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AriesWe have 69 Items In-stock.
- Aries Brush Guard
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Date Published: July 31,2014
Continually raising the bar since 1997--that's the tagline of Aries Automotive. Not only is that visible on the company's website, but also in the brand's lineup of top-notch truck accessories that include nerf bars, grille guards, bull bars , tail light guards, tire covers, tow hooks, bumper guards, winch plates, and roof racks, among others. The list is certainly long (the actual one is longer, of course) as Aries seems to offer accessories for practically every area of a truck.
A Very Young Brand
Headquartered in Harbor City, California, Aries has of nearly two decades worth of experience under its belt. While it's true that Aries is relatively young when compared with the other industry players, that fact isn't really that obvious. It's because the brand has already developed a wide selection of truck accessories in such a short span of time.
Looking Towards the Future
Considering Aries' accomplishments in just less than twenty years, the future definitely looks bright for the brand. At present, Aries continues to produce top-notch truck accessories for consumers while expanding its operation to other parts of America.
An aftermarket parts company that has been continually pushing the bar for more than a decade now, Aries started out in 1997 as a humble manufacturer of various components. Its goal ever since it was established was to provide car owners with high-quality options. From bull bars to floor liners, this is definitely the go-to brand if you want something that'll fit your ride to a T and won't easily break. All products are made from top-caliber rubber, tubular steel, ABS plastic, and other high-grade materials, so you're sure to get your money's worth if you choose this brand. Aside from reliability, Aries products also offer hassle-free installation, since most kits are equipped with no-drill components and mounting parts. If you're a DIY kind of guy who loves to equip a vehicle with the latest safety accessories, this is the label you should look for. Perfect for vehicle modding projects, items made by this manufacturer are guaranteed to surpass industry standards. Take for example its grille guards. These accessories are designed to provide additional headlight visibility and effectively shield your ride during a crash. They're also available in a variety of designs, giving you several options when jazzing up your ride. After all, accessories nowadays shouldn't be just functional; they should also be able to upgrade your car's look and make it stand out from the rest. Aside from grille guards and floor liners, the label also offers top-notch nerf bars, bull bars, tail light guards, mirror covers, cargo carriers, and much more. Whatever you need to keep your car's exterior in good shape, Aries has your vehicle covered from the front to the back end.
Now if you need aftermarket components, order them from Auto Parts Warehouse, your one-stop shopping destination for car parts and accessories. Because we want our customers to get access to the best parts in the market, we've included Aries components in our catalog. To easily find what you need, simply use your car's specs when doing a search. After you've entered the necessary information online, you'll see a list of compatible products in a matter of seconds—no need to wait for your turn or fall in line. Within the comforts of your home or office, you'll be able to shop for parts you'll need for your next DIY upgrade project. Now if you're worried about your limited budget, don't be. After all, we have amazing discounts you won't get from other auto part stores. Plus, we offer various secure payment options and excellent customer support. If you have concerns or queries about our products or your order, just give us a call any time of the day, any day of the week. What's more, we guarantee fast and dependable shipping services. Here, you'll have access to a user-friendly catalog, amazingly affordable prices, top-quality choices, world-class customer service, and quick shipping—what more can you ask from an online parts retailer? So if you're itching to upgrade your ride with Aries accessories, order now and make the most out of your budget.


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In 1960, NASA created the Office of Life Sciences. One function of this office was to award grants for exobiology research. This research included studying life-detection techniques, learning how to prevent forward and back contamination of planetary environments by spacecraft, and studying the origins of life.
After the founding of NASA's Office of Life Sciences, exobiology continued to grow. Many scientists who were unable to achieve funding through agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), that required that their work fit into a rigidly defined scientific discipline were successfully courted by NASA and encouraged to apply for exobiology grants.
NASA's Office of Life Sciences invested a considerable amount of money in the design and development of life-detection instruments. Three of these instruments were chosen to fly aboard the 1976 Viking mission to Mars. The twin Viking landers were designed to land on the Red Planet and search for the presence of life or organic materials on the surface.
The Viking landers touched down on the surface of Mars in July and September 1976. Although the results were eagerly awaited by many on Earth, scientists were disappointed to find that the data from the landers were ambiguous. While one of the instruments did seem to show a positive detection of life,8 the other two life-detection instruments did not.9,10 Moreover, a fourth experiment revealed no sign of organic material in the samples of martian regolith analyzed.11 Scientists later demonstrated that the positive results from the single experiment likely resulted from abiotic processes related to the highly oxidizing nature of the martian surface material.12
In the wake of Viking's failure to unambiguously detect biological activity or, even, organic compounds in the martian soil, the exobiology program experienced a decrease in political support. The public, which had been so enthusiastic about the possibility of life on other planets, became disillusioned by the negative results of Viking. Not only did the prestige of exobiology suffer, but the entire Mars exploration program also experienced a lull in the two decades following Viking.
Although funding did not reach pre-Viking levels in this era, work in the field continued. The scientific community remained interested in studying the origins of life, and internal NASA advisory committees and independent groups continued scientific planning for future endeavors in this area. Many significant discoveries were also made in this time period. Indeed, NASA's strategy of actively seeking out interdisciplinary projects that did not readily find a home in other funding agencies was extremely successful and resulted in the funding of many seminal research activities that proved of lasting value. Examples of important research opportunities funded by the Exobiology program include the following: Lynn Margulis's work on the endosymbiotic origins of eukaryotic cells, Carl Woese's discovery of the Archaea, Luis Alvarez's theory of an asteroid as the cause of the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction, the discovery of microfossils of the earliest life on Earth, and James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis.13 This does not mean that other agencies made no contributions to the nurturing of what would later be called astrobiology. NSF, for example, was instrumental in funding many important research activities, including the following: Stanley Miller's work on prebiotic synthesis; the collection of lunar, martian, and other meteorites in Antarctica; and Geoffrey Marcy's search for exoplanets, i.e., planets around other stars.14
In 1995, astronomers announced the discovery of an extrasolar planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi. Although this planet orbits very close to its parent star and is far too hot to harbor life as we know it, this unexpected discovery, taken together with the earlier discovery of planets in orbit around a pulsar, generated enthusiasm for the possibility for countless yet-to-be-discovered planetary systems, some of which could have the potential to sustain life. At about the same time, the Hubble Space Telescope obtained spectacular images of disks around young stars, which were interpreted as possible sites for future formation of planets, perhaps including ones with environmental conditions suitable for life.
Much work was also being done at this time on the existence of life in extreme terrestrial environments, such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These new "extreme" life forms expanded the limits of what were once considered to be acceptable conditions for life to develop and proliferate. Finally, observations from the Galileo spacecraft suggested that liquid water existed below Europa's icy surface, raising the tantalizing idea that life could be found elsewhere in the solar system outside the traditional habitable zone.

subset: commoncrawl


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Much of Romania's efforts to prevent and combat trafficking have focused on prevention and providing victims with assistance. Romania adopted its first National Action Plan for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in 2001. The issue gained political attention in 2005 when the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (ANITP) was established. ANITP is the coordinating body for all measures against trafficking in human beings in Romania. A comprehensive National Strategy against Trafficking in Persons for 2006-2010 was adopted in 2006.
Conventionally, Romania has been mainly a source and transit country of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and a destination country for women from Moldova, Colombia and France who are trafficked into prostitution. Yet, in recent years, Romania has gradually become a source and transit country for labour exploitation as well. For instance, 64%of identified victims in 2008 were trafficked for forced labour. These victims were mainly men from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Honduras. Romanian men, women, and children are also trafficked internally for both sexual exploitation and forced labour.
According to the National Integrated System to Monitor and Assess Victims of Trafficking (SIMEV), the total number of identified victims in 2008 was 1240, a decrease from 1780 in 2007. Minors represented 17% of those trafficked.
Romanian children are mainly trafficked into begging and petty theft networks. Romanian children from the Roma community appear to fall victim to these rings of exploitation disproportionately. Trafficking for the purpose of begging increased from 7% in 2008 to 14% (109 victims) in 2009. In 2009, 41% of cases concerned women trafficked for sexual exploitation, while 40% of cases consisted of trafficking for forced labour, in agriculture, constructions or other economic activities.
The main and most visible trend in the trafficking in persons' phenomenon is represented by the upward curve of the victims identified. If in 2006 until 2009 the total number of the victims identified recorded a downward trend, in 2010 the total number of victims identified was of 1154, which is 32.5% higher the previous year.
Sexual and labour exploitation are still the main forms of victims' exploitation. 56% of the total number of the population was represented by women, as victims of trafficking in persons.
At the same time, we should outline the increasing number of child trafficking in 2010.
307 juveniles, meaning 27% were victims of child trafficking, especially sexual exploited.
We emphasize the fact that there were no foreign victims trafficked in our country. Still, two foreigners (from Greece and Hungary) had been recruited in our country, and exploited on the territory of other Member States (Spain and Germany).
The development of the investigations not only at national level but also international, has enabled the detection of more and more members of criminal groups. The identification of the victims of trafficking, the investigation and the prosecution of the suspects for trafficking in persons crimes are interrelated processes whose measurable values may be correlated. Thus, due to the increasing number of the victims of trafficking in persons, the number of suspects investigated and convicted was also higher. 1099 suspects were investigated in 2010, number of suspects with 16% higher than in 2009. In 2010, 203 offenders were sentenced for crimes of trafficking in persons, the figure being with 10% higher than the previous year.
In 2011, the Trafficking in Human Beings trend in Romania was influenced by the ongoing economic crisis, which entailed national austerity measures and budget reduction. The set of measures taken in Romania, in this socio-economic context have produced numerous effects, especially in the labour market, dramatically reducing supply over demand.
The rise in demand for jobs, regardless of their nature, led to the systematic increase of people vulnerable to trafficking and also ever greater risk-taking by this category in acceptance of some jobs.
In the first half of 2011, the number of identified victims exceeded by 29% the figure reported for the same period last year. From a total of 488 identified victims, 341 were female, out of which 150 minors, respectively 147 were male, out of which 20 minors.
6 persons of foreign nationality (Bangladesh and Moldova), third-country nationals were victims of sexual exploitation in the street and also victims of labour exploitation in agriculture in our country.
According to information gathered on recruitment methods and also on the recruiter relationship with the victim, we have noticed that the identified victims were overwhelmingly recruited directly by the dealer, without there being any intermediary such as employment agencies.
Sexual exploitation and forced labor are the most common forms of human trafficking exploitation in 2011. During this period (fist six months of 2011) the victims of sexual exploitation had a higher prevalence of 50% from the total number of identified victims. Other forms of exploitation were registered among victims identified, but at a much smaller scale (begging or stealing exploitation and also pornographic exposure).
The dynamic of trafficking in persons in Romania[1]
The victims' characteristics in Romania have been analyzed periodically by the Romanian authorities since 2004, but starting 2007, the National System of Data Collection and Interpretation in this field has been improved, when the Integrated System to Monitor and Assess Trafficking in Persons (SIMEV) has become operational at the national level. Thus, for this year, SIMEV has registered 1048 identified victims, with 9% less than in the previous year.
Other characteristics observed at the level of victims' population identified in 2011
- an increase with 5% of the number of victims coming from rural area, from 52% in 2010 to 57%;
- the majority of victims has a low level of education (56% had gymnasium studies at the moment they were trafficked, while a percentage of 36% were attending or graduated from high school or vocational school). The number of cases when victims had a higher education or no education was small.
- although, the majority of victims came from families with two parents (the origin families in the case of minors or the type of actual family in case of adults), most families of this type were characterized by tensed relations, domestic violence, alcohol and drug consumption, or negligence for the important aspects in partner's life or minors in care;
- The most vulnerable age category is between 18 and 25 years; but a significant number of minors aged between 14 – 17 and adults aged between 26 – 40 became victims of trafficking in persons.
The victims with a high risk of being trafficked come from dysfunctional families and are mainly, youngsters and minors marked by violence and abuse.
The sexual exploitation remains one of the most aggressive forms of exploitation, especially for women; this year it remains the most frequent form of exploitation of victims of trafficking in persons.
The 2010 ranking of exploitation methods connected to criminal files remains the same for 2011: sexual exploitation on the first place followed by forced labour and begging exploitation. To a smaller extent, activities regarding other forms of exploitation – street lifting and shop lifting - were performed.
Another significant fact is the recruitment of female minors, students, who, under the promise to easily earn a lot of money, are determined to practice prostitution at the local level, and after turning 18, under the pretext to settle down for life ("lover boy" recruitment method) are transported abroad and then exploited in the street and in night clubs.
The majority of victims identified in 2011 were exploited abroad, 72% out of the total. In Romania (internal trafficking), 296 victims were trafficked, especially for sexual exploitation.
The main 10 destination countries were: Spain (224 victims of forced labour exploitation), Italy (131 victims trafficked especially for sexual exploitation), Germany (103 victims trafficked for sexual exploitation or forced labour), Greece (93, especially for forced labour), Czech Republic (49 victims of forced labour exploitation), France (39 victims trafficked especially for begging or sexual exploitation), Cyprus (34 victims of forced labour exploitation), Poland (18 victims exploited mainly for begging or forced labour) and Austria (13 victims trafficked for sexual exploitation or begging)
Combating the trafficking in persons in 2011
Criminal investigations for trafficking in persons and trafficking in minors were finalized for 810 criminal files. There were registered 182 indictments, 480 persons being prosecuted out of the total of 2403 investigated persons for this crime.
Criminal files finalized
Final figures for investigation and prosecution of traffickers
Trafficker's characteristics for 2011
- the traffickers are especially men (79,2%). Nevertheless, female are involved in the stage of victims' preparation or in recruitment but they are playing also an important role in exploitation phase, in receiving the "goods";
- over 83% of traffickers are in the age category between 20 and 45 years old.
Combating the trafficking in persons in 2012
The Agency against Trafficking in Persons is the Romanian specialized structure in evaluation of trafficking in persons' phenomenon, national and international cooperation in the field, improving public policies in all areas tackling the phenomenon.
The victims' characteristics in Romania have been analyzed periodically by the Romanian authorities since 2004, but starting 2007, the National System of Data Collection and Interpretation in this field has been improved, when the Integrated System to Monitor and Assess Trafficking in Persons (SIMEV) has become operational at the national level, administrated by ANITP. Thus, for this year, SIMEV has registered 1041 identified victims, with 7 victims less than the previous year. SIMEV is counting and registering Romanian citizens exploited outside our country but also Romanian citizens or foreigners exploited internally.
Out of the total identified victims only 4 were foreigners.
The majority of the victims were sexually exploited (50,5% out of the total identified victims). This exploitation is taking place in private flats, clubs, and brothels, making the detection and identification of the victims harder.
The number of the victims exploited externally has been decreasing from the last year, maybe as a consequence of a good European and International cooperation with partners from other countries.
Men, women and children are trafficked from Romania to European countries like Italy, Spain, Germany and others. While Italy and Spain have been observed by several years as main destination countries for Romanian victims, Germany have been registered an important flow of Romanian victims in 2012.
Criminal investigations for human trafficking and trafficking in minors offences are conducting yearly to a permanent increase in numbers' convictions. For example, 427 traffickers were convicted for trafficking in persons or minors, the rate being 55% higher than the previous year and more than double for the year 2010 (276 persons in 2011 and 203 persons in 2010 were convicted for trafficking in persons and minors).
r positive tendency for the 2012 is that most of the traffickers have long time prison sentences. (Almost 75% of traffickers are executing an imprisonment -jail type- punishment)[1]. Is constantly increasing the amount of severe sentence granted to traffickers, almost 41% are executing a sentence longer than 5 years.
he efficient international cooperation has led to the increase in numbers of transnational referred victims with the help of the Agency assuring in this way an emergent intervention for victims' recovery. 110 victims have been transnational referred in 2012, from countries like Greece, Portugal, Spain and others.
[1] Data provided by the Superior Council of Magistracy
[1] All statistics presented in this section are provided by:
- National Agency against Trafficking In Persons (Integrated System to Monitor and Assess Trafficking in Persons -SIMEV);
- General Inspectorate of Romanian Police - Directorate for Combating Organized Crime;
- Public Ministry –Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism;
- Ministry of Justice.
Romania prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons through Law no. 678/2001 on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. The Law was introduced in the Criminal Code in 2002. The Criminal Code was modified in 2004 to include specific provisions for all forms of trafficking in adults and children.
The provisions for human trafficking prescribe penalties from three to fifteen years' imprisonment. These penalties are commensurate with the penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape.
In the new Criminal Code of July 17 2009, chapter VII (Trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable persons) is aimed at establishing crimes, particularly against minors, through a modern approach in line with European and international regulation. Therefore, any acts committed against minors that can be severely harmful to their life, freedom, health, physical and mental integrity are criminalised. Examples include trafficking in minors, procurement, exploitation for begging, forcing a minor to beg, benefiting from the services of an exploited person, rape, sexual assault, sexual intercourse with a minor, sexual corruption of minors, and the recruitment of minors for sexual purposes.
Romanian legislation does not provide residence permits for victims of human trafficking. However, a tolerance regime of upto six months meets the requirements of the Council Directive 2004/81/EC in terms of victim assistance.
The initial period of accommodation and assistance in specialised centres (ten days) is not subject to cooperation with the law enforcement, but its renewal does require this cooperation.
National Strategy/National Action Plan
The National Strategy against Trafficking in Persons for 2006-2010 was adopted in Romania in 2006. The National Strategy sets six strategic objectives, with clear targets and benchmarks for their monitoring and evaluation, to be implemented by two National Action Plans.
The most important objectives of the National Strategy include:
- strengthening the role of the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons as an equivalent mechanism for coordination of anti-trafficking activities;
- adopting a National Referral Mechanism in2008 by a joint order of relevant ministries and national agencies;
- developing National Standards for Specialised Assistance Services in 2007 to improve the quality of assistance provided to victims;
- developing andbringing into full operation the National Database on Victims of Trafficking (since 2007);
- an anti-trafficking toll free help-line (0800 800 678), which has been available since 2007;
- implementing collaboration protocols at central and regional level with public and private institutions active in the field, as well as setting up regional inter-institutional teams .
Two National Action Plans (for 2006-2007 and 2008-2010) have been adopted for the implementation of the National Strategy.
Co-ordination of anti-trafficking actions at a national level
In March 2009, the ANITP was changed from an independent national agency, with the authority to administer federal funding for anti-trafficking initiatives, to a subordinate agency of the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police.
The ANITP coordinates, evaluates and monitors the implementation of anti-trafficking and victim protection and assistance policies by public institutions at national level. The ANITP runs fifteen Regional Centres to monitor the local implementation of the National Action Plans and to support anti-trafficking activities performed in the ANITP's area of responsibility.
The ANITP is also responsible for maintaining a central database on victims of human trafficking, and plays a key role in the referral mechanism. The ANITP ensures the effective referral of victims to the assistance services providers, as well as monitoring the quality of assistance with which the victims are provided.
National Rapporteur or equivalent mechanism
Latest initiatives/activities related to anti-trafficking policy
Development of several JIT (Joint Investigation Teams) with destination countries as UK and France as an efficient tool in tackling the networks both in origin and destination country;
Amendment of the Law no. 678/2001 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings through the Law no. 230/2010 as following:
- inclusion of THB victim's definition;
- inclusion as form of exploitation: forced begging, removal of tissues or human cells;
- implementing the concept of "protected houses" to ensure under cover familial type accomodation;
- increasing the period for unconditioned victims' accomodation from 10 to 90 days, during the reflection period.
Increasing the penalties for the aggravated form of this crime, namely amending the provisions referring to this crime when committed by a family member or upon a minor, a pregnant woman, or upon a physically or mentally disabled person.
Reorganisation of NAATP as independent body within the Ministry of Adminstration and Interior, with the purpose to develop its capacity as central comunication point for international partenrs in countering THB (policies development, victim's referal and coordination during trials, prevention campaign, projects implementation)
For 2011, adoption of new National Strategy for Prevention and Combating THB that will focus on improving victims' assistance, expanding international judicial cooperation raising awarness among various law enforcement agencies and divisions with the purpose of early detection of vulnerable population or victims.
The most important challenges national level
- Improving legal framework related to financial support for services run by NGOs;
- Improving the collection of accurate comparable and standardized data, regarding THB victims, from various actors responsible for prevention and combating THB, both governmental and civil society;
- Reducing the risk groups' vulnerability by reducing the demand for sexual exploitation of women and labour exploitation;
- Reducing victimization risk and improving Romania' situation (currently 5th place);
- Reducing internal traffic;
- Reducing child trafficking:
- Promoting the idea of establishing the European Anti-Trafficking Annual Report
- Accurate data regarding Romanian victims trafficked into other countries
- Initiating a transnational mechanism on identification and referral, in partnership with the main destination countries for the Romanian victims of trafficking in persons.
Efforts to prevent human trafficking in Romania have focused on awareness-raising for both potential victims and the general public. ANTIP has implemented several campaigns and projects in partnership with other stakeholders. These include:
- Reducing the number of Romanian and Bulgarian victims trafficked in Italy and Spainfor the period 16 February - 15 October 2010. Within this project, the prevention campaign Trafficking in persons - forgive no one has been launched.
- Within the PHARE Twinning Project RO2006/IB/JH 08, entitled Improving the institutional capacity of the agencies involved in the prevention of trafficking in human beings in line with the current European standards and best practices, the national campaign for the prevention of sexual exploitation called "The two-faced man"was implemented between July and October 2009.
- From October 2008 until June 2009 a demand reduction campaign called,"Your money makes the traffickers rich...Your money kills souls!" was implemented. The main purpose of the campaign was to inform the public about the consequences of sexual exploitation, labour and forced begging, and about the legal norms punishing trafficking in persons in all its forms.
- The campaign with the slogan "Euro 2008 – trafficking in persons can be a game with a high stake, even your life" was implemented during the European Football Championship 2008. The aim of the campaign was to inform the public at large about trafficking in persons.
- From 26 June until 15 September 2008, the information campaign "The trafficking in persons is out there! Take a decision TODAY… Not TOMORROW!"on the Black Sea Coast was conducted.
- The campaign"Watch out for PERFECT opportunities for PERFECT jobs!, which began in July 2007, was finalised in February 2008. The campaign aimed to inform the population about trafficking. It targeted risk groups and potential clients. Two types of brochures were developed: "Preventive measures for trafficking in persons" for the general public and "Victims' rights" for the state institutions coming into contact with victims of trafficking.
- "Be careful! There's a price to pay!"was a national campaign, initiated at the end of 2006 by ANITP and implemented throughout January – June 2007, aiming at raising the awareness of the public at large about trafficking issues and to promote the toll-free number 0800 800 678.
- Starting from 2007, ANITP has conducted the annual campaign,"18 October – EU Anti-Trafficking Day" which includes information campaigns aimed at raising awareness among the public about trafficking in persons.
In 2008, the Romanian government also provided 24 trafficking awareness training sessions for Romanian troops prior to their deployment in international peacekeeping missions abroad.
Assistance and support provided to victims
One of the objectives of the National Strategy is the development of national standards for assistance services provided to victims.
Before 2008, when the National Referral Mechanism was adopted, there was no unitary system to identify and support victims of human trafficking. Until then, the identification of victims and offenders had been conducted on the basis of cumulative provisions from the relevant legislation on a case-by-case basis, carried out by specialised units within the Inspectorate General of the Romanian Police, the Inspectorate General of the Border Police, NGOs and social services.
In order to co-ordinate activities dedicated to the protection and assistance of victims of trafficking, a Thematic Working Group was created in 2007 by a joint order of competent ministries and agencies.
Operating under the authority of local administrations in nine counties, the Centre for Protection of and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings offers temporary accommodation, psychological counselling, medical examination, physical protection, information about the rights of the victim as a witness/injured party in the judicial process, and support to get in touch with the victim's family.
The ANITP and the National Authority for the Protection of the Children's Rights (NAPCR) are the bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of assistance to victims of trafficking.
In 2008, the government provided $270,000 to four non-governmental organizations for victim assistance. According to the US TIP report 2010, the reorganization of ANITP in March 2009 had a negative impact on victim assistance Specifically, the TIP Report states that the government was less cooperative with anti-trafficking NGOs, and that it allocated no federal funding for NGOs to provide victim services and conduct anti-trafficking prevention programs. As a result, nearly 30 anti-trafficking NGOs either closed or changed their focus to issues other than human trafficking in order to retain federal funding; some of these NGOs had previously provided critical victim assistance including shelter, counseling, vocational training, and other rehabilitative care for victims.
In 2009, the government identified 780 victims, including at least 416 identified victims of forced labour and at least 320 identified victims of forced prostitution, a significant decrease from 1,240 victims identified in 2008. Of those victims identified in 2009, 176 were children, trafficked for both forced labor and prostitution.
An anti-trafficking toll free help-line (0800 800 678) which has been available since 2007, has the following remit:
- To provide information about trafficking in persons;
- To provide identification and referral of victims of trafficking;
- To contribute towards an impact assessment of prevention campaigns.
The Program of Victims Coordination
The Victims Coordination Program was initiated by ANITP in collaboration with the US Embassy in Bucharest in 2006.The personnel of the Regional Centres against trafficking in human beings are implementing the Program of Victims Coordination with the following objectives:
- Maintaining permanent contact with victims;
- Providing information to the victims about their rights and the services they can access for specialized assistance;
- Informing the victims about the trial;
- Informing the victims on the development of the case.
Following the implementation of this program, the number of victims of trafficking who acted as witnesses or injured parties in trials increased, as well as their participation in all the stages of the criminal procedures. The number of victims who left the assistance program before the intervention was over and the re-integration objective achieved has also been reduced.
Residence permit
Foreign victims receive a 90-day reflection period to decide whether they would like to cooperate in criminal proceedings.
According to the US TIP report 2010, no foreign victims applied for and received temporary residence permits in 2009.
Special protective measures for children
The importance that the Romanian government attaches to combating trafficking in children is reflected in a number of legal and policy instruments, such as the National Action Plan on preventing and combating trafficking in children 2004-2007.
ANIPT and NAPCP have overall responsibility for trafficking victims who are minors. Special assistance to minors is provided in eleven Emergency Transit Centres for unaccompanied minors or child victims of trafficking, administered by Save the Children Romania. The centres are a part of the National Interest Program for the assistance, protection and rehabilitation of child victims or children who are at risk from trafficking.
Investigation and prosecution
Established multidisciplinary groups, special units/police groups etc.
In Romania, the Inspectorate General of the Romanian Police (IGRP) and the Inspectorate General of the Border Police (IGBP) are in charge of investigations, while the Prosecutor's Office conducts prosecutions for criminal offences.
In 2004, a network of Judges was created, which specialises in hearing trafficking cases. It is made up of 56 judges, from every Court of Appeal and tribunal throughout the country.
Latest number of prosecutions and convictions
In 2009, according to the US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, the Romanian police investigated 759 cases – including some investigations started in 2008 –and prosecuted 329 individuals for human trafficking. 183 trafficking offenders were convicted and 72 of these served time in prison. During the same year, one offender was sentenced to up to six months' imprisonment, 54 offenders were sentenced to five to 10 years' imprisonment, six offenders were sentenced to 10 to 15 years' imprisonment, and one child offender was sentenced to an undisclosed amount of time in prison. The remaining 111 convicted trafficking offenders did not receive prison sentences.
According to UNODC, all the persons convicted of trafficking in 2005 and 2006 were Romanian. Many of the Romanian victims identified by State authorities and reported above were repatriated, with some repatriation conducted by the International Organisation for Migration.
Latest initiatives/activities related to anti-trafficking policy you would like to share with other Members of the Informal Network
Starting with 17th January 2013, ANITP will provide, for six months, within the Twinning project (IPA 2010) "Improving the identification of trafficking victims" expertise to the Croatian authorities in order to improve the identification of victims of trafficking, with a focus on sexual exploitation and forced labor.
The overall objective isto enhance the capacities of key stakeholders in combating trafficking in human beings; thus raising the level of protection of victims of trafficking in the Republic of Croatia in order to meet EU standards.
In 2012, at the initiative of the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons was signed a new Protocol of cooperation for implementing the project "Coordination of trafficking victims in criminal proceedings" between the following institutions: National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons, Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism within Public Ministry, Probation Directorate within Ministry of Justice and Inspectorate General of Romanian Police, Inspectorate General of Border Police, Inspectorate General of Gendarmerie, Inspectorate General for Immigration all within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Through this new protocol, the signatory parties aim to develop the activities established by the old protocol with general objective to exceed the good results obtained in the period 2009-2012.
National Referral Mechanism
The National Referral Mechanism was approved through Order 335 from 29 October 2007 and entered into force at 17 December 2008.
The mechanism aims to adopt a unitary and coordinated response of all anti-trafficking institutions and organizations which shall lead to the improvement of the early identification of a victim, the capacity and provision of protection and assistance to victims of trafficking, regardless of the institution or organization the victim initially gets in contact with.
The document represents a set of norms designed to identify and refer victims of trafficking with the purpose of ensuring support services.The mechanism contains the fundamental principles and legal framework of actions and measures undertaken by institutional partners of the mechanism, concrete identification methods and referral procedures.
The annex of the document includes the list of indicators that can be used for the primary evaluation of a possible situation of trafficking in persons or for identification of an alleged victim of this crime.
- The low level of resources leading to limited involvement of anti-trafficking institutions and organizations;
- The need for continuous training of professionals working with the identification and referral mechanism.
International initiatives focus on co-operation with countries of destination for Romanian trafficking victims, particularly neighbouring countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova.
ANITP has established working relationships with authorities in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Austria, France and the Netherlands. Contacts have also been established with non-governmental organisations in several European countries.
Furthermore, ANITP has continuous dialogue with countries along the trafficking routes. Thus, meetings with officials from Norway, Turkey and Croatia are organised to exchange information, find practical ways of cooperating, and analyse opportunities to develop joint projects in the field of prevention of human trafficking.
The ANITP initiated (in partnership with IOM and the Czech Ministry of the Interior) the "Labour in the Czech Republic" information and prevention campaign, which aimed to inform the public about the risks that may affect people travelling to this region in search of better paid jobs, and the way in which people in a risky situation may ask the authorities and NGOs for assistance. The campaign was conducted during May – September 2008 in the counties with the highest number of victims exploited for labour in the Czech Republic.
Please also see section 3.1.
Future plans in terms of implementation of the directive 2011/36/EU
The National Agency against Trafficking in Personas was assigned to ensure the transposition of the provisions of the Directive 36/2011 into national legislation. Thus, were initiated a series of activities to analyze the state of transposition of the directive into national law. In this respect there were a number of working groups with all institutions involved, both in terms of combating and prevention of this phenomenon. The outcome of these workshops was to finalize the draft correlation table between Directive and national legislation and to start implementing procedures to notify the transposition.
In the same time, the principles and substantial elements of the Directive led to the development of the National Strategy against Trafficking in Persons 2012-2016. The strategy was developed in the framework of a large consultative process, involving all relevant central authorities and civil society organizations.
This item has not been translated in this language please try in EN
5.1. Legislation
Law No. 678/2001 on the Preventing and Combat of Trafficking in Human Beings (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 678/2001 privind prevenirea şi combaterea traficului de personae)
- Law No. 287/2005 for the approval of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 79/2005 which amends Law No. 678/2001 on the Preventing and Combat of Trafficking in Human Beings (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 287/2005 privind aprobarea Ordonanţei de urgenţă a Guvernului nr. 79/2005 pentru modificarea şi completarea Legii nr. 678/2001 privind prevenirea şi combaterea traficului de personae)
- Criminal Code (updated 2004) (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 286/2009 - Codul Penal)
- Trafficking in adults, Art. 204 - Trafic cu adulţi
- Trafficking in minors, Art. 205 - Trafic cu minori
- Trafficking in Human Beings for Labour Exploitation, Art. 207 - Trafic de persoane pentru exploatarea prin muncă
- Trafficking in Organs, Art. 207 - Trafic cu organe
- Law No. 682/2002 on witness protection (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 682/2002 privind protecţia martorilor)
- Law No. 211/2004 on measures to ensure protection of victims of offenses (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 211/2004 privind unele măsuri pentru asigurarea protecţiei victimelor infracţiunilor)
- Law No. 705/2001 on the national system of social assistance (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 705/2001privind sistemul naţional de asistenţă social)
- Law No. 302/2004 on international cooperation of the judiciary on criminal issues (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 302/2004 privind cooperarea judiciară internaţională în materie penală)
- Law No. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of the rights of the child (in Romanian) (Legea nr. 272/2004 privind protecţia şi promovarea drepturilor copilului)
5.2 National Action Plans
5.3 Reports
5.3.1 National reports on implementation
5.3.2 Other reports and publications
ANITP has developed the following publications within the PHARE Twinning Project (available at ANITP website):
- "Improving the institutional capacity of the agencies involved in the prevention of trafficking in human beings in line with the current European standards and best practices" in cooperation with Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights Vienna.
- Trafficking in Children in Romania - Study on the recruiting process(2009)
- Sociological Research Handbook On Child Trafficking (2009)
- Conducting Prevention Campaigns in the Field of Trafficking in Human Beings – Practical Guidebook (2009)
- Child-trafficking-09-Romania_en.pdf
- Child trafficking in Romania_en.pdf
- ICMPD Study on the assessment of extent of different types of trafficking in EU countries_en.pdf
- UNODC 2009 Global report on trafficking in persons_en.pdf
- US Trafficking in Persons Report 2010_en.pdf
- US Trafficking in Persons 2012 Romania_en.pdf
- Information Fiche for the meeting of National Rapporteurs_Romania.doc
- US Trafficking in Persons Report 2011_Romania_en
- 5.3.1 National reports on implementation
5.4 Links
5.5 Contacts
National Rapporteur or equivalent mechanism
Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform
National Agency against Trafficking in Persons
6, Mihai Voda St., sector 5, Bucharest
Telephone: +40 21 311 89 84
E-mails: anitp.@mira.gov.ro
email@example.com (Monitoring Office)
email@example.com (Prevention office)
Website: http://anitp.mira.gov.ro/en
Str. Pop de Băseşti nr. 49-51, Sc. 2 Ap. 11, Sector 2, Bucharest
Tel/fax: 021 253 29 04
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Str. Halmeu, nr. 12-14 ,Sector 2,
CP021118 , Bucharest
Tel: +4021 212 48 68
0751 179 274
Fax: +4021 210 72 55
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Alternative Sociale
Str. Cuza Vodă, Nr. 8A, Sc. B demisol Iaşi,
Str. Niculina, nr. 24 Bl. 949, Iaşi.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Tel: +40 332 407 178
Fax: +40 332 407 179
Arad County Council - Centre for assistance and protection of the victims of trafficking in persons
Telephone: +40 257 210 055
E-mail: email@example.com
Str. Austrului, nr. 23, Sector 2, Bucharest
Tel: 021 252 73 57
Fax: 021 252 08 15
Email: email@example.com
Artemis Cluj
Str. Renne, Descartes , Nr. 6, Cluj Napoca.
Tel: 0 264/ 598 155
Fax: 0264/ 598 155
Email: email@example.com
Asociaţia Naţională Mutuală România-Franţa "Louis Pasteur" Filiala Craiova
Str. Sfinţii Apostoli nr. 94, Craiova
Tel/ fax: 0351/432 042
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Asociaţia Naţională Mutuală România-Franţa "Louis Pasteur" Filiala Brăila
Sediul General - Str. Împăratul Traian nr. 7,Braila
Sediul Social - str. Plevna Nr.12, Bl. A5, Ap.6, Brăila.
Telefon: 0 239/ 612 074
Fax: 0 239/ 631 730
Email: email@example.com
Betania Bacău
Str. Nordului, Nr. 19 Bis, Bacău.
Tel : 0234 206 016
Fax : 0234 206 017, Mobil: 0745 389 909
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com , email@example.com
Bethany Social Services Foundation
Filiala Bucureşti
Str. Biserica Amzei, nr. 29, et. 3, sector 1, Bucuresti, cod 010393
Telephone/Fax: 021/313 5674
Telephone: 021/313 5675
Botosani County Council - Centre for assistance and protection of the victims of trafficking in persons
Telephone: +40 231 537 993
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Caritas Bucureşti
Str. Gh. Pripu nr. 22-36, Sector 1, Bucharest
Tel: 021/233 21 35
Fax :021/233 21 36
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Center for Equal Partnership
Bd. Naţiunile Unite nr.4, bl. 106, sc.A, ap. 11, sector 5, Bucureşti
E-mail: email@example.com
Centre for assistance and protection of the victims of trafficking in persons – Recas - public-private partnership between the Timis County Council and Generatie Tanara
Telephone: +40 256 282 320
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website: http://www.generatietanara.ro/en/
Centrul "Raţiu" Pentru Democraţie
Pţa 1 Dec. 1918, nr. 1, Turda, Cluj
Tel: 0264/ 317 555
Fax: 0264/306 350
Email: email@example.com
Website: http://www.ratiudemocracycenter.org/index.php/en/
Centrul Român Pentru Copii Dispăruţi Si Exploataţi Sexual - Focus
Str. Biserica Amzei nr. 29, Et III., Sector 1, Bucharest.
Tel: 021/310 31 16, 021/310 21 16, 021/312 51 16
Fax : 021 312 71 16
Email: email@example.com
Community Support Foundation
Str. Marasti nr.32 bis, Bacau, Romania
Telephone / Fax (004) 0234 585658
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Conexiuni Deva
Bl. Dorobanţi Bl. 25 ap.12, Deva.
Tel /Fax: 0 254/232 120
Mobil: 0745 068 751
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Str.Pacurari, nr.20, bl. 4, parter, cod 700511, Iasi, Romania
Telephone: +40 332 803 634
Website: www.eurodemos.org
E-mail: email@example.com
Filiala Timişoara
Calea Dorobanţilor, nr 4, Cod 300298
Telephone: 025649094031, 0356 4019 84
Fax: 0256 49 943
Filiala Iaşi
Str Varianta Uzinei, nr 1, cod 700013
Telephone: 023227 98 56
Tel/Fax: 0232 27 85 35
Fundaţia Columna
Str. Mihai Viteazu nr. 32, Piatra Neamţ
Tel/ Fax :0233 497 942
Email: email@example.com
Fundaţia Filantropia Timişoara
Bl. C.D. Loga, nr. 7, Timişoara
Tel: 0 256/ 309 588
Fax: 0 356/ 801 673
Email: email@example.com
Fundaţia Internaţională Pentru Copil şi Familie
Str. Occidentului nr. 44, Sector 1, CP010982, Bucharest.
Tel. 021 318 85 81
Fax. 021 311 23 05
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website: www.ficf-romania.ro
Fundaţia "Sos Copiii Gorjului"
Str. Tudor Vladimirescu, nr. 75, Târgu Jiu, Jud. Gorj.
Tel: 0253/216 772
Fax: 0253/217 061
Email: email@example.com
Galati County Council - Centre for assistance and protection of the victims of trafficking in persons
Telephone: +40 236 311 086
E-mail: email@example.com
Generaţie Tânără
Str. Molidului, nr. 8,Timişoara
Tel: 0256/282 320
Fax: 0256/215 659
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Iasi County Council - Centre for assistance and protection of the victims of trafficking in persons
Telephone: +40 232 477 731
E-mail: email@example.com
Intrarea Cristian Popişteanu, nr. 1-3, sector 1, Bucharest
Telefon: 021/ 313 29 65
Fax: 021/ 312 52 72
Email: email@example.com
Website: www.eliberare.com
Mehedinti County Council - Centre for assistance and protection of the victims of trafficking in persons
Telephone: + 40 252 324 460
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
People to People Foundation
str. Republicii nr. 36
Oradea, 410159, Romania
Tel: (+40) 359411700
Fax: (+40) 359411700
E-mail: email@example.com
Pro Refugiu Association
Calea Crangasi, nr.56, sector 6, Bucharest, Romania
Telephone: +40732623218
Website: www.prorefugiu.org
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Reaching Out"
Str. Câmpineanu Bl. 2, Sc. C, ap. 14, Piteşti, Argeş
Tel/Fax : 0248/290 686
Email: email@example.com
Romanian Association Against AIDS
Piata Presei Libere 1, corp B2, et. III, ap. 323, Sector 1, 013701, Bucuresti
Telephone: 021 210 07 71, 021 210 07 71
Fax: 021 210 82 51
Website: http://www.arasnet.ro/
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Save The Children România
Intrarea Ştefan Furtună nr. 3,
Sector 1, Bucharest.
Tel/: (+4)021 316 61 76
Fax: (+4) 021 312 44 86
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Scop Timişoara
Str. Milcov nr. 4, Bl. 10, ap. 6, Timişoara
Tel/Fax: 0256/293 176
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
SatuMare County Council - Centre for assistance and protection of the victims of trafficking in persons
Telephone: + 40 261 768 077
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
The National Authority for the Protection of the Children's Rights – centres for abused, neglected, trafficked and migrant children within the County General Directorates for Social Assistance and Child Protection and the County Councils
Telephone: +40 213 100 789
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
World Vision România
Str. Rotasului, nr. 7,
Sctor 1, Bucharest.
Tel: 021/222 91 01
Fax: 021/224 29 72
Email: email@example.com
5.6 Acronyms
ANITP National Agency against Trafficking in Persons IGBP Inspectorate General of the Border Police IGRP Inspectorate General of the Border Police NAPCR National Authority for the Protection of the Children's Rights SIMEV National Integrated System to Monitor and Assess Victims of Trafficking UNODC United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime
- 5.1. Legislation
Table of Contents
Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs
- Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Organ Removal Dates: 21/11/2014 - 21/11/2014
- People as a commodity: Trafficking in Human Beings in Europe Dates: 09/12/2014 - 09/12/2014
- more+ »


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100-198 School Street has a Walk Score of 92 out of 100. This location is a Walker's Paradise so daily errands do not require a car.
Nearby parks include Central Park, Central Park and Millstone Park.
Nearby schools include Clinton Elementary School, St Mary Elementary School and Clinton Middle School.
The closest grocery stores are Paula's Brazilian Market, Quisgueya Market and High Street Mini Market Olivaldo.
Nearby coffee shops include Coffeeland's World Gifts Espresso Cafe, O'Malley's Auto Sales & Service Center and Dunkin' Donuts. Nearby restaurants include The Old Timer Restaurant, Thai Time Restaurants and zaytoon restaurant.


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So sick of people who pretend their problem is with the word "feminism" rather than the concept of gender equality.
Small victories
A feminism comic I did for my uni's newspaper. I wish I had a bit more time to work on it, but I'm pleased with how it came out considering the tight deadline!
I made a thing…
This is a good thing, thank.
This is Seventeen Magazine's BMI Chart. Take a moment to read it.
I am almost 18 years old. According to this BMI chart, I would be healthy between the BMI of 14.8 - 21.7.
Excuse me? Since when is a BMI of 14.8 considered healthy? Not even the smallest-boned of people should be at a BMI of 14.8 when they are 18 years old. To put that into perspective for you - I am 5 foot, 3 inches tall. To even be considered "underweight" on this BMI chart, I would need to weigh under 83 pounds. And if I weighed more than 122 pounds, I would be considered overweight.
Does that sound fucked up to anyone else, or is it just me?
With this sick and screwed-up BMI calculator, Seventeen Magazine is essentially encouraging their readers, mostly teenage girls (the population most at risk for developing an eating disorder) to maintain extremely low weights. How would you feel if you were 123 pounds and 5'3, calculated your BMI, and saw that you were overweight at a perfectly medically healthy BMI of 21.8?
I will be writing a strongly worded email to the editor of Seventeen Magazine to express my anger towards this issue as someone who has struggled with poor body image and anorexia nervosa.
Please, if you feel the way I do - indignant, furious, sick to your stomach - reblog this. Seventeen Magazine will not get away with encouraging body hatred and unhealthy weight goals.
This is absolutely horrifying.
I do not have strong enough words for this.
What issue is this from?
I will also be writing a strongly worded letter to Seventeen.
This is not acceptable.
Is Seventeen magazine out of their fucking mind?
Wow I want to stab someone in the face. I thought this was fake but its real.
wow what the FUCK are you doing Seventeen magazine. what the flying fuck. i'm actually furious.
I'm 5'8", and if I had a BMR of 14.8 I would be at 95 and a half pounds. INSANE.
I know this is not what I normally post on this blog but it needs a signal boost. This magazine is promoting unsafely low weight to teenagers, who are most susceptible to eating disorders. The bmi to be diagnosed with anorexia is 17.5. Please take time to send an angry email to firstname.lastname@example.com to complain about this. I will even post my email i'm writing them if you want to send the same one. This needs to be addressed.
Go ahead and send them a message if you can't send an email.
Please, speak out against this.
I know why everyone's so scared of Fake Geek Girls! SURVIVAL HINGES ON CONSTANT VIGILANCE.
Like many of my compatriots, I saw your post regarding "COSPLAY-Chiks" (sic). Before responding to your diatribe against women in the cosplay community, let me elaborate a bit on who I am. My name is Stephanie Lalonde, and I am a Master's student in Theatre Studies at York University in Toronto. My thesis will focus on cosplay and the construction of identity. I have been reading comics for nearly twenty years. I play D&D and a few other tabletop games. I play video games. I'm well-read and well educated. I'm an actor. I'm a pinup model. I make etched glassware that I sell in Artist's Alley at conventions. I work at the same types of conventions you do. I taught elementary school for seven years, during which I used comics in the classroom to generate discussion and to give students a different medium in which to work. I am a cosplayer, and have achieved the rank of Regional Master through years of time, money, hard work and dedication. That said, my nerd cred is not in question; your perception of the situation is.
I will break down your argument, such as it is, and offer counterpoints.
These "few" cosplayers that you know: how did they respond when you wrote off the entire community? Please have them comment either here, or they can contact me. I would love to hear their opinions, as I'm certain they have a number of them.
Here's an interesting point. What do you define as a "REAL Nerd"? Is there a standardized test that every nerd must take to quantify their nerdiness? Is there a licensing bureau? Who is in charge of licensing people before they can call themselves a "REAL Nerd"? Please point me to the URL or nearest standardized testing facility. If this is the case, I propose that every person coming in to the convention must have their nerd card readily available as a form of ID before being allowed to purchase a convention pass. This will eliminate the not-true-nerds, or the ones just getting in to the culture, or the ones who are there to support their nerd friends. There's no sense in trying to expand one's fanbase with new fans in this way.
Additionally, you make a point of assuming you know how these "Quasi-Pretty-NOT-Hot-Girls" are thinking about the people who are similarly attending conventions. Have you ever asked a female cosplayer, regardless of the level of attractiveness you perceive them to possess, what they think of the people around them? Until you actually speak to a person and ask them their opinions, do not presume to know what they are thinking. I could be mistaken, as I am assuming you are not a psychic with mind-reading abilities.
From your division between "Big Boobies" and "GREAT Boobies", I am led to believe that you perceive yourself to be the authority on what is considered to be great breasts, and are defining it on behalf of someone, though I'm not certain for whom you are speaking on behalf. I would like to see your accreditation.
You greatly generalize about the men you refer in your post. You assume that a LOT of comic books fans are "ALL unconfident when it comes to girls". These are sweeping statements, and I can literally name about fifty men off the top of my head that would have a huge issue with being labeled incapable of speaking to women. According to you, there are "a LOT of average Comic Book Fans who either RARELY speak to, or NEVER speak to girls." They are more than welcome to speak to us. We are human beings: not aliens, not anthropomorphic beings, not robots, though the costumes may fool some. I'm certain that a grand number of these individuals have mothers, sisters, aunts, female cousins, female teachers, and neighbours to whom they speak. It's not that different. Here's a great icebreaker: if they are at a convention, and are dressing in costume, ask the woman about the character or the series the character is from. Most are willing to talk about them. Please keep in mind that sometimes we may not have the time, as we may be running to a panel, or are rushing to get in line for an autograph or gaming tournament. It's not personal. We are there to experience the con as well, not simply to stand and converse when it is convenient for the men. We all pay admission, and ticket prices are not cheap.
Further, you generalize again when you say "The are being preyed on by YOU." You make all cosplaying women seem malicious in their desire to dress in a costume. Newsflash: it's not about you. You have strange comments about what you think women think about: "You have this really awful need for attention, for people to tell you your pretty, or Hot, and the thought of guys pleasuring themselves to the memory of you hanging on them with your glossy open lips, promising them the Moon and the Stars of pleasure, just makes your head vibrate." I can guarantee you with absolute certainty that every female I know, cosplayer or not, does not think like this. Again, please ask those "few cosplayers" you know if they have wanted men to pleasure themselves at a distance while thinking about them. Ask your female relatives if they think this, too. The answer might surprise you.
You say that you "put this together" watching from your booth at conventions over the years. Again, have your observations ever led you to asking a female attendee?
You continue to generalize in all caps to really drive your point home: "BECAUSE YOU DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT COMICS, BEYOND WHATEVER GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH YOU DID TO GET REF ON THE MOST MAINSTREAM CHARACTER WITH THE MOST REVEALING COSTUME EVER." I will refer you to my nearly twenty years of reading comics. I will refer you to the countless women I know who would not dare to put together a costume without knowing in great detail the character they are portraying, and their relation to other characters in the series. I will refer you to the growing number of women in the comics industry. There are a few who have already weighed in on your post.
You call women liars, two-faced, deceitful. It makes me wonder what women you have approached to give you this idea. Again, you generalize a lot with these comments, and then put down whatever we may have to say in our own defence by silencing us ("Shut up you damned liar, no you would not. Lying, Liar Face.") You are not interested in hearing a female point of view. We may be visually appealing, and brightly-coloured costumes are what the "Comic Book, AND mainstream press flock to at Cons" find interesting to put on camera. Is it that you want the interviews instead? Then talk to the press. I'm sure some would want to interview you.
Perhaps you are confused by the creation of a cosplay outfit and its purpose. Notably, they are not cheap. Good construction, materials, and time go into these outfits. Paying that, and then paying for price of admission to a convention, for the simple act of walking around? If we wanted to do that, we'd walk around in a park instead of on concrete floors. We are there for the "real reason for the Con … the Comic Book Artists, and Comic Book Writers who make all that shit up." This is the only point on which we agree.
We are legion, too. We have voices, education, and knowledge. In our knowledge we find strength. We will speak out against injustice and cowardice, against misogyny and hatred. We dress up because we want to, because we like the character, because we like comics (or sci-fi, or anime, or gaming). We do not owe you anything: not our bodies, however you choose to visually deconstruct it, not our minds, not the time of day if we so choose. We are not there to please you; we are there to please ourselves. We continue to do this despite the abuse, despite the harassment, to which you have just contributed. We are there to enjoy our time at a convention, how we choose, because we paid to be there just like you. We paid to see the comic book writers, artists, and dealers who will sell us these comics and related paraphernalia. Our desire to dress in a costume, or dress in a t-shirt and jeans, is none of your business.
It saddens me to see that someone in the comics industry has such a negative view on a great number of people in the cosplaying community, as many are women. As it stands, there are a vast number of women that you have just alienated, and they will likely not pick up a comic done by you anymore, because of your views on the gender. In a community that gets slandered, bullied, and denigrated simply for liking what it likes, you choose to spread hate. I would love to interview you for my Master's thesis, and to be able to open an honest, well informed dialogue about this subject. Please get in touch as soon as possible, and I can inform my supervisor that I have an "expert's opinion" on the matter.
Stephanie Lalonde
Master's Candidate
I know it's a long post, but everyone has GOT to read this because it is brilliant and Sage is one of the most amazing people I have ever known.
Suit up for combat, ladies and gentlemen. We have a serious problem.
Go check out womenrworthless.tumblr.com, (((trigger warning on his blog for: abuse, slut-shaming, slurs, domestic violence, porn, extreme violence, blood)) try your best not to throw up, and then report his violent, idiotic, oppressively misogynistic and violently cruel ass to the tumblr mods.
He masquerades under the cause of "men's rights", but no real man, no decent human being, would post the things he does. While he's obviously trolling, he maintains he's serious.
C'mon. What kind of asshole gets sick enjoyment out of that shit? Trolling is not an excuse for his horrible, disgusting, and criminal behavior.
The only way to get rid of womenrworthless.tumblr.com is to report enough that the mods are forced to deal with him.
Please. Report him, reblog this post, and encourage your followers to do the same.
**Fair warning, he seems to enjoy people who come into his ask box full of rage, so calling him out? Yeah. Only adds fuel to his fire. Though makes you feel a hell of a lot better, if I do say so myself.
Terms of Service: Compliance with Community Guidelines -You agree that you won't post Subscriber Content that violates, or otherwise use your Account in ways that violate, Tumblr's Community Guidelines.In the Community Guidelines it states: "Malicious Bigotry. Don't actively promote violence or extreme hatred against individuals or groups, on the basis of race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation. While we firmly believe that the best response to hateful speech is not censorship but more speech, we will take down malicious bigotry, as defined here. "
^^^^^^^^^proof in the tumblr guidelines that they have legally promised to take action against Malicious Bigotry, just in case anyone was worried about the validity of reporting. Or about if we can do anything to change it.
Thanks, dicksfingerstripes!
Some nerds were so mad about that "sexism in video games" Kickstarter that they made a competing series to prove that somehow an industry almost entirely staffed by men that makes products intended for men is actually discriminatory against men. This is what happens when women try to voice their opinion on how society treats them: hordes of men feel unreasonably threatened and scramble around like idiots trying to bring the discourse back to a place where men are in complete control, either through harrassment and threats of violence or by making some garbage like this. If you hear anyone trying to pull this embarrassing bullshit, do your duty as a decent human being and rub some dog turds on their face and neck and maybe pee on them too
"Why does mainstream media think gamers are misogynistic, entitled teenage male shitlords????" BOY IT SURE IS A MYSTERY
Warning: I am a feminist and ahead lies a long, angry post. If either of those statements offend you, don't read it. And maybe unfollow me while you're at it because this won't be the last time something makes me angry and I blog about it.
Ok. I hate seeing shit like this on tumblr. People somehow actually think it's cute, like teeheehee it's such a clever play on words and it's telling women to be smart and not whores. Fuck that noise. It's 2012. Slut-shaming is the absolute worst. The amount of notes this has drives me nuts, and just a glance at the names of the tumblrs reblogging this tells me that they're mostly women. Women shaming other women. Shaking my whorish head.
I'll open my legs if I want to. I'll blow guys if I want to. Sex is awesome, and I am sorry that something so natural offends you. By the way, I also read books and "blow minds". Sexuality and intelligence are not exclusive.
To my followers: if you intend on reblogging posts like this when you see them, expect to be unfollowed. Immediately. Females have enough shit making them feel terrible in our fucked-up society without your contribution, asshole.
If this makes you angry too, reblog this post and rebel. Do both. Have amazing sex and read large books with big words and give excellent head and write words that make others speechless and and let someone go down on you and learn some advanced academic theories and pleasure yourself on the daily and lecture the ignorant. I promise you, it is possible. And very fulfilling.
And please please please don't let the kind of people who say stuff like this to you get you down. Maybe they aren't as intelligent as you, beautiful, and they've chosen your sexuality as the easiest way to attack you. Maybe they are jealous of all the wonderful sex you're having, lovely, and they've turned their bitterness into some false sense of moral superiority. I can tell you from experience, it doesn't matter. They're products of our country's warped relationship with female sexuality and you're the awesome walking paradox that they have trouble wrapping their tiny little minds around. They've shoved you into a box labeled "slut" so that they don't even have to try. But that's not you. I know because that's not me, either.
Do your thing, girl. I sure as fuck do.
I'm an intellectual, and I'm also a virgin by choice.
Being smart does not preclude being sexual.
Being sexual does not exclude you from being smart.
If you're smart and sexual, that's okay.
If you're smart but not sexual, that's okay.
If you judge others for their sexual choices or encourage them to stay away from sex for any reason other than their own free will not to have sex, THAT'S NOT OKAY.


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Waxy maize starch has a much higher molecular weight than dextrose and maltodextrin, as a result it therefore passes through the stomach much faster, eliminating the risk of stomach discomfort. Not only this, but WMS acts like a pump, pulling the nutrients along with water into the body tissue at the correct speed and osmolality for your body to fully utilise. This means when consuming WMS there is no stomach cramping and no bloated feeling. Since WMS is absorbed so rapidly it can easily be consumed whenever a fast release of energy is required.
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Energy: 750.0kJ
Energy: 176.5cal
Protein (as-is): trace
Carbohydrates: 44.0g
of which starch: 44.0g
of which sugars: trace
Fat: trace
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Product has helped me get those extra calories that I needed
Waxy maize starch is a fantastic post work out carb.
Been adding this to my post workout shakes for about 3 weeks now, seems to give desired results. Taste is vile, although it wasn't purchased for taste, and mixing with whey it isn't a problem. One drawback is the fact that it goes absolutely everywhere when decanting, and with the consistency of a thick flour, it's not the easiest to clear up. Would recommend as a great, fast acting post workout carb. Saying this, I will be moving back to dextrose after my bag is finished.Goes Well With:Whey
0 out of 1 customer found this review helpful
Use this post workout to replenish lost glycogen's, seems to aid recovery, great value alternative to Optimum Nutrition Waxy Maize. Taste is a little odd but nothing too peculiar...Goes Well With:Water, protein shake etc.
0 out of 1 customer found this review helpful
I was amazed at the mixability of this product. Given that it has "starch" in its name, I was prepared for a gooey, thick and difficult-to-swallow mixture. But happily I was wrong about that! Two scoops of this in my post-workout shake dissolves in seconds with just a few good shakes, and the shake remains easy to swallow as ever. Great product!
1 out of 1 customer found this review helpful
This Waxy Maize Starch is one of the best products from Myprotein. I would definitely recommend it! Goes Well With:Impact Whey Protein
A very good carbohydrate from MyProtein and mixes well and accommodates my post workout shake. An overall great productGoes Well With:Protein shakes, amino acids or when used on its own to meet carbohydrate requirements.
0 out of 1 customer found this review helpful
I was a bit dubious about buying this at first as it appeared to be a 'magical substance'. I used this for three months and after this period I loaded on 16lbs of mass! At first I was producing around 1/2lbs per week. This is a great post-workout supplement, add 2.5 scoops to your protein shake. This works out around 500 Kcal 0g Fat 120G carbsGoes Well With:Protein shake
I ordered the Waxy Maize Starch on the advise of my Personal Trainer who uses it. The product arrived on time and is easy to use and mix with my protein shake. The taste is pretty good too! It's too early to tell the results as I have only been taking it for around a week, however the signs are encouraging.
Waxy Maize Starch gives you a little boost of energy during workouts and is good after workout for recovery.Goes Well With:Protein


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Help with Jewish/Kosher food in Southern California (Los Angeles)
I have a nephew whose 11 and of mixed background. His father was of German/Jewish decent but hasnt been in the picture since he was 4. Recently, he's really been trying to identify with his Jewish roots and has spent extensive time with his father's sister and his family tree; but anyway, he's also been really wanting to eat some real Jewish cuisine - and here's where we're stuck. My family, including myself are pretty damn ignorant when it comes to Jewish food, so this is where I ask for help.
I live in North OC and he lives in the Riverside area, but we're more than willing to drive anywhere within the Southern California area to get some real good Jewish eats.
I know there are many delis in West LA and I would love some recs on those, but also looking for kosher markets and sit-down restaurants. I would also like some tips on German places as well.
Any tips? Recs? Comments?
I don't understand the term jewish food. There are delis like Nate n Als - is that what you mean? Really, it could mean anything from Russian to Hungarian to German to Polish to Mediterranean food, depending on the family.
i apologize for the generalization, I just re-looked at my post and realized I posted it too hastily without really delving deep into what I really wanted. I just didnt mean to offend anyone if i did..
Like I said, I'd love some recs on some good deli's, but also some good kosher restaurants as well. If you know of some good Jewish/German food, I'd love to hear it.
Brent's in the valley gets good reviews for Jewish deli food. For kosher deli food, Pico Kosher Deli in west LA is pretty good.
You could take him to the Fairfax district (but not on a Saturday) and walk up and down Fairfax between Melrose and Beverly. There are several Jewish bakeries and markets, along with Canter's Deli. You'll also be surrounded a lot of Orthodox Jews (and others) going about their day in the area.
re: ITurnedOutTV
I'm gathering that nephew isn't actually "keeping kosher", a set of dietary laws that, when observed strictly make restaurant-hunting a bit more challenging. (I've got an associate who does keep strict kosher; my struggles to find a place downtown to have biz lunch with her is amply posted about hereabouts...)
If not, then Langer's, by McArthur Park, is a "kosher-style deli" (but is clearly not kosher; they'll give you cheese on your burger, IIRC) with what is regarded by many as the best pastrami on the West Coast. Even Canter's isn't really kosher; they're open 24/7, but along with Art's in the valley, they may be as close to the "East-coast kosher deli experience, but with better weather" as you're going to find.
Nephew should check out the Fairfax and Pico-Robertson restaurant rows. For maximum culture shock, ideally he should have lunch in a deli or Middle-Eastern place, and then go to the south end of Fairfax and have Ethiopian (which I'm also guessing he doesn't see much in Riverside) for dinner
Since Passover is right around the corner - what you might want to do is pick up some type of seder dinner from a place that does take out for passover (Clementines in West LA comes to mind, but I know there are other places), and just have the food at home. Or, you can find a place that actually does passover seders. I'm sure there are some in LA, although I don't know which specific restaurants. Passover seders would have more authentic food than deli-type food if you're looking to give your nephew a real experience. Just an idea.
re: foodseeker
thanks so much for your suggestions! Just talked to my sister and told her about this post and she told me he's actually going to a seder next month and that's another reason he's looking more and more into Jewish cuisine and culture. I'll be sure to mention this idea (finding a place that does a passover seder) to his mom and him so maybe we can all check it out together.
Thanks again!
re: thelpv
Another choice in the West LA area, (just outside the Santa Monica border) is Habayit. It's Israeli food and it's kosher.
11921 W Pico Blvd (between Granville & Westgate Ave)
Los Angeles 90064
re: thelpv
This is getting sort of off-topic, but not completely: a good way for the Neph to get more deeply in touch with his roots is to get invited to a Seder that someone's doing at their home. Lots of folks will probably be glad to help him, and extend hospitality to him, if he and you ask around, and will encourage him in finding as much about this as he wants; since this is one of the "big three" Jewish observances, and the one in which food plays the largest role. He will find, if he looks around in So Cal, folks doing Seders in all forms, and persuasions, from extremely long ultra-Orthodox ones (where you eat, and you pray, and you drink a glass of wine, and you eat, and you pray, and you drink a glass of wine, etc. for four or five hours, and where the Hagadah says everyone is to drink a glass of wine, they mean a GLASS, not a sip. though they'll let an 11 year old get by with grape juice.) to hippie/New-Age-y ones (there's still a "Santa Cruz Hagadah"" out there) to a handful of folks doing (the first Seder I went to in So Cal ) completely secular cultural events; I went to an essentially Marxist Seder in 1977 or so, in which God wasn't mentioned at all, and the bondage of the Jews in Egypt was discussed entirely in terms of the struggle for the liberation of the working class. No, I'm NOT makin' it up. . .
Hi - you might want to try posting this request to the Kosher board here on CH, too (http://www.chowhound.com/boards/28 ) - they might be able to point you and your nephew to some other ideas.
re: westsidegal
They're closing, Sunday's their last day.
re: Robert Lauriston
ive heard of this place on other boards. their closing this sunday, March 23rd? better get there before then.
re: thelpv
That's what the server told us, tomorrow will be their last day.
Pat's on Pico is pretty much the best regarded Kosher restaurant in town, but, they serve Italian food...if what you're thinking of is more traditional Ashkenazi foods, (which would be things like cholent, kreplach, sweet and sour tongue and brisket) then you should just check out a kosher style deli like Nate n' Als or Canters as others suggested...those are foods most kosher observant people don't go out to eat...
When I'm hankering for Jewish food, I head for Nate and Al's. I've found it's food more to my liking than Jerry's, Canter's, Junior's or Roll N Rye. There is Milky Way which I have never tried; it's owned by Steven Spielberg's mom and frequented by rabbis.
FYI - if you want to help your nephew get in touch with his Jewish heritage, you might want to take him to the Skirball Cultural Center. Here's a link:
You can go to the galleries, see exhibits, and attend programs.
They also have a restaurant at the Center, Zeidler's Cafe, which has had good reviews.
I have had very little exposure to Jewish food, but a friend recommended I try Brents in the SFV, Northridge I think, whenever I'm down in the LA area. I've also heard from many others that Cantors is not what it once was.
OK, so here's the thing.
There's "Jewish" food by which most people mean Eastern-European Ashkenazic food, whether it's kosher or not. Things like matzoh ball soup and cutlets and chopped liver and gefilte fish and that sort of thing. You can get that at any number of delis (Nate and Al's, Katella Deli, Langer's, Brent's, Billy's), but it is NOT KOSHER.
Kosher has nothing to do with a particular kind of food, meaning that you can have kosher Chinese, kosher Lebanese, kosher Ethiopian, kosher Italian, whatever. Kosher means in accordance with the Jewish dietary laws, and they are so complex that I am not even going to get into them, except to mention the three biggies:
1. No mixing meat and dairy. Fish is not considered meat, and eggs are not considered dairy.
2. No "forbidden" food -- no pork, no shellfish, no abnormal things like crickets and whatnot
3. Food preparation has to be supervised by a person trained in the ways of kashrut ("kosherness"). For packaged food in a market, the factories are inspected, and for cooked food in a restauraunt, a Jewish person has to at least light the flame that cooks the food.
So. If your nephew wants actually KOSHER food, there are three areas in Los Angeles with large concentrations of orthodox Jews: Pico/Robertson, Fairfax/3rd, and Valley Village.
In Valley Village I recommend a place called Cafe Eilat, just west of Whitsett on Burbank Blvd. They have very good shakshuka, wonderful salads and good sandwiches and baked goods. It is a "dairy" restaurant, meaning there is no meat (again, fish doesn't count as meat for kashrut).
Burbank and Whitsett also has a lot of kosher bakeries and markets. Glatt Mart is the one I used to go to, which is on Burbank and Fulton, across from Valley College.
There is exactly one kosher restaurant in Orange County and it is a deli down in Laguna Hills.
A fun spot as well and to let him try a true kosher hotdog - Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausage - it is fun and excellent
Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausage
8930 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035


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this-is-exile said: Hey guys! How is everything going?
Hello! we're cruisin' at the moment. played a big gig a House of Blues a couple weeks ago now we are gettin in the studio to do some recording. gonna try to release a new ep at our next big show. gonna play some smaller acoustic gigs in the mean time. how you doin? - capndavy


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I've wanted a decent garage for years now and there's always seemed to be reasons why it wasn't possible. Not least of which being the difficulty of finding a contractor prepared to work with us where we're located. (We hear "you're too far out a lot – despite the fact that it's only 20 mins from town).
We've also had challenges on location of a garage. Our lot is big (an acre) but the majority of it isn't really useable as we back onto a rocky hill. While going through the last round of "can we/can't we" we happened to be lunching with one of the other members of our local 'vette club and as it happened his son has just set himself up as a contractor doing this kind of work.
Mike came around and looked at our situation. To be honest, I wasn't feeling very optimistic, I thought I'd been through every permutation of what was possible. But he came up with a different proposal that should work just fine and doesn't require anything fancy on the permit side of things. After several discussions and running ideas back and forth the plan looks like a go and we signed the paperwork last night to get the ball rolling!
I don't feel "excited" as such yet. I'm definitely pleased that we've finally got some movement in the right direction, but it still feels too far off to get really pumped by it. For now the work will be prepping the site, leveling etc. with the actual construction happening next year once the weather breaks.
The plan is to build an oversize double in size. 24 by 32 with a 10 foot roof. This will give me good parking for two cars and the space to put a car hoist in there down the line as well as a bit of a "shop" area for working on projects etc. We couldn't afford to go any bigger really and I don't think we'd have room without starting to hit the rock and bumping the price up dramatically.
Mike is coming round to do a site survey and mark up the location on Wednesday and then do the leveling on Thursday. It will be interesting to see how it looks. I must remember to take some "before" now.
After much thinking about the problems, the only way that I could think of was to get rid of some of the wire to allow it to be tucked inside the passenger side kick panel. Cutting down the ignition and other wires was not a problem but the RCA leads for the speakers were a bit more daunting being a central wire surrounded by a conductive sheath. I got some new connectors and tried to solder those but after I messed up two (and got some rather painful burns on my fingers!) I decided that it would be easier to cut and splice the original wires and connectors.
That proved much easier (for my skill level at least) and after the necessary modifications were complete I reinstalled everything. This time I manged to tuck the wires inside the kick panel and close that up properly. The head unit was still a pain Continue reading
I finally got the head unit installed okay and everything worked okay. My soldering went well after some practice to re-familiarize myself with it (and solving a slight issue with the solder itself – Thanks Rob!). Installing the head back into the dash was a bit of a pain as the sides of the dash area are angled inwards, so you have to pull them apart to slide the unit in (three hands come in handy here…).
Once installed I switched the ignition on and the head unit booted up nicely. Everything worked as it should and I was very happy with the progress I'd made. Time for a couple of beers to celebrate!
After this it was time to put everything back together, something I thought should be relatively straight-forward but as with so much of this project that wasn't to be the case. Continue reading
I've been readying my ZR-1 for summer as the weather has been getting (very slowly) warmer and removed one of the front wheels a few days ago. I'd picked up a slow puncture and wanted to get it fixed ahead of getting on the road again.
There are various restrictions about getting tires plugged:
- The hole can be no bigger than 6mm
- the plug can't be within the sidewall area
- The hole must be "clean" with no wire reinforcing showing
- No more than three plugs per tire
A lot of the time I think that these limits (which are set by the tire manufacturers…) are designed simply to achieve more tire sales, but that said Continue reading
Worked some more on the 'vette stereo at the weekend. I hooked it up to the car temporarily and it actually worked! Talk about surprised. For some reason I didn't seem to have any sound on the front speakers but hopefully I can figure that out.
While messing with it I moved the head and the sound died. I checked the fuses on the left side but everything was okay. A lot of digging later I found that there were two more fuse panels and one had a radio fuse. The manual leads you to believe that these fuses are in the engine bay Continue reading
I didn't have as much time as I hoped at the weekend but I did look at the car again.
The CDM is finally located. It's tucked right up underneath the glove box (My car is a '91 and I think that's the same for '90-92). There's a big but though – accessibility. You can just about see the back end of the CDM if you lie down with your head at the narrow end where the door hinges are. I could see some connectors just about but can't tell if these are the ones I need to pull to connect to.
You can also see the CDM from below. This requires contorting yourself onto your back with your head in the passenger foot-well. That isn't the end of it though, there's also a plastic shield of some description that you need to remove or free up to gain access to the box And even that doesn't help a lot).
Neither of these routes has Continue reading
I unpacked the head-unit a week or so back but hadn't powered it up because I was thinking more about getting the old Bose unit out of the car. My "buyer protection" was close to expiring though so I thought I better power it up and make sure it worked.
Luckily I had a mains – 12v transformer that was left over from an earlier car computer project that didn't work out as planned. This was perfect for a simple plug-in test to make sure the new android unit powered up properly. After a few turns of the screwdriver to connect the main wires the unit purred (actually it was entirely silent!) into life and presented me with the main "desktop" display.
My first impressions of the unit were Continue reading
Originally I planned to install a Sony head unit to replace the dead Bose unit in my 'vette but after thinking about it I decided to take things a step further and install an Android car computer instead. This is a bigger project but basically gives me a toy for my toy and that's what Corvettes are about really. There are some practical reasons behind the decision:
- I can carry my entire MP3 collection to hand (I don't listen to the radio and CDs are just too much of a pain)
- Built-in navigation through android apps
- Access to any number of other apps through the app store
- Ability to connect to OBD monitoring and diagnostic information
- Wireless and/or 3G internet connectivity
- Almost infinite customization possibilities
- Not forgetting the sheer coolness of it!
The unit I chose I found through an online forum and was recommended by several people online. Things being what they are it was only available direct from Continue reading
The museum has released details of the cars damaged in the floor collapse:
- 1993 ZR-1 Spyder on loan from General Motors
- 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil" on loan from General Motors
- 1962 Black Corvette
- 1984 PPG Pace Car
- 1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette
- 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette
- 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette
- 2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette
Seeing the Spyder on the list makes my heart fall. The museum also released some pictures :
I just saw the breaking news that the Corvette Museum floor collapsed inside the Sky Dome. Reports say that a sinkhole opened up beneath the dome and swallowed eight cars. There are no reports of injuries thank goodness. The dome houses some of the Museum's rarest vehicles, so this could be a huge loss to the collection and will no doubt cost a lot to fix. You have to wonder too if the site was surveyed properly before the museum was built.
It's hard to think that at last year's ZR-1 Gathering we had dinner inside the Sky Dome – something that now feels very humbling.
Best wishes to the Museum and it's staff.


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A$AP ROCKY Tickets
A$AP Rocky has announced details of a UK tour for May.
His originally announced first show at Brixton Academy has nearly sold out, so a new date has had to be added - second show is on May 21st.
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The shows will also come off the back of A$AP Rocky supporting Rihanna on her "DIAMONDS WORLD TOUR" that kicks off at Buffalo, NY's First Niagara Center on March 8th and will conclude on May 8th at Brooklyn, NY's new complex, Barclays Center.
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