicle. The charges stem from an incident in Deposit on March 6.
Elliot is free on $1,000 bail. His trial is scheduled for July.
“‘ cents Mary O’Brian, 44, of Unadilla, pleaded innocent to two counts of driving while intoxicated and moving from a driving lane unsafely. The charges stem from an incident in Sidney on Sept. 9.
O’Brian was released on her own recognizance. Her trial is scheduled for July.
Patricia Breakey can be reached at 746-2894 or at stardelhi@stny.rr.com.
NEW YORK, Mar. 23, 2010 (IPS/GIN) – In a barbaric yet widespread practice, thirteen women are murdered each day in “honor killings” by their own relatives, according to Rana Husseini, a human rights advocate and journalist who has devoted her career to fighting the practice.
“I’m documenting the cases of women, their stories, the fact that they lived on this earth and that someone deprived them the right to live,” Husseini told IPS.
An honor killing occurs when a family feels that their female relative has tarnished their reputation, according to Husseini, author of the recently released book “Murder in the Name of Honor”.
“The person chosen by the family to carry out the murder (usually male: a brother, father, cousin, paternal uncle or husband) brutally ends their female relative’s life to cleanse the family of the ‘shame’ she brought upon them,” she writes in her book.
The Jordan Times journalist has heard stories of women around the world being killed for chewing gum, laughing at a joke in the street, and wearing makeup. According to Husseini, reports submitted to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights indicate that honor crimes occur in Jordan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Britain, the Palestinian Territories, India, Israel, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, Yemen, Uganda and the United States, among others.
Not only did Husseini’s hard-hitting reports raise local awareness, but in 2008, she helped form the National Jordanian Committee to Eliminate so-called Crimes of Honor. Her ultimate goal is to change Jordanian law by demanding tougher punishments for the perpetrators of these crimes.
In an interview with IPS correspondent Chryso D’Angelo, Husseini spoke about the challenges of halting honor killings in her country. Excerpts follow.
Q: Has there been any progress in stopping honor killings?
A: Jordan is a very good example of progress. If I look back to where I started to today, there have been tremendous changes. For example, in 2009 there was the first ever special tribunal to try men who kill in family honor. For the first time the court refused the family’s request to drop charges. The man got 15 years. This is a major change. Civil society has been active and the government is talking about changing some laws.
Q: In what way has the Jordanian government stepped in?
A: In Jordan, work has been done on all levels, starting with the royal family and at the grassroots level. Queen Rania has been outspoken. Even King Hussein has been active in addressing the issue of domestic violence and women and children. When you have a leader of a country talking about this issue, it’s important – and something you don’t see in many countries.
Q: Do you see any changes in the attitudes of men?
A: In the past when I lectured, men would raise their hands and say, ‘I would kill my sister; so what? She did something wrong.’ But now men are more open to being involved in talking about the issue. There is a group in Jordan which has been doing a traveling play for about five years. Some characters are men. The play involves honor killing and they stop and ask people what they think. It’s important for men to be involved.
Q: Honor killings are not solely carried out by men. For example, you wrote about an honor killing that took place in St. Louis in 1989, which recounts a mother/father team. The mother held down the daughter while the father stabbed her to death. Her crime was being too “Westernized.” What role do women play in honor killings?
A: Women are usually divided into two parts. First, there are those who don’t have a say in the issue. If they stand up and speak, they might get killed themselves. That’s how they wind up as accomplices. Others really believe that the woman should be punished and that it will be a lesson to others in the family.
Q: Have you ever come across a situation in which a female intervened to help another woman?
A: No, I have never seen anyone intervene.
Q: Are there any social ramifications for a man or woman who commits an honor killing?
A: There is hypocrisy among the people that push others into killing. I interviewed several killers who said they were promised things like money if they committed the murder and then their families turned their backs on them.
Q: You mentioned in a PBS interview that honor killings are not a religious issue, but a cultural one.
A: Unfortunately, a lot of people think these murders are related to Islam. These crimes happen in all religions. I have reported stories of women killed by family members in Jordan who were Christian. In Italy, there are men who kill their family members in the name of honor. It happens in the Hindi faith, too.
Q: Why did you write this book?
A: I want it to be a credible reference and resource book for anybody who wants information on this topic. I also want to put forth solutions for people who might want to know what they can do to help.
When darkness comes to Congo Town, women in crisp uniforms take the streets, patrolling with Kalashnikov rifles and long, black hair tucked into baby-blue caps.
The brisk sergeant in command, Monia Gusain, matter of factly calls them “my men.” But the stern tiffany engagement rings women facing her are actually wives and mothers who wage peace for a living on the rutted dirt roads of Liberia.
The women — part of a special female United Nations police unit from India — lead dual lives: stamping out street crime by night and standing guard under the steamy equatorial sun outside the Monrovia headquarters of the Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. When they retreat, home is a military barracks where they tell bedtime stories to their toddlers via video conference calls.
Together they form the thin pink line of a U.N. recruitment campaign for the 21st century. As it marks the 100th International Women’s Day on March 8, the United Nations is intensifying efforts to recruit women for peacekeeping missions that seek to mend what war has wrought.
The theory — which has evolved since pioneering female peacekeepers started participating in U.N. missions in the Balkans in the 1990s — is that women employ distinctive social skills in a rugged macho domain. They are being counted on to bring calm to the streets and the barracks, acting as public servants instead of invaders.
“When female soldiers are present, the situation is closer to real life, and as a result the men tend to behave,” said tiffany J. DeGroot, a history professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland who has written books about women in the military. “Any conflict where you have an all-male army, it’s like a holiday from reality. If you inject women into that situation, they do have a civilizing effect.”
As modern peacekeeping has evolved into nation building, the number of female police officers in U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world has doubled during the past five years to 833, or more than 6 percent of a force of 12,867. Nigeria and India are top contributors to a total that is still far below the international goal of 20 percent. In some missions — notably Darfur and Liberia — women are edging closer: Women account for 14 percent of the 1,354 police peacekeepers in Liberia.
Liberia — a West African country created in 1847 to settle freed American slaves — is something of a modern laboratory for the rise of women making peace. Women are marching in foot patrols; the head of the U.N. mission, Ellen Margrethe Loj of Denmark, is a woman; and the Liberian president, Mrs. Sirleaf, is the first woman elected as an African head of state, in 2005.
Mrs. Sirleaf — whose nickname is “Iron Lady” — is particularly blunt about the role of women in the recovery of her fragile country, which was battered by 14 years of civil war that left about 200,000 people dead and survivors haunted by torture, systematic rapes and the exploitation of drug-addicted boy soldiers.
“What a woman brings to the task is extra sensitivity, more caring,” Mrs. Sirleaf said in an interview. “I think that these are the characteristics that come from being a mother, taking care of a family, being concerned about children, managing the home.”
The softer approach is critical in Liberia. In 2004, a U.N. report criticized peacekeepers in Liberia, the tiffany rings Republic of the Congo and Haiti for the sexual abuse of young women by trading food and money for sex. In 2005, 47 peacekeepers were accused of sexual abuse in Liberia, compared with 18 peacekeepers who were accused last year, according to the U.N. mission.
Top U.N. officials credit the arrival of women for helping improve behavior. Yet within Liberia, national peacekeeping units from different countries are still debating the best approach, tinkering with ways to best deploy female peacekeepers — or “blue helmettes” in U.N. lingo.
The contingents from India and Nigeria have both settled into Liberian outposts with contrasting approaches that raise a simple question: Should female peacekeepers be mixed with male peacekeepers?
The Nigerian Approach
From a dusty military base on Old Road, outside Monrovia, the capital, Lt. Col. Joseph Ogbonna presides over a battalion of men and women from Nigeria, the first country to send peacekeepers to Liberia, in 2003.
The Nigerian women — who number 59, or 5 percent of 1,159 officers — hold largely traditional jobs, including working as cooks, nurses, supply clerks, police officers, teachers and refugee workers, said Colonel Ogbonna, who argues that women are more disciplined.
Some of the male peacekeepers joke uneasily that the women are getting too much attention. Brig. Gen. Ebiowei Awala said he notices a change in himself when women are present. He lowers his voice when talking to men and women, softening his language.
“It’s like any household,” he said. “When the mother culture is there, people change.”
The Nigerian women live in narrow barracks tacked with photos of smiling little boys and girls in frothy tiffany bracelets left behind in the care of husbands or relatives.
The trade-off is adventure, financial opportunity and the chance to aid a weak nation.
“I came here to make peace in this country,” said Olayiwola Olanike, 50, a staff sergeant, nurse and mother of two who arrived five months ago and tends Liberian patients at a special free clinic. But the beginning was difficult; she missed her family, and the torrential rainy season was a thundering force. Malaria was constant, Sergeant Olanike said.
Charity Charamba, a Zimbabwean who is operations coordinator for the U.N. police, said she had almost turned back before leaving for Liberia because her husband and sons, 19 and 11, were miserable.
“It is a tough decision to leave a family, and this is why most female officers find it difficult to come to the mission,” Ms. Charamba said, recalling the tug of 2 a.m. telephone calls from her younger son demanding intercession: “Mommy, Daddy is not listening to me.”
In their peacekeeping roles, one of their usual duties is reaching out to other mothers and their children.
Cpl. Kehinde Dbadamoisi, 42, is an 18-year military veteran and mother of three sons ages 8 to 16. She wears an olive Nigerian uniform in a Monrovia classroom where she is deployed as a biology teacher.
Initially, the school’s principal, A. Darkpay Johnson, worried that Liberian students would fear the tiffany woman in uniform.
“But you can see that when she asks questions, they answer,” Mr. Johnson said.
Outside the classroom, Corporal Dbadamoisi said her uniform had no effect.
“The children love us,” she said. “It’s the way that you interact with them that matters. If you can pass along lessons to students, they admire you.”
She said she had been drawn to Liberia for the challenge and the opportunity to do anything in the military.
Indeed, in some respects, Nigerian women have taken up so many tasks with the men that they have also shared the bleak side.
For many military and police officers from poorer nations, a main attraction of peacekeeping is a special allowance financed by the United Nations and disbursed to the home countries of peacekeepers. It adds up to about $1,000 a month, which — for peacemakers from third world countries — can be equivalent to five times their base pay.
In April, 27 Nigerian peacekeepers in Liberia — three of them young women — were convicted of tiffany rings by a military court and given life sentences for participating in demonstrations in Nigeria in 2008 to protest the embezzlement of their peacekeeping allowances.
The life sentences were later commuted to seven-year prison sentences, a much harsher punishment than for those who took the money. The Nigerian officers accused of embezzling $68,541 and diverting the allowances to another military unit were demoted.
The Indian Approach
Since early in 2007, Indian women have stood guard outside the president’s office on the main street in Monrovia.
It is a highly symbolic post, even for critics who complain that the women — whose English is tiffany bracelets than their Hindi — have minimal contact with the local population.
“I don’t think women in peacekeeping have come across to the Liberian people,” said John Richardson, an adviser to Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president, who remains popular in Liberia although he is on trial in The Hague on war crimes charges.
Still, another close Taylor supporter, Cyril Allen — chairman emeritus of the former ruling party — sees advantages because of the country’s divisions.
“I don’t think that Liberian women should be carrying guns and standing in front of the president,” he said. “You don’t know where their loyalty is.”
The Indian unit of 103 women also plays a more unsung role, mentoring unarmed local Liberian police officers who must deal with the lingering suspicions of citizens who resented police participation in the civil war.
On the streets of Congo Town, a Monrovia suburb where crime rates soared after the war, supporters credit old-fashioned Indian foot patrols with cutting armed robberies by as much as 65 percent, according to Gostine Hallie, a Congo Town police chief who trudges on patrols with the women.
“Since we started foot patrols, the crime has considerably reduced, and we’re getting maximum cooperation from local people,” said Mr. Hallie, whose station only recently received electricity.
From their base in Monrovia, the Indian unit is also credited by the local police academy for encouraging increased reporting of sexual abuse and inspiring recruitment of Liberian women for the national police, which had 602 women last year, or about 15 percent of the force of 4,019.
Most of the Indian women were leaving their country for the first time when they joined the U.N. mission in Liberia. Their English is often shaky, but their commanders say they have established a rapport.
During the Liberian civil war, “it was the men who inflicted harm on women, and most of the time the sufferers were women and children,” said Annie Abraham, 45, the commanding officer of the Indian unit that just finished its rotation and was replaced by new recruits. “When you have male peacekeepers, you get the feeling that the women are more intimidated. Women aren’t as aggressive as the men. Women don’t speak as loudly as the men.”
The Indian contingent has brought along 22 men, who are the cooks, mechanics and drivers who support the female unit.
The abilities to drive a manual transmission vehicle and fire weapons are often critical barriers for female peacekeepers. The Canadian government and the Pearson Peacekeeping Center in Ottawa have donated vehicles and organized driving lessons in Ghana for peacekeepers.
On the street, the Indian women are perceived as sober and intimidating, but the biggest menace in the barracks is homesickness and depression.
To counter the blues and connect with Liberians, the unit organized Indian festivals, Bollywood dancing lessons and the “adoption” of a school and orphanage.
“That was the way we could reach out and build trust,” Ms. Abraham said. The idea, built on offering solace, is a strategy that the United Nations is preparing to study to explore the effects of female paramilitary units — particularly with Bangladesh poised to dispatch a new women’s unit of peacekeepers.
“We need to go deeper to study the impact that this is having and what aspect is really a good tiffany cufflinks,” said Carole Doucet, the senior gender adviser for the U.N. Mission in Liberia. “We need to be careful about saying it’s fantastic. We need to know why.”
Some women have found the challenge of leading a life far from their family too daunting. As female participation grows, that issue will be critical for the United Nations, which is considering shorter, more flexible rotations.
“No more missions — it’s the first and the last because it’s difficult for me as a mother,” said Syalus Maharana, an Indian operations commander who finished her yearlong tour along with the daily ritual of mothering her 5-year-old son by hourlong video conference calls.
“He’s being looked after nicely and he is not missing me, but I am missing him,” she said. “He tells me, ‘Mama, are you using a mosquito net?’ He is advising me, and I should be advising him.”
Ms. Maharana came for the challenge, travel and financial opportunities, but she left Africa in late February with a few life lessons from Liberians, particularly one exotic notion.
“In India, a male child is preferred, but in Liberia they do not use methods to stop a girl child tiffanys into the world,” she said. “For them, a male child and girl child are equal. I think that’s positive.”
Big Mama, Granny, G-Ma, Grandy. The “Big Mama: Salute to Grandmothers” tiffany accessories at Hampton University Friday paid tribute to grandmothers of every possible nickname for their key role in shaping families.
About 200 people attended the closing event of the 32nd Annual Black Family Conference. Each woman was given a white rose that she later placed in one of three vases at the front of the room in honor of a deceased grandmother.
“Grandmothers are stalwart women who are key actors in communities and the stabilizing force in a family,” said Cassandra Herring, dean of the College of Education and Continuing Studies, which organized the conference. Women in colorful hats with beads, sequins, feathers and ribbons nodded their heads in agreement.
Hampton Mayor Molly Joseph Ward and five other women were honored for their contribution to their communities.
“These first ladies of the community are caretakers of education, health and faith,” Herring said. “We tip our hats to you.”
Ward, a lawyer who was elected in 2008, spoke of how her grandmother tiffany talk to her about college, law school and running for office, but talked about marrying well. The audience laughed as Ward described how after weddings, her grandmother would bring her a piece of cake in a cardboard box, have her sleep on it, then quiz her in the morning about who she saw in her dreams that night.
“What my grandmother did teach me is values, how to treat people fairly and with dignity,” Ward said. “That public service was a duty and obligation of someone with the opportunity to serve.”
The grandmothers in the audience were asked to stand, or wave their hands if that was more convenient, and each was given a red rose. At the front of the room, three candles were lit to represent faith, hope and charity in honor of grandmothers who have died.
Also honored at the luncheon were Norma Harvey, wife of HU President William Harvey; Debra Flores, vice president of Sentara CarePlex in Hampton; Amanda Murray, wife of Robert Murray, pastor of First Baptist Church in Norfolk; Minister Sylvia Harris, wife of the Rev. Theodore Harris, pastor of First Baptist Church Denbigh in Newport News; and Pastor Janeen McBath, wife of Bishop B. Courtney McBath, pastor of Calvary Revival Church in Norfolk.
Follow Samieh Shalash at twitter.com/samiehshalash
Luncheon honorees
Six local women, and grandmothers across the region, were honored at the “Big tiffany rings” tribute luncheon Friday at Hampton University. For a gallery of photos from the event, go to www.dailypress.com/bigmama
A new study, ‘Waist circumference and serum adiponectin levels in obese and non-obese Tiffany Rings women,’ is now available (see also <http://www.newsrx.com/library/topics/Obesity-and-Diabetes.html> Obesity and Diabetes). According to a study from Wroclaw, Poland, “A proposed missing link between obesity and metabolic disturbances is adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived peptide. Adiponectin is a potent antidiabetic hormone and seems to have a beneficial influence on lipid profile as well.”
“The need to explain the complex physiological roles of this hormone prompted the authors to study the relationship between adiponectin level and obesity -related abnormalities in a homogenous population of postmenopausal women. The study involved 272 postmenopausal women aged 50-60 years. Invitations to participate in the study were sent to 4000 randomly chosen women from the Wroclaw city population fulfilling the age criterion. A telephone questionnaire was administered to the group of 1731 women who responded to the invitation and then subjects for the study were selected. Main outcome measures anthropometrical measurements of body fat tissue content and fat tissue distribution assessment were carried out in all the women. Moreover, serum concentrations of adiponectin, glucose, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin were measured. The most frequent (76%) phenotype among the investigated women was obesity (BMI >25) with abnormal (=80cm) waist circumference (OAW), Obesity with normal (<80cm) waist (ONW) and normal weight with abnormal waist (NOAW) were observed in only 5% and 14% of the women, respectively. Non-obese women with normal waist (NONW) were noted in only 5% of the subjects. Serum adiponectin levels in both groups of non-obese women (NOAW and NONW) were significantly higher (p <0.05) than in the women with obesity or Tiffany Money Clips and abnormal waist circumference (OAW group). Adiponectin levels in the women with obesity or overweight and normal waist (ONW) were also higher than in the OAW group; however, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.05). In all the women, serum adiponectin level correlated negatively with BMI (r=-0.34, p=0.0001), total fat (r=-0.28, p=0.0001), android fat deposit (r=-0.23, p=0.0001), waist circumference (r=-0.33, p=0.0001), glucose (r=-0.27, p=0.0001), triglycerides (r=-0.34, p=0.0001), and FIRI (r=-0.34, p=0.0001) and positively with the gynoid/android fat deposit ratio (r=0.28, p=0.0001) and HDL cholesterol (r=0.36, p=0.0001),” wrote A. Milewicz and colleagues, Wroclaw Medical University.
The researchers concluded: “These results confirm that adiponectin could be a marker of the development of menopausal insulin resistance syndrome.”
Milewicz and colleagues published the results of their research in Maturitas (Waist circumference and serum adiponectin levels in obese and non-obese postmenopausal women. Maturitas, 2010;65(3):272-5).
For additional information, contact A. Milewicz, Diabetology and Isotope Treatment, Dept. of Endocrinology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wybrzeze L Pasteura 4, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland.
Keywords: City:Wroclaw, Country:Poland, Obesity and Diabetes, Bariatrics, Diabetes, Tiffany Cuff Links, Obesity, Physiology.
This article was prepared by Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week via <http://www.newsrx.com> NewsRx.com.
Likely Republican U.S. House candidate Jon Runyan took questions on the issues for about an hour yesterday, saying little more than what he’s for and against.
Runyan, a former Eagles offensive lineman, plans to announce his candidacy tonight.
He is generally against government spending but supports spending for military operations and funding “legitimate” projects in the Third Congressional District, which runs through Burlington and Ocean Counties and includes Cherry Hill in Camden County. He did not say what those projects would be.
With marginal opposition so far in the June 8 primary, he hopes to run against tiffany rings Rep. John Adler (D., N.J.) in the fall. It is expected to be one of the most closely watched races in the country.
Runyan has secured endorsements from the three county Republican machines, avoiding a costly primary battle between the powerful Ocean County and Burlington County GOP organizations.
Many Republicans believe the bitter 2008 primary hurt the party’s chances of holding onto the traditionally Republican district.
Runyan has chosen the Eagles’ green, white and black for his campaign colors, according to signs lining the walls of his campaign headquarters in a storefront at a Mount Laurel strip mall. He met with reporters there yesterday morning.
In addition to fund-raising, Runyan said, he would use his own money for the campaign, but would not say how much.
On social issues, he said he opposes same-sex marriage but generally favors abortion rights.
Marriage, he said “is between a man and a woman.” Abortion is a decision tiffany bracelets a woman and her doctor — with restrictions, he said.
He said the bank bailout had not worked because banks are not lending money to stimulate business growth. He said he would support a proposed consumer-protection agency to protect people from unethical lending practices.
Health care, he said, “does need to be fixed,” but not by the overhaul of the system being contemplated in Congress.
“There are many simplistic ways to do it. The first is portability across state lines, which will let more people in the system. That brings down the costs for everybody,” he said.
He said he favored letting people buy insurance from out-of-state companies.
Runyan said uncertainty about federal health care legislation is keeping employers from hiring.
“Part of the unemployment thing right now is the health-care bill hanging over peoples’ heads. What are employers going to be mandated to do for employees? I think people are holding off and trying to see what the cost of employing someone is,” he said.
But he could not say whether there would be an increase in hiring if the legislation were to fail. He said, though, that “there’s a level of anxiety that will go away.”
Beach replenishment is “a huge issue,” he said, but he did not say whether he would spend money to preserve the state’s beaches.
Nuclear power “has a lot of bad history but recent technology has cleaned it up,” he tiffany cufflinks, adding that nuclear power would help the nation gain energy independence.
Runyan has spent most of his adult life as a professional athlete and is running in this race as an outsider.
He said he had more research to do on the district and its issues.
To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, tiffany a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Dec. 4–We love a stylish bargain. Find plenty Saturday when DailyCandy Dallas editor (and former Dallas Morning News style reporter) Brittany Edwards debuts The Dallas Flea at 1409 S. Lamar St. More than 45 Texas-based vendors will gather to sell quirky-cool furniture, fashion, food and artwork from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5 — get details at www.thedallas flea.com.
Snag a men’s watch then line up to have 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Brett Hull sign an autograph today from 4 to 6 p.m. at Bachendorf’s at the Plaza at Preston Center. Two gifts in one stop, and brother will love you.
Linus Lounge (2724 Routh St., 214-965-0180) has stocked up on indie British shoe designer tiffany rings Sanderson’s flats, boots and heels (below), and has marked them down by 40 to 70 percent. Bring cash or credit and stop by today or Saturday.
Neiman Marcus hosts a Dallas “Fit for the Cure” partnership event with Wacoal from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Neiman’s downtown (1618 Main St., 214-741-6911). Score a free pink lingerie wash bag after a complimentary bra fit. Wacoal will donate $2 for each woman who participates, and an additional $2 for every Wacoal or b.tempt’d bra sold, to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. For more info, click to www.wacoal-america.com.
Your second chance to shop for local wares all in one place is next Saturday’s Dream Boutique Trunk Show at South Side on Lamar. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., you’ll find Butterfly Jones jewelry by Lori Price ( www.butterflyjones.com ) and clothing from Height Goddess ( www.heightgoddess.com) and tiffany bracelets ( www.kateracol lection.com).
See what life as Dallas fashion designer Oscar Fierro is like with the release of his tell-all look book, One, next Thursday during a burlesque-themed event at his boutique in Mockingbird Station (5307 E. Mockingbird Lane). The party runs from 6 to 10 p.m., with an 8 p.m. fashion show. All proceeds from the $20 book will be donated to the Oscar Fierro Foundation, which supports students and schools in developing countries. For reservations and more info, visit www.oscarfierro.net.
Austin designer Leigh Elena Navarro of Leighelena ( www.leighelena.com) debuts her enamel jewelry in Dallas at Elements (4400 Lovers Lane, 214-987-0837) and hosts a trunk show at 2 p.m. Thursday. Check out her chunky wood- and-enamel rings and silver chains with bright pendants; most tiffany cufflinks are under $100.
Credit: The Dallas Morning News
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Fast fashion, trendy clothing produced in bulk and sold at low prices, has been gaining a tiffany accessories foothold over the past year or so. Running in parallel with this is Fair Trade clothing — apparel sold in a way that pays wages commensurate with the work of the poor people who make such high-quality but inexpensive clothes in developing countries.
Earlier this month, People Tree — a Fair Trade clothing brand with shops in Tokyo’s Ginza and Jiyugaoka districts — launched a new clothing collection targeting people in their 20s. The new collection was designed by 19-year-old British actress Emma Watson, who starred in the “Harry Potter” series of films.
A spokesman for the brand explained the project, saying, “We want to offer an alternative way for people to help through the wearing of clothes.”
To provide the clothes’ makers with sufficient wages to live on, the garments are priced much higher than the fast fashion sold just down the street. For example, a dress can cost between 7,000 yen and 8,000 yen, while a printed shirt can cost between 4,000 yen and 6,000 yen. The clothing is made of organic cotton and has a handmade feeling, in large part because of the heavy use of embroidery.
The stitching is done in India by deaf and mute women, as well as people born into poor families. tiffanys have shown that these seamstresses working through Fair Trade earn 30 percent more than those working in nearby garment factories.
There also are products made by women in Bangladesh. The products will be used to help these women become self-reliant and provide an education for their children.
Many workers in developing countries have a hard time getting enough food, according to Safia Minney, the head of People Tree. She said she hoped people would consider the livelihoods of the people who make their clothes when they go shopping.
Nepali Bazaro is a shop in Yokohama that stocks Fair Trade clothing made in Nepal. The shop has commercialized persimmons — which is not popular as a foodstuff in Nepal — into products, manufacturing blouses dyed with persimmon juice, which retail for about 12,600 yen and coats, priced at 18,900 yen. A new industry that makes use of persimmons has injected precious income into a small village.
After being featured in Verda, the shop’s mail-order catalog, the gentle colors started to become tiffany rings, with some selling out.
Item prices are decided by staff who visit the producing region, and consider the life and wages of the person making the product. Not allowing anything to be wasted, a 945 yen eye pillow made from the remnants of garments has been a long-selling item.
There are a number of special groups and companies that sell Fair Trade goods, such as People Tree or Nepali Bazaro. In addition, there also are a variety of small shops selling goods that have been certified as Fair Trade, including coffee and chocolates.
A spokesperson from Tokyo-based Fairtrade Label Japan, which issues certifying labels here, said, “There are many cases of nongovernment organizations making efforts below the radar, and there are many products without Free Trade labels.”
The spokesperson added, “We recommend that [these NGOs] investigate their distribution sources and tiffany bracelets products only from organizations that can be trusted.”
“Cheap clothes are thrown out as trends pass. Perhaps we should instead be looking at clothes that last longer and benefit the people making them.”
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