Evicted for Reporting Domestic Abuse

To add insult to injury, this past July Cleaves-Milan received a call from a collection agency seeking nearly $3,800 they claimed she owed for the early termination of her lease. She returned home a day after telling police her boyfriend threatened to kill her to find a 10-day eviction notice taped to her door. She didn't terminate her lease early – she was given no choice in the matter. Luckily Aimco dropped this fee, but only after the Chicago Tribune inquired.

This story is horrific and unfortunately not uncommon. While the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 protects domestic abuse victims who live in public or subsidized housing from eviction, the law concerning private landlords is unclear. This lack of protection for women who rent in the private market creates a disincentive for women to report abuse, trapping women, and often their children, in violent relationships with no legal recourse.

clipped from www.care2.com When Kathy Cleaves-Milan's boyfriend brandished a gun and promised to end both of their lives is she left him she knew it was time to involve the police, if not for herself for the sake of her daughter. She made the call to police and got help, but a day later she received some surprising news: She was being evicted. Why? According to the managers of the complex, she had violated the terms of her lease by reporting criminal activity to the police – that is for reporting her boyfriend's death threats. "I was punished for protecting myself and my daughter," Cleaves-Milan, 36, said. Did they expect her to choose between staying with her abusive boyfriend or keeping a roof over her families head? So while the company admits that Cleaves-Milan's status as a domestic violence victim certainly influenced their decision to serve her with eviction papers, they also assumed that a single woman would be unable to make rent without a man by her side.

"Fat Talk" Not Spoken Here

Fat Talk Free Week encourages women to strive for a healthy ideal and take care of their bodies by focusing on health – not weight or size. The campaign encourages women to let go of the fat talk that plagues our every day conversations and promotes a celebration of things about ourselves that have nothing to do with the way we look.

Breaking free from the unrealistic thin ideal of beauty has never been more urgent.

Did you know that:

* 1 out of 8 adolescent girls reported starving themselves to lose weight
* 40% of moms tell their adolescent daughters to diet and 45% of these girls are of average weight
* 81% of 10 year old girls are afraid of being fat
* 51% of 9 and 10 year old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet
* More than 2/3 of women ages 18-25 would rather be mean or stupid than be fat
* Over 50% of women ages 18-25 would rather be hit by a truck than be fat
* 70 million people worldwide struggle with eating disord

clipped from www.care2.com We hear women in dressing rooms, locker rooms, and bedrooms around the world complain about one thing over and over again – their bodies. To many she never seems thin enough, not like the ultra slender women that strut down fashion runways, are splashed across glossy magazine pages, and star in today's biggest blockbusters. We are told these women are beautiful. We are told that if we are thin we will be beautiful too. So we strive to attain this thin ideal and along the way destroy our self-esteem and berate ourselves for not measuring up to these unrealistic, not to mention unhealthy, bodies. Well, it's high time that women break the thin ideal and start embracing a wider (no pun intended) definition of what it means to be beautiful. We can start by celebrating Fat Talk Free Week, an international 5-day body activism campaign that raises awareness of body image issues and the damaging impact of the thin ideal on women in society. by focusing on health – not weight or size

Pretty Pink Taxis-Avoiding "Leering Drivers"

safe ride or avoiding the real problem?

clipped from www.care2.com Following what seems to be something of an international trend, the Mexican city of Puebla has offered a new service to women plagued by "leering drivers": a fleet of taxis, driven by women and catering exclusively to women.  This comes on the heels of women-only train cars in Japan and Brazil, all-female transportation in Tehran, and "ladies' specials" in India, all designed to free women from the sexual harassment that public transportation seems inevitably to bring The planners of the taxi project in Puebla also tout the benefits for female drivers, saying that having women-only taxis opens up a traditionally male-dominated profession.  Many point out that simply providing women with a way to avoid harassment does not address the root of the problem shouldn't we be targeting the gropers and the harassers, not just getting women away from them?  Why do women have to change their routines - and find special taxis - because these men refuse to respect them?

ZoomSafer-App to stop Texting And Driving

Don't Text And Drive

clipped from wbztv.com For some, looking down at their phone was the last thing they did. The federal government says last year, 6,000 people were killed and 500,000 were injured using their phones. "A little bit over a year ago, I was heading into work and got a text. I looked down, then up and hit a 9-year-old boy on his bike." The boy lived, but for Matt Howard, it changed everything. "I thought to myself there has to be a better way for me to make decisions while I was driving. So the software entrepreneur came up with "ZoomSafer." The program is free and works on smart phones that have GPS. Here's how it works: When your phone is traveling 10 mph, the keyboard shuts down so you can't text If someone were to send you an e-mail or test, the service will send a reply on your behalf letting the person know that you are driving and focused on the road and you'll get back to them when you get to your destination safely Sen. Mark Montigny has tried making texting behind the wheel illegal. Fellow lawmakers have resist

Prosthetic That Can Sense Touch

clipped from wbztv.com There is a breakthrough for people who've lost limbs. Swedish scientists say they've developed a robotic hand that can actually sense touch Amputee Robin af Ekenstam can pick up a water bottle without dropping or crushing it. He gives it just the right amount of pressure because for the first time in years, he can actually FEEL the bottle. "It's a feeling I have not had for a long time," he says. Robin is the first to try out what's called the Smarthand, a new prosthetic limb dotted with 40 sensors that stimulate nerves in the arm and shoot touch signals back into the brain instantaneously. The prosthetic hands available now allow patients to perform many tasks but the Smarthand is the first to offer movement control that only comes through feeling. "It could allow a patient who's married who'd like to hold their spouse's hand again," explains Dr. Heckman. "It could allow someone who could pick up their son and feel that they are holding on." hope to have it on the market within two years.

Pay Cuts Coming For Bailed-Out Executives

clipped from wbztv.com The seven companies that received the most assistance will have to cut the annual salaries of their 25 highest-paid executive by an average of about 90 percent from last year, Kenneth Feinberg, the special master at Treasury appointed by Obama to handle compensation issues at the seven firms getting exceptional assistance from the government's $700 billion financial bailout package, is making the pay decisions. The seven companies are: Bank of America Corp., American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial Total compensation for the top executives at the seven firms will decline, on average, by about 50 percent, The pay restrictions for all seven companies will require any executive seeking more than $25,000 in special benefits - things such as country club memberships, private planes and company cars - to get permission for those perks from the government teetering on the brink taxpayers came to their defense

Missing 7 Year Old Girl

clipped from wbztv.com It's been three days since the disappearance of a 7-year-old girl in North Florida and investigators still have no clues. The mother of Somer Thompson went on all three network national morning news shows Wednesday with a tearful appeal for the child's return. "Somer, you're not in trouble - if you're scared, just come home," Dina Thompson said on NBC's "Today" show. "And if somebody has her, please, please bring her back to us. She belongs with her family." "She's got a twin and he's lost without her," Thompson said in a later news conference. "The likelihood she has been taken by someone is high," the sheriff said. The girl vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park, near Jacksonville. The second-grader is white, 3-foot-5 and 65 pounds. She had brown hair tied in a pony tail with a red bow and was carrying a purple Hannah Montana backpack and lunch box.

Lady Bug Photos

I have actually seen an all black ladybug. pretty.

clipped from www.geocities.com Fifteen-spotted Lady Beetle Two-spotted Lady Beetle Eye-spotted Lady Beetle Twice-stabbed Lady Beetle Seven-spotted Lady Beetle Nine-spotted Lady Beetle clipped from www.geocities.com Parenthesis Lady Beetle Three-Banded Lady Beetle Thirteen-spotted Lady Beetle Cream spotted Lady Beetle Asian Lady Beetle Transverse Lady Beetle clipped from www.geocities.com Hippodamia Glacialis Spotless Lady Beetle Convergent Lady Beetles Spotted Lady Beetle

Operation Yellow Blitz

clipped from wbztv.com Police in over 100 Massachusetts communities teamed up with the Registry of Motor Vehicles for what's called "Operation Yellow Blitz." Officers and inspectors are patrolling school bus stops on Wednesday and ticketing drivers who do not stop at the flashing red lights. This is the fifth year the RMV has held the day-long operation. "It is a zero tolerance policy," said Rachel Kaprielian, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. "You see those lights, you stop." By noon, 57 tickets had been handed out in half the communities that reported to the RMV. Thirty did not encounter any violators. The RMV says efforts like this one raise awareness about school bus safety. "If you're behind or approaching, you stop for a school bus because the cargo inside is too precious," said Kaprielian. The first violation is a $250 fine. The second ticket will cost drivers $500 and a hearing which could lead to the loss of their license.

LadyBug Invasion

I was one of those getting dive-bombed yesterday. Awesome! They kept playing buzz the tower.

It was great being able to show the kiddos. They thought it was neat when a few landed on us.

I counted about 7 different species on the front of our home. I couldn't couldn't keep count of how many there were total, but there was a lot.

clipped from wbztv.com Have you noticed what seems like an explosion of ladybugs lately? "Where are all the ladybugs coming from? I was "attacked" today while hanging my laundry." "Why am I being invaded by hundreds of ladybugs today?" Well, the answer is pretty simple. An expert told WBZ the bugs may sense that winter is coming. Because it was warm Tuesday, they were looking for a place, such as a home, to spend the winter. WBZ Executive Weather Producer Terry Eliasen said the influx of ladybugs happens any year that there are a bunch of really cold fall days, followed by a warm-up... like two years ago. They may be a nuisance, but the ladybugs are harmless - and can even be good for your garden.

US In Worst Top 3 For Income Inequality

clipped from finance.yahoo.com The U.N. Development Program recently came out with a report looking, among other things, at income inequality worldwide. The UNDP ranked countries and regions based on a number of factors, including their Gini coefficient, named for Italian statistician Corrado Gini. We have listed the world's most advanced economies based on their Gini score, with zero marking absolute equality and 100 absolute inequality. Scandinavian countries, Japan, and the Czech Republic have the least amount of inequality. The U.S. is among the most unequal, but it's not No. 1. No. 1 Hong Kong No. 2 Singapore No. 3 U.S. No. 4 Israel No. 5 Portugal No. 6 New Zealand No. 7 (tie) Italy No. 7 (tie) Britain No. 9 Australia No. 10 (tie) Ireland No. 10 (tie) Greece

Creative Bus Stops

clipped from green.yahoo.com Taking the bus can be a cheaper commute than driving a car. No fluctuating gas prices or expensive vehicle maintenance to deal with. Leave the driving to someone else, and you can read a book, talk on the phone, or listen to your iPod for a more relaxing route to work or school. But waiting for the bus can be a chore ... unless you get to hang out in one of these unusual bus stops around the world. Some communities celebrate their heritage, others places make use of creative materials, and a few towns let artists express themselves with a bus stop as the canvas. Maybe if more transit systems had attractive bus stops like these, more people would enjoy a car-free commute!