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CFPB Issues 8th Edition of Its Supervisory Highlights...Problems Still Persist in Many Markets
AuthorJoann Needleman
Despite three years of intensive supervision over numerous financial services markets, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's latest Supervisory Highlights (the Report) shows that non-bank entities are still struggling to understand their compliance requirements. The recent report issued yesterday, June 23, 2015, highlights supervisory work completed for the first four (4) months of 2015 and focuses on the following six areas:
Consumer Reporting: Ensuring accurate credit information from both credit reporting agencies (CRAs) and the data furnishers supplying information still seems to plague the industry. One credit reporting agency lacked any quality controls in place to test existing consumer reports for accuracy. Further, one or more CRAs failed to regularly monitor its data furnishers to ensure they were complying with CRA procedures or had any formal programs in place to oversee the information being supplied to those same data furnishers.
Debt Collection: The industry still struggles with the consumer dispute process. Examiners found instances where the debt collector did not record, categorize, or process complaints and inquires, while others were found not to respond at all. Effective Compliance Management Systems (CMS), which the CFPB considers to be the cornerstone of any entity's compliance program, is still lacking. Top management was not informed as to inadequate compliance practices, and training lacked for third-party collection personnel. One examination found no written policies or procedures in place whatsoever. Finally, there was significant criticism of debt collectors for failing to reasonably investigate dispute notices from CRAs and, in several instances, those same debt collectors were deleting trade lines instead of undertaking an investigations.
Student Loan Servicing: Much attention was devoted to student loan servicing in the 2015 Winter Supervisory Highlights and many of the same issues have surfaced in this report. There is still a great deal of mis-information being communicated to borrowers especially in the area of accruing interest and in some cases whether interest was tax deductible. In keeping with the credit reporting theme effecting all markets, several servicers failed to provide all required information in Adverse Actions Notices under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when denying a cosigner's release requests.
Mortgage Origination: The current report reflected the first round of targeted examinations for mortgage originations under Title XIV rules related to ability-to-repay, loan originator compensation, high cost mortgages, homeownership, counsel and escrow. Examiners found instances of non-compliance both in the rules and in the disclosure requirement in Good Faith Estimates (GFE) and with the HUD-1. One or more supervised entities violated Reg Z by failing to establish any written policies or procedures for loan origination. Some institutions violated Reg X by failing to provide a list of housing counseling agencies to consumers within three (3) business days of receiving a mortgage application as well as failing to provide GFE within that same time period. The Report also highlights instances where the HUD-1 did not accurately reflect the actual settlement charges paid by the borrower. Finally, examiners found instances where "general waiver provisions", prohibiting a consumer from bringing claims against the originator, still existed in mortgage documentation in violation of Reg Z.
Mortgage Servicing: This is a top priority for the Bureau in light of the new servicing rules which took effect in January of 2014. The Report highlights problems in the areas of loss mitigation, foreclosure, periodic statement disclosures and the Homeowners Protection Act. CFPB examiners found at least one servicer that sent notices of intent to foreclose to borrowers already approved for trial modifications, while in another instance examiners found notices were sent to borrowers who were current on their loans saying that foreclosure would be imminent. There were problems found in loss mitigation applications where servicers were requesting additional documents from consumers that were inapplicable to their circumstances or documents that had already been submitted. Other servicers simply failed to send the required notices five (5) days after receiving the applications. These breakdowns caused delays in converting trial modifications to permanent modifications, resulting in harm to borrowers. Periodic statements in many instances were found to be inaccurate or not sent at all and several servicers were still collecting unearned premiums for PMI.
Fair Lending: Bureau examiners found that one or more institutions denied or discouraged mortgage applications because the borrower would have relied on public assistance income in order to repay the loan, in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).
The examination results in this current Report suggest that all too often supervised entities are not seeing the forest through the trees. The violations here are the result of a failure to comply with federal consumer financial protection laws and recently established rules as promulgated by the CFPB and nothing more. Unfair, deceptive acts and practices (UDAAPs) are notably absent from this report. A core understanding of the rules of the road is what counts in developing a robust and sustainable compliance program. After three (3) years of supervision, many are still not getting it right.
Clark Hill's Consumer Financial Services Regulatory & Compliance Group is a national leader in the field of consumer financial services law, providing strategic legal counsel to clients in all areas of consumer finance. We provide counsel, consultation and litigation services to financial institutions, law firms and debt buyers throughout the country. Our group can help you navigate this rapidly evolving regulatory environment. Our exceptional team of lawyers and government and regulatory advisors has extensive experience in – and an in-depth understanding of – the laws and regulations governing consumer financial products and services. We can assist you in developing and implementing compliance programs, as well as defending consumer litigation and regulatory enforcement actions.
Webinar: How Will The Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Ruling Affect Workplace DEI Programs?
This webinar will examine what the Supreme Court held in its ruling on universities' affirmative action plans, the controversy surrounding how the Supreme Court's ruling affects employer's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and the factors to be considered by public and private companies when deciding the future of their DEI efforts.


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11 of the Most Disastrous Vacations in Literature
Murder, mayhem, drunken fights and long walks on the beach. 11 vacations that went horribly wrong but made for timeless fiction
We pour our hopes, dreams, and ludicrously high expectations into vacations, in part because we get to enjoy them so rarely (thanks, America) and in part because when a longed-for holiday is good, it's sublime. By the same token, when vacations go bad — in one of the countless, cruel ways from tropical storms to familial implosions— they're terrible.
The only people who get any kind of pleasure out of seeing people suffer through bad vacations must be liquor store owners and writers. For writers, sending characters on vacations is a neat trick, a way to ramp of the stakes. Why see a marriage erode under the weight of infidelity in some house in the burbs when you can have it play out in a villa in Mallorca? How better to show a murderer's chilling lack of regret then by having him off his friend in a row-boat in the Ligurian Sea, his bloodied hands clean in time for appertivo hour?
So in time for Memorial Day and the kick-off to the vacation season, here are 11 of the most disastrous vacations in literature.
1. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
Plague. Inappropriate fascination with a young boy. Sudden death. Mann's claustrophobic novella about a writer named Gustav von Aschenbach who takes a holiday on the Lido island in Venice and becomes creepily obsessed with a boy before succumbing to cholera is a nightmare from its beginning to the untimely end.
2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Going on vacation with Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, is not for the faint of heart. Though they theoretically head to Vegas to cover a motorcycle race for an unnamed magazine, the duo spend most of their time on a combination of LSD, cocaine, cannabis, alcohol, ether, and mescaline. Their drug-fueled trip is a hallucinatory, violent, psychotic roller-coaster and it's enough to keep you away from drugs forever.
3. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Baldwin's breathtaking novel opens with the protagonist, David, drunk and alone in a rental house in the South of France, a vacation he was supposed to be enjoying with his fiancé. David recounts the devastating story which brought him to this point, of falling in love with a man named Giovanni, his own refusal to accept his sexuality, and now Giovanni's imminent execution.
4. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Tom Ripley is a con man who sweet talks himself into the prime job of traveling to Italy to convince the rich playboy Dickie Greenleaf to come home to his family business. Tom becomes obsessed with Dickie and his jet-set lifestyle, and just as Dickie begins to tire of him, they take a vacation within their extended vacation to the beach town of Sanremo. Against the beautiful blue of the Ligurian sea, Tom bludgeons Dickie in a rowboat, dumps his body overboard, and assumes his identity.
11 Novels That Take Place During One Summer
5. The Past by Tessa Hadley
If your family didn't like each other back in the day, it's never a good idea to gather together for a forced vacation as adults — the same gripes, manipulations, and subtle yet searing psychological tortures are bound to be brought out alongside the old Scrabble set. Tessa Hadley mines all the awkwardness and pent-up emotions of this scenario by bringing together the adult Crane siblings for three fraught weeks as they decide what to do with their crumbling family property.
6. The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe
In this existential novel, a schoolteacher named Jumpei Niki visits a fishing village for a little vacation to pursue his hobby: collecting insects. Things quickly go off the rails when he misses his bus home and the villagers offer him a house in the dunes to stay the night. Niki wakes up to find that the villagers have taken away the house's rope ladder, trapping him alongside a young woman with whom he's forced to shovel out the encroaching sand dunes that threaten to bury them.
7. The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante
In the second novel in the Neapolitan trilogy, Elena and Lila are only teenagers, yet Lila is already in an unhappy marriage and carrying a child. When her abusive husband Stefano sends Lila to the island of Ischia for the summer to rest while she's expecting, Elena joins her, but the supposedly recuperative beach vacation takes turns that mark both girls forever. Lila starts an affair with Nino, the boy that Elena has always loved, and in her despair Elena loses her virginity to Nino's creepy old father. The trip ends as it began, with the girls' unhappiness and Stefano's violent fists.
8. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway captures that feeling, familiar to many Spring Breakers, when a fun drunken vacation tips into a grossly intoxicated mess. A group of American and British expatriates, led by Hemingway stand-in Jake Barnes, take a trip to see the bullfights at Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona. Many, many jugs of wine later, and hearts and noses are broken, and one lucky woman got to bed a matador.
9. The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Straub chose one of the most beautiful settings in the world, the Spanish island of Mallorca, to stage her disastrous vacation. A New York family comes to the island to celebrate the head couple's 35th wedding anniversary, but things get awkward as it turns out that everyone (literally, everyone) there is dealing with some kind of infidelity.
10. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald also chose a glamorous Mediterranean beach town to set his tale of infidelity, though he adds murder to the mix. Rosemary Hoyt is a young American actress who gets swept up in the dysfunctional, hard-partying circle of Dick and Nicole Diver. Her vacation takes a particularly bad turn after one of the Diver's parties, when a man is murdered and ends up in her bed.
11. The Beach by Alex Garland
Even vacations can go on too long, as Garland shows in his 1996 novel about Richard, a British backpacker who discovers a secret community on an idyllic island in Thailand. On the surface, the community is a dream hippie commune living an extended vacation away from society, but after a few weeks Richard realizes that the scene is actually closer to Lord of the Flies than Utopia, and things turn just as violent.

subset: commoncrawl


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Prior to reading Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, my knowledge of James A. Garfield was mostly limited to his accomplishments during the Civil War, namely as the Chief of Staff of General William Rosecrans through the campaigns of the Union Army of the Cumberland. This work by Candice Millard literally opened my eyes to so much more.
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's amazing how such a great and well-respected man can fade into the annals of history and his memory become as vague as that of James Abram Garfield.
President Garfield was the second U.S. President assassinated in office, the third coming just twenty years later when William McKinley succumbed to an assassin's bullet, another tragic incident that has faded into obscurity in American history.
This story transpires through an era of rapidly developing progress with major contributors such as Alexander Bell, Thomas Edison, and Louis Pasteur, just to name a few.
What's truly sad, is that the initial wounds to Garfield were not fatal. But since humanity was on the verge of major medical breakthroughs within the next 15 years, the medical personnel in charge of the President could be deemed nearly as guilty as Charles Guiteau. If the timeline had been shifted a couple of decades, Garfield surely would have survived.
As this is my first experience with the work of Candice Millard, I have to say that I appreciate her style and remarkable passion for the subject matter. I'm looking forward to her other biographies that have also obtained favorable reviews by readers, as well as The New York Times.


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I traveled to Bermuda for a long weekend wedding and to my surprise I was taken back to the basics! A smart phone toting, computer typing, TV watching American had me set up for instant failure as soon as I set foot on the island. I behaved like a typical New Yorker, on my phone with my air pods, that ultimately got lost, and unengaged with the people around me. So much so that it took a cab driver two times to get me to respond with a hello. In that moment I decided to get back to the basics and enjoy the beauty of Bermuda, a quaint country that appreciates culture, community and relaxation!
First let's start with the fashion! Note – This layout will be less of a typical travel guide and more of a conversation about my overall experience. My favorite piece of the trip was a Tanya Taylor maxi dress from Rent The Runway. I've taken my closet back to the basics, renting out pieces that I rarely wear through Wardrobe and condensing by purging and renting. This two-tone print maxi stole the show with its effortless silhouette and tropical colors. Wow the crowd and shop this plus other looks through Like To Know It here!
Bermuda is a rich country that has a history worth sharing. In an effort not to spoil it, I've listed out how I was able to find out more and jot down ways that you can experience the culture!
1 – A private tour or the island is worth the price and can be done easily by taking a cab from one end to the next! Bermuda is less than a few hours long by car and a taxi will run you $70-$100 to sit back, relax and take in the essence. Through this tour I learned so much, some of what I did and other experiences for next time.
2- A nice area that houses the chill & wealthy is the historic Smiths Parish, where Oprah has been spotted. If you're a stan then you'll appreciate the opportunity to be in a place that is Oprah approved – meaning cool, calm and collected. You'll notice that all the homes have white roofs to circulate solar energy (no this can't be don't in America, trust me I asked) and bright colors that represent a positive outlook on life.
3- Plan your trip around one of many festivals, including the Jazz Festival & Fashion Festival, two cultural experiences that I hope to attend. Enjoy live music by Grammy award winners if you're into soulful tunes. This event has not been announced for 2019, but look out for dates. The 10th Annual Fashion Festival,with participants in the past including Diandra Forrest and Shiona Turini, is coming up this July. Find out more info for all the festival here!
I really took time to sit on the beach, shut off my phone and read. Not to say that I didn't slip a little and spend too much time on my phone, but after loosing an important electronic accessory I was forced to get back to the basics.
As stated, Bermuda is a chill place, where American's from the east coast seem to flock to because of its less than 2 hour plane ride from NYC. I took this mindset in and started with new reading material that I religiously pick up from Hudson News before any trip. Porter Magazine, which merges fashion with culture, was a perfect fit. Recently I began to take advantage of reading magazines on my News App, but getting back to the basics includes feeling the pages and art as your fingers turn them.
Being outside is a staple to their everyday, and ironically is something that we don't do enough of. Being outside doesn't mean simply walking through it, it means sitting in it and being still. I accomplished this twice, once at the beach of the Fairmont Southampton, a classic Bermudian hotel. Their private beach boasts clear waters, which can be pictured below, and top notch service. You can also sail to their sister hotel, Fairmount Hamilton Princess with a Harbourview and swanky amenities.The second time was after my run which ended up at Church Bay Park, a free national park that is perfect for the beauty of basic living. I simply sat here for 30 minutes and reflected.
Naturally carrying a camera and laptop on every trip, ready for the perfect blog post, I was planning for Bermuda to be the same thing. Even in my short 4 day trip I was in creator mode. A few months prior my Nikon DSLR 3500, a great starter camera, broke and I actually rented one for the trip that ended up not working. This left me to my basic vices, a smart phone. Embracing this journey I used my phone to take all of the photos pictured, most in Portrait mode, a favorite way to get DSLR style photos. I edited them all on my go to apps including Snapseed which is great for selective editing, Lightroom that houses the best presets and Face Tune in the event that anything needs to be patched. Without staging any long photo shoots, I was confident enough to use these photos on my blog, a space that was once only reserved for professional imagery.
Getting back to the basics is a sure-fire way to improve your overall mood and life's experiences. Overhauled with technology and living in a go go go world, Bermuda was my wake up call that there is beauty in stillness, peace and quiet. As I continue sharing how to live life in style consciously, I hope that not just your fashion, but your lifestyle gets an update. Thanks for reading and make sure to try these tips while in Bermuda and anywhere else in the world!
Photography by Me
Special Thanks to Bermuda


text: Marguerite Gambo (later Wood) began to fly occasionally in 1932 with Edward Peacock, and then under the instruction of Bob Tyce, first soloed in 1937. It wasn't long before she became rated as a commercial pilot. In 1939 she founded Gambo Flying Service, and built the first private hangar in Hawaii. Her business helped meet the demand for flight training by young men looking for interisland flying jobs, as well as preparing for the war. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Gambo was flying with a student on a cross-country trip. She dodged the attack by going through a seldom-used pass and landed safely. Of the four Gambo Flying Service places in the air, only two returned safely.


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What is Fierce Parenting?
We're a ministry that equips and encourages parents in the Gospel. We believe that family is God's idea, children are a blessing, and all of parenting is discipleship. In fact, those three ideas inform every resource you'll find here!
As a Fierce Parenting reader, you can expect bible-base, Christ-centered encouragement for your parenting journey. While we don't know everything there is to know about parenting, we do know the One who does. So let's look to Him!
A bit about us...
Hi, we're Ryan & Selena Frederick, we have three daughters, and the Pacific Northwest is our home. We're the founders of Fierce Parenting, which was created as a natural extension of our marriage ministry. We believe God's design for family is the absolute best there is… and encouraging parents to that effect is our full-time job (which we love!!). Thanks for visiting!
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We create biblical content to enliven parents to live on mission for Christ.
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Join us as we discuss the various issues, challenges, and hilarities of parent life. Our last few releases are below.
Above all, we want our kids to know and love the Lord. While that is our priority, we also care about their emotional well-being and pray that they are able to find joy in their lives. What does it mean to maximize their joy and keep their eyes on Christ?
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Tech & Screens Guide
As technology saturates our world more each year, we're often on our heels in how to deal with it. Thankfully, there's a growing body of research to help us make wise, informed choices regarding tech.
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Broad Foundation Awards $2.5 Million in New Grants to Expand Premier Public Charter Schools in New York City
NEW YORK, April 9, 2009 — Two of New York City's highest-performing nonprofit, public charter school management organizations – Uncommon Schools and the Success Charter Network – will receive a total of $2.5 million to fund schools that provide a high quality public education for thousands more city students, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation announced today.
Broad Foundation Founder Eli Broad joined New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Success Charter Network Founder Eva Moskowitz, and Uncommon Schools Managing Director Brett Peiser to make the announcement after the group toured one of the Success Charter Network schools: Harlem Success Academy 2 on 140th St. and Frederick Douglass Blvd.
"In this day and age, we all need to ensure that our dollars are invested as wisely as possible," said Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. "And the smartest investment a foundation can make is to replicate the very best public schools in a model city of reform like New York. These charter schools are proving that when public schools extend their school days, offer a challenging curriculum, and customize instruction, their students thrive, and parents demand more."
The $2.5 million in grants will be distributed as follows:
• Uncommon Schools will receive $1.5 million over three years to support the opening of new schools in Brooklyn, New York, to provide a capital investment for school facilities, and to support home office operations. By 2014, Uncommon Schools will grow to operate 33 schools, 20 of which will be located in New York City.
• Success Charter Network will receive $1 million over two years to support its existing four Harlem Success schools and to help open new schools in the New York City area.
The network plans to open 40 new schools over the next 10 years.


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Good article in the New Yorker about George W. Bush's loyal speechwriter Michael Gerson. Speechwriters are an interesting breed since their choice of words can literally shape a vision or policy or attitude. Gerson was the one who choice the phrase "axis of evil," a phrase that has stuck with Bush for years.
Someday I will read a serious memoir by a presidential or corporate speechwriter; in the meantime, I'll make do with having one of my favorite books Clinton & Me on my shelf. Mark Katz was the humor speechwriter for Clinton and Core and is absolutely hilarious.


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Zynerba Reports Positive Results for ZYN002 CBD Gel in Phase 1 Studies at 70th Annual Meeting of the American Epilepsy Society
ZYN002 CBD gel was shown to be safe and well-tolerated across range of doses tested in healthy subjects and adult epilepsy patients with focal seizures
No impairment in cognitive performance or changes in psychological health were observed
"In these first human clinical studies of CBD via transdermal delivery, we are very encouraged that results further demonstrated that ZYN002 CBD gel is safe and well-tolerated in both healthy subjects and adult epilepsy patients with focal seizures across a wide range of doses and concentrations," said
In a poster reported at
In a second poster, entitled Safety and Tolerability of ZYN002 (Synthetic Cannabidiol) Transdermal Permeation-Enhanced Gel in Healthy Subjects and Epilepsy Patients: Three Phase 1, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Studies (Poster #2.214), results from three Phase 1 studies including a single ascending dose study, a seven-day multiple rising dose study and a 14-day repeat application study in healthy adults and epilepsy patients with focal seizures were reported. A total of 96 healthy adults and 22 epilepsy patients received 50 mg (n = 6), 100 mg (n = 6), 125 mg (n = 6), 200 mg (n=6), 250 mg (n = 43), 395 mg (n=8) 500 mg (n=12) and 504 mg (n=8) of ZYN002 CBD gel versus placebo (n=34). Studies tested once-daily and twice daily application of ZYN002 CBD gel at three concentrations of CBD (1%, 2.5%, and 4.2%, and four volumes of gel (4.7, 5, 6, and 10 g) Application was on clean, dry intact skin of the upper arms and shoulders or upper thighs. Standard safety measures across three studies included physical exams, vital signs, ECGs, safety labs, Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), adverse events and daily examination of skin for erythema at application site using a 5-point scale.
Transdermal application of ZYN002 administered once or twice daily was safe and well-tolerated at all dose levels tested. Mild, transient, application site events were common for both ZYN002 and placebo gel. Overall, the incidence of adverse events associated with ZYN002 CBD gel was similar to placebo in both healthy volunteers and adult epilepsy patients with focal seizures. After 14 days of ZYN002 administration, there were no reports of somnolence, fatigue or decreased appetite, with one gastrointestinal adverse event reported (nausea). There were also no clinically significant drug related changes during physical exams, on ECG, in vital signs, or in clinical labs.
ZYN002 CBD gel is being evaluated in the ongoing STAR1 (Synthetic Transdermal Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Epilepsy) Phase 2 multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-dose clinical trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ZYN002 in patients with refractory focal seizures. Enrollment is continuing and top-line results are anticipated in the first half of 2017. A multi-center, open-label extension clinical trial, STAR 2, for ZYN002 CBD gel has also launched allowing epilepsy patients with refractory focal seizures who complete the STAR 1 study to receive treatment with ZYN002 CBD gel for up to 52 weeks. A second Phase 2 clinical trial of ZYN002 CBD gel, STOP (Synthetic Transdermal Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Knee Pain due to Osteoarthritis (OA)), is enrolling patients and is also expected to report top-line results in the first half of 2017. Initiation of a third Phase 2 clinical trial of ZYN002 CBD gel in patients with Fragile X syndrome is planned before year-end 2016 and top line results are anticipated to be released in the first half of 2017.
To view the posters reported at the Annual Meeting of the
About ZYN002 CBD Gel
Zynerba's ZYN002 CBD gel is the first and only synthetic CBD formulated as a patent-protected permeation-enhanced gel and is being studied in refractory epilepsy, Fragile X syndrome and osteoarthritis. ZYN002 is a clear, permeation-enhanced gel that is designed to provide consistent, controlled drug delivery transdermally with convenient twice-daily dosing. Transdermal therapeutics are absorbed through the skin directly into the systemic circulation, avoiding first-pass liver metabolism and potentially enabling lower dosage levels of active pharmaceutical ingredients and rapid and reliable absorption with high bioavailability. In addition, transdermal delivery avoids the gastrointestinal tract and potential stomach acid degradation of CBD into THC (associated with psychoactive effects), as demonstrated in a Zynerba in vitro study.
About Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a disease characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures (transient symptoms due to abnormal neuronal activity in the brain) and by the neurobiological, cognitive, psychological and social consequences of the condition. Focal seizures usually start in a small area of the temporal lobe or frontal lobe of the brain and quickly involve other areas of the brain that affect alertness and awareness. Approximately 2.2 million patients in the United States and 3.1 million in Europe and Japan battle epilepsy. Focal seizures are the most common type of seizure, with 1.5 million of the 2.2 million adults with epilepsy in the US suffering from focal seizures.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We may, in some cases, use terms such as "predicts," "believes," "potential," "proposed," "continue," "estimates," "anticipates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "may," "could," "might," "will," "should" or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from the Company's current expectations. For example, there can be no guarantee that the Company will obtain approval for ZYN002 or ZYN001 from the
Investor Contacts
Jim Fickenscher, CFO and VP, Corporate Development Zynerba Pharmaceuticals484.581.7483 email@example.com Kimberly Minarovich Argot Partners212.600.1902 firstname.lastname@example.com Media Contact Eliza Schleifstein Argot Partners973.361.1546 firstname.lastname@example.com


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Obviously I'm terrible at blogging, but I wanted to show you the new cover for the upcoming fifth installment of the Unwilling series. As the cover says, title of the next installment is The Unwilling Accomplice and it continues our heroes' journey to smash all the Region Stones before Canavar can use them to wreak more havoc on the world.
As a related aside, the sidebar to the left now shows a Progress Meter for the book(s) I'm working on. The final word count is a guestimate, but it gives you a good idea how many weeks (or days) out for publishing time.


text: Sigvards Klava (1962) is one of the most outstanding Latvian conductors, also a professor of conducting and producer, music director of the Latvian Radio Choir since 1992. As a result of Sigvards Klava's steady efforts, the Latvian Radio Choir has become an internationally recognized, vocally distinctive collective, where each singer possesses a creative individuality. Under Sigvards' guidance, the choir has recorded a number of choral works by little known or completely forgotten composers of the past, as well as formed a friendly collaboration with a number of notable Latvian composers. Sigvards Klava is Associate Professor at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music. Klava is a multiple winner of the Latvian Grand Music Award; he also has received the Award of the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia. He has performed at the Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw of Amsterdam, Berliner Konzerthaus and Philharmonie, the Berlioz Opera House Montpellier, Théatre des Champs- Élysées and Cité de la musique in Paris, Bervaldhallen in Stockholm, Dresdner Frauenkirche, as well as in the New York Lincoln Centre.


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Since I last wrote, it has been a time for thought, contemplation and discussion. This week I recorded an FRA podcast with Richard Bonugli and Larry McDonald. It was the equivalent of the "Wide World of Sports" as we traveled around the world looking at profitable investment ideas. Enjoy the best 60 minutes in financial global macro analysis.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
But the world does not stop and there are some issues we must address.
1: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been center stage at the IMF/G-20 meetings as the U.S. is pushing for a minimal corporate tax in an effort to raise revenue for the massive stimulus programs without hemorrhaging jobs and investment from the U.S. in an effort for multinational corporations to reduce tax liabilities. Why does the U.S. government believe it can exert ITS WILL on the world when everyone else seems to be at odds with continued efforts by BIDEN ADMINISTRATION to use the tools of neo-imperialism through the exorbitant privilege of reserve currency status to punish those nations it deems to be in non-compliance of U.S. objectives.
The world has bent to U.S. demands since the Koren War as the military-industrial complex has expended blood and treasure while the world was forced to quietly acquiesce for protection under the U.S. economic and defense umbrella.
Dear Janet, the world you have inherited is far different then the one that had free reign after the fall of the Soviet Empire. TAX HARMONIZATION has been a DIFFICULT TASK for the European UNION, which shares a common charter. So why would the G-20 bow to your needs as the world's nations seek to gain every advantage they desire? It seems that China and Russia would be very adverse at this juncture. My question stands: Why pose this issue through the G-20? Also, if the minimal tax was to be accepted wouldn't the Swiss franc and the Swiss economy suffer as the bastion of the world's kinky money would be under the greatest threat? As the discussion heated up this week the SWISSIE has rallied more than 2%.
In a recent Financial Times article titled, "Yellen Calls For Global Minimum Corporate Tax," the Treasury Secretary said, "The United States needs to have a strong presence in global markets on a level playing field. We will to co-operate with willing partners to protect and enforce a rules-based order."
But this may pose some difficulties for those seeking other alternatives in an effort to thwart U.S. desires. Yellen added, "Our economic relationship with China, like our broader relationship with China, will be competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, and adversarial where it must be." Call it what you will but it is either HUBRIS, hegemonic NOBLESSE OBLIGE or just plain old neo-imperialism.
2: In a real-time effort to thwart American desires, China and Iran signed a 25-year agreement on March 27 to increase trade to $600 billion over the next decade. The Asian Times story written by MK BHADRAKUMAR said "wide ranging economic cooperation is envisaged covering investment investment and trade exchanges, banking, financing, mining, transportation,
While the U.S. attempts to SANCTION over the UIGHURS — and possibly BOYCOTT THE CHINA-HOSTED OLYMPICS — the Middle East, a bastion of Islamic wealth and holy sites is engaging in economic intercourse with Beijing. SeveralArab nations use the Chinese rationale in discussing the "GENOCIDE" in Xinjiang Province. Saudi Prince MBS refers to the UIGHURS as an issue of internal affairs just as is Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Yellen's designs are not going to be welcomed by all G-20 nations. It is a changing order. Now, what about Goldman's call on the DOLLAR this week? If U.S. influence is on the wane can its currency still be supported by mere nominal yield differentials? Much more to follow.
Tags: China, corporate taxes, G-20, Iran, Janet Yellen


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While I was in Sheridan, I got a really cool gift from my friend Kathy Flanagan. It will be a nice addition to my slowly growing collection of leather art. Kathy and I decided a couple years ago that we were going to do a carving for each other, and we both got stuck on our projects. Kathy said she messed up the painting on hers, but obviously she has figured out how to fix it. I really love how it turned out! Now I suppose I have to dig my project out of the drawer it's been sitting in and figure out how to finish it for her. Kathy also gave me another project back that we are working on together. It's not done yet, so nobody gets to see it yet.
Since this is my first post about Kathy, I'm not even going to pick on her, boy does that take a lot of will power!!!
Thanks Kathy!!! I'll try really hard to make your's turn out as good as the one you made for me.


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Free sex dating near me Eladesor Alberta. As a man I've been in and off online dating for over ten years. Im now 30 it started out in the early days as something most people were imbarrist about and also the stream of desperate men and creeps wernt as abundant as they are today. Back then as a man you could really get a inbox with greater than one response. Now days your lucky to get even one and with dating programs in the scene it's even more difficult with this swipe yes or no. I say that it's important to be open minded and realize that net dating is not equal it is not the same for both genders, for guys they need to comprehend if there look for action mist girls are not going to be in there for that. They want sine more abd there daring text with a clear hint of I'm not looking for this graphically illustrates there fed up ness of being seen as a thing for sex.. For girls normally if a guy gives his side of his internet dating experience , his frustration in there's justified due to mass rivalry and deficiency of response or answers that don't have any intention of meeting up in the real world but instead be a digital pen pal or a attention seeker.
I have be married for nine years my husband and i where living happily and only two months ago my husband ment his ex girl friend whom he had in school days and all of a sudden he began dating her again and he never cared about his family again all he does is to remain late through the night and when he come's back he will simply lie to me that he hard some fault with his car,there was this faithful day I caught the both of them in a store,i walked to them and told the girl to remain of my husband girlfriend again,I have endured too much in the hand of a two-timing husband but and when he came home that evening he beat me up even regardless of the fact that I was pregnant he was just kicking and warning me to never point a finger on his relationships. thank to ancientokija whom I got from a website website after a long hunt for a real spell caster I was so happy that he fufilled all what he said in only less than three days following the spell was casted they quareled and he broke up with the girl and his perceptions are totally back and he now care and love me like he have never done before and in case you are their anguish from a broken marriage or your husband or ex-husband cheats? Eladesor Free Sex Dating. you can email (LAVENDERLOVESPELL@) his charms are absolute and extremely strong with no uncertainty. or phone him 2347053977842. He's the very best caster that will help you with your problems.
It appears like there is plenty of negativity but online dating is far better. I meet much many more men from completely different backgrounds and sectors than I would if I stuck to at random meeting individuals by luck. Lots of it's to do with your capability to deal with rejection. Performers may audition for 68 jobs before they get work. It's not private particularly in the first "online" message round. You have to believe in yourself as well as stick with this. It is not easy for men or women but it's possible.
Internet dating is definitely not for the dim if heart.!!! When I was in my 40's and recently divorced, I had a lot more success with internet dating. After I reach my 50s, things changed drastically for the worse. I either get a lot of views but no responses, no perspectives, or responses from: guys who begin talking about sex right from the beginning, men who reside out of state, men and who are still married but separated. I even received a reply from a 78 year old guy! I choose to date someone closer to my age, but a lot of them need younger women. I've been told that I look 10 years younger than 53. If I didn't tell my age, no one would understand. I have lived and traveled all around the globe, have an excellent job that pays good, own my own home, and possess a bubbly and easy going personality. I've been told that I'm appealing. However, I have not been successful in attracting a respectable man. I even say in my profile that character and integrity are more important than how much money a guy makes, or his material possessions. Still no chance. Since many of my buddies have met and married men they have met online, I know it is likely to find love. Whether I will be among the blessed ones or not, only time will tell. At least I can feel good knowing that I put myself out there and gave it my best chance.
I and my boyfriend have been dating for four year now and only last three months he told me, he no longer have feeling for me. He didn't merely say it like that he made it look like it was his fault. He was like he has been thinking about his life and he feels like he really doesn't understand himself anymore and that he does not need to hurt me in the processes. I mean we all understand those line I have used them and we all have the next words are consistently "I think we ought to take a rest" which mean I need out of this relationship. I wish he told me all those matters before he requested me to marry him I 'd absolutely proceed with my life but now, it turn out that we were already engaged and for six months at that. I felt bonded to him my whole pulses and bypasses just for him for the record his name is Sean. I tried all i could to get by knowing or having the idea in my heart that we could still mend us just to realize he broke up with me to actually date a girl i he meant. It was like he got tired of me or something. I essentially never turned some of his request down what ever it was. Sean was literally the very first guy I had sex with the every first day i meant them. Typically i make them wait for 40 day but with Sean everything felt appropriate. Anytime I was with him I felt this pain in my heart it was like its bleeding but it was bleeding love. It was so magically that I can't only describe it. So living without him knowing he left me for another girl was torture. I tried to talking to him in every manner I could to get him see I love him but it was impossible. He made me feel like trash like am good for nothing and he called me fat and ugly. That really broke me down I couldn't believe it that of every individual I've ever dated the one i love the most called me fat and ugly. My friends asked me to stop fooling myself trying to make him love me again but I was too in love i mean the heart wants what it needs right? and the more I strove the more he despised me. I was tagged by his new girlfriend and himself a sociopath. I was losing it and I fell into melancholy. Heaven know I was gonna kill myself because I really had nothing to leave for and he didn't even care if i lived or died. I am aware this sound crazy but it was just what occurred. Though we dating again with the aid of a great and trustworthy witchdoctor Metodo Acamu, it still hurts a lot that I needed to pass through all those pain. All my friend thought I was crazy because even when they attempted to help me I pushed them all away so essentially I was all alone in my world of pain I had already given up on life I mean I believed to myself if can not have Sean, i was not going to live to observe him be happy with someone else. As foolish and insane as this my sound , it was what i nearly did. I was going to kill him and kill myself after wards. I actually don't know, some how, maybe the universe was not thoroughly again me I came across the name witch doctor Metodo Acamu and his email address on the Internet there were a lot of comments on how real, nice and how much he's helped lots of people mend there relationship , money issues, jobs and lottery ticket i thought contacting him was the last thing i should attempt before pushing on with my plan to take the life of the guy i love. Consider me I was so lucky to have contacted him. He told me if I'd killed Sean I would have tried in so many ways to kill myself to join him but it will not have worked. I don't understand how true that is but I know that I was requested to get some stuff for the witch doctor to make a spell that will reunite me and my fianc. I sent him the money for the materials just because I couldn't get them anyhow. He helped me a lot he sent a package for me with uninterruptible power supply of which I paid for to get to me from an international. He told me to say what i need when combusting the content of package with something that's the odor of incense and that in seven days Sean will be mine again and consider me please that was simply what happened. It was so spiritual and out of world that I could not comprehend how but I knew it worked for me and it is completely safe like Metodo Acamu told me. I understand this all sound crazy but its so authentic and real life so. You can only understand when those who want Metodo Acamu help get it. Contact him her metodoacamufortressx@ yah oo. com and please use this e-mail in the standard format
Interesting read. I was debating putting up a profile or maybe going to a club with some live entertainment. Free Sex Dating closest to Eladesor, Alberta. Free sex dating near me Eladesor, Alberta. I'm going to bed instead lol. It is extremely accurate that 10 to 15 years ago online dating worked well. I'm an average looking guy but sensible and amusing and I was floored how many fascinating, and yes quite acceptable I'd like someone that I consider to be fairly, not always the text book version either. Anyway, teachers, attorneys, security guards, nurses, there I was dating, where previously I'd stand in a bar and not say anything because my voice is quite low and also you could not hear me over the music anyway.
You're completely right - women could literally solve the problems with online dating in one fell swoop - all they had have to do is initiate contact with men they're interested in. Since there is a 0% probability a girl is going to respond to a first message from a guy, however great it is, or how good looking he is, the only means in order for it to work is for the girl to make first contact. Men can't keep wasting all our time sending hundreds of messages and getting 0 answers - it just is not worth it. Girls, on the other hand, want only message the guy they're interested in, and also the response speed will range from 30 to 100%, depending on the girl's attractiveness. Compare this with the 0% reply speed that women give to men. It is definitely the only means for this particular issue to be resolved. Because right now, online dating doesn't work.
My take on online dating is that's a good idea in theory, but flawed in practice. It's not an equal dynamic between men and women. It's an extremely lopsided one-way street of communication. Men over communicate to women because that is the sole method to get any response and women emotionally shut down because they are so overwhelmed with responses from creeps and aholes. As a guy my biggest discouragement by far is the lack of responses or answer to guage what works and what doesn't work. Free sex dating in Eladesor, Alberta. It's possible for you to alter your profile a dozen different manners, blend and match your photographs in endless combinations and it makes hardly any difference. Still same results - no answers. It is very frsutrating and disheartening and I can not really blame guys for becoming sharp and cynical about the whole thing. But then I can't actually blame women too much because they're getting overwhelmed with attentions from the dregs of the male species. The honest truth is the way to solve the issue is ridiculously simple, but realistically will never happen. The option is for women on internet dating to take the initiative and make first contact. But that will never happen because it is thus outside of the gender role standards the vast bulk of women on online dating would never consider that thought of being proactive. But it is the sole way since they really is not much more guys can do to alter the situation beyond merely doing the same thing they've consistently done, just more of it, with the same results. Sorry women, if you prefer on-line dating to work better for you then it's up to you do make the first move.
Free Sex Dating Near Me Egremont Alberta | Free Sex Dating Near Me Elbridge Alberta


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Team Mueller dispatched a heavily armed battalion of FBI agents to conduct a predawn raid late last month in Fort Lauderdale on the home of Roger Stone. Stone was arrested and taken into custody. Stone captured the proceedings on home video. CNN also was on hand to televise the action live as part of its continuing hatefest. John posted video of CNN's coverage here. I wrote about the raid here and here.
CNN, by the way, appears to have obtained a copy of the indictment before it was unsealed. So says Roger Stone's attorney in his letter to Senator Lindsey Graham and Rep. Doug Collins setting forth the chronology of Stone's arrest.
Tucker Carlson obtained a copy of the footage from Stone's home security video. Below is the video he played at the end of his show last night. Chuck Rosenberg defends the way this all went down in this Lawfare column. Has the warrant been made public? If so, it should explain what happened here, but I can't find it.


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What poetry sounds like and what role it plays may have changed over the years, but there has always been poetry and there will always be poets.
In celebration of National Poetry Month as well as Earth Day, which happens on April 22, local poet Kathleen Kirk, who is also poetry editor at international online arts magazine Escape Into Life, will join Scott Poole, a poet from Vancouver, Washington, who also works with Escape Into Life, along with Central Illinois poets Judith Valente and Susan Baller-Shepard, for a program they are calling "News That Stays News: Sustaining Our World Through Poetry."
This poetry reading, which will take place on Tuesday, April 22, from 7 to 8:30 pm at the First United Methodist Church on School Street in Normal, is hosted by Bruce Bergethon, General Manager of WGLT and producer of "Poetry Radio."Admission is free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the Parret Endowment for Religion, Culture & the Art.
For more information on "New That Stays News" or the poets who are participating, click here. While you're there, you may want to check out other arts and art forms at Escape Into Life. Definitely a nice place to visit!


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Welcome to BroadPoints.com
a woman, you must never exploit or live in any kind of
I challenge you to recognize what the world scoffs at, that
Safety Tips For Women*
Last night I attended a personal safety workshop, and it jolted me. It was given by an amazing man, Pat Malone, who has been a bodyguard for famous figures like Farrah Fawcett and Sylvester Stallone. He works for the FBI and teaches police officers and Navy SEALS hand-to-hand combat.
This man has seen it all, and knows a lot. He focused his teachings to us on HOW TO AVOID BEING THE VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME. He gave us some statistics about how much the occurrences of random violence have escalated over the recent years, and it's terrible. Something like 99% of us will be exposed to, or become a victim of a violent crime.
are some of the most important
La difference!
The five reasons women are easy targets for random acts of violence are:
a) Lack of Awareness - You MUST know where you are and what's going on around you. Be aware of your vulnerabilities and the realities of huMAN nature. BE CONSCIOUS.
b) Body Language - Keep your head up, swing your arms, stand up straight, and look alert. Be aware of your vulnerabilities and the realities of huMAN nature. BE CONSCIOUS.
c) In The Wrong Place, At The Wrong Time, With The Wrong Look - DON'T walk alone in an alley, or drive in a bad neighborhood after dark. Looking sexy is not always in your best interest.
d) Lack of Training and Self-Confidence - Women need to acquire some basic skills in self-defense. And again, don't walk alone in an alley, or drive in a bad neighborhood after dark. Looking sexy is not always in your best interest.
e) There may be a better time and place - Be aware of your environments and vulnerabilities, cause and effect ... what you do, where you do it, and what happens to you ARE interrelated-connected. A predator can be watching you. Be aware of the realities of huMAN nature. BE CONSCIOUS.
have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,
eating, working, etc., and just sit there doing their
checkbook, making a list, etc.
A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Many serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or office, and get a guard, friend or policeman to walk you out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (Better paranoid than dead.)
ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and they are the perfect crime spot).
Do not get on an elevator if there is a weirdo already on there. (Of course, bad men don't always look bad).
Do not stand back in the corners of the elevator, be near the front, by the doors, ready to get off or on.
If you get on the elevator on the 25th floor, and the Boogie Man gets on the 22nd, get off when he gets on.
If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN!
Police hit their mark only 4 out of 10 shots when they are in range of 3-9 feet. This is due to stress.
The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!
It is a woman's nature to be sympathetic: COOL IT! It could get you raped, or killed.
Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
Pat Malone told us the story of his daughter, who came out of the mall and was walking to her car when she noticed two older ladies in front of her. Then she saw a police car come towards her with cops who said hello. She also noticed that all 8 handicap spots in the area were empty. As she neared her car she saw a man a few rows over calling to her for help. He wanted her to close his passenger side door. He was sitting in the driver's side back seat, and said he was handicapped. He continued calling, until she turned and headed back to the mall, and then he began cursing at her. In the meantime, she wondered why he didn't ask the two older ladies, or the policeman for help, and why he was not parked in any of the empty handicap spots. As she got back to the mall, two male friends of hers were exiting, and as she told them the story, and turned to point at the car, the man was getting out of the back seat into the front, and the car then sped away. DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THIS TRAP.
Tips to saving your life, if you have gotten into a violent situation:
REACT IMMEDIATELY. If abducted in a parking lot, and you're taken to an abandoned area, DON'T LET HIM GET YOU TO THAT AREA. If you are driving, react immediately in the situation, and crash your car while still going 5 mph. If he's driving, find the right time, and stick your fingers in his eyes. He must watch the road, so choose an unsuspecting time, and gouge him. It is your ONLY defense. While he is in shock, GET OUT. This sounds gross, but the alternative is your fault (if you do not act.)
RESIST! Don't go along with him: run, if you are able: DON'T EVER GIVE UP! You DO NOT want to get to a crime scene.
Always keep your distance when walking past a strange person on the street or in dark areas.
There are packages for $19.95 a month that allow you to program only 911 into the dialing-out program. (This is an alternative for parents who think it is too expensive for their kids to have a cell phone.)
BREAK DOWNS: Make every effort to avoid this by ALWAYS keeping your car in good working order.
If your car breaks down LOCK YOUR DOORS. You better have a cell phone to call for help.
If you don't have a cell phone: (shame on you) keep a blanket, warm clothes, a pair of boots, and a flashlight in your car always, for emergencies.
If it's noon on a business day, you may want to put your hazards on and walk to safety.
If it's 2 a.m., put on your warm clothes and walk to a lighted area. You are a perfect target if you are sitting in your car when it's broken down. Predators search the highways for easy targets like you.
If you're on a desolate road: walk away from the car (in your warm clothes) and go to some bushes, or some area AWAY from your vehicles. It will be cold, and uncomfortable, but you DO NOT want to stay in your car, and there are no psycho bogeymen waiting in the bushes who knew you were going to break down there and then.
Physical defenses that we can use against the violent predator:
The EYES are the most vulnerable part of the body. Poke him there HARD. It may be your, only window of opportunity.
The neck is also a vulnerable spot, but you MUST know where to grip, AND HAVE THE STRENGTH to cut off his breath.
The next place is the KNEES. Everyone's knees are very vulnerable, and a swift kick here will take anyone down. A cautionary note about these things: If you do not do these things right the first time, you are in trouble, because it will only anger the individual, and that anger will be TAKEN OUT ON YOU. I'm not saying don't attempt them (it may be your only hope), but be forceful when you do.
If you are walking alone in the dark (which you shouldn't be) and you find a person following or chasing you:
Scream "FIRE!" and not "help". People don't want to get involved when people yell "help", but "fire" draws attention because people are nosy.
Find an obstacle, such as a parked car, and run around it, like Ring Around the Rosie. This may sound silly, but over the years, 5 women have told Pat Malone that this SAVED THEIR LIVES.
Your last hope is getting under the car. Once you are under there, there are tons of things to hold on to, and he will not be able to get you out and will not come under for you (most likely.) Usually they give up by this point. The catch here is that YOU MUST PRACTICE GETTING UNDER THE CAR. You must have a plan (he will have one); know if you will be going on your back, front, from the side or back of the car. It must be practiced.
Never let yourself or anyone that you know be a "closer" in any type of business (bar, store, restaurant, gas station). Pat knew Danielle, who was a girl that just died from being shot point-blank by some kids while she was closing at the local gas station. He talked with her the night before she died, and asked whether it ever scared her to close alone, she said yes, but said, "I'll be all right, Pat. I'll be all right." She wasn't. Our world is not as safe as we pretend that it is, and living in our fantasy worlds WILL get us in trouble, sooner or later.
Pat Malone said, again and again, that the women who die EVERY MINUTE from violent crimes expected to go to bed tonight, and get up tomorrow. No one expects it, but we must be prepared and be aware so that we HAVE A PLAN. BE PREPARED TO ACT! ACT HARD AND AGGRESSIVELY! HAVE A PLAN!
A couple of my own points added:
I learned from my children's karate classes that the elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do so!
If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you but everybody else will. This has saved lives.
I encourage you to pass this on to all women, not just your friends and family, but everybody. We all need to hear it. --
Personal, and Identity Security*
The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them.
If someone takes your check book they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.
Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks! DUH! You can add it if it is necessary, but if you have it printed, anyone can get it.
Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.
Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad.
We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc.
Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.
Here's some information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:
We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them easily.
File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never even thought to do this):
Call the three
national credit reporting organizations immediately
to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security
number. I had never heard of doing that until advised
There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them in their tracks. --
numbers are: Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get
inside. Then you lock all your doors, start the engine
and shift into REVERSE. Habit! You look into the rear-view
window to back out of your parking space and you notice
a piece of paper, some sort of advertisement stuck
to your rear window. So, you shift into PARK, unlock
your doors and jump out of your vehicle to remove
that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing
your view... when you reach the back of your car,
that is when the car-jackers jump out of
Lesson: Just drive away and remove the paper that is stuck to your window later ...
We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything. Pass this information along. It could really help someone you care about!
*Letters from members and friends.
Now, check out Womanhood Exploited.
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Women: First Teachers of Children
Jimmy Carter And Women's Rights
Jamie Lee Curtis: Right Back Atcha
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Divine Shield Meditation for Women
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20 Reasons I Do Not Eat Dead Animals
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I travel a lot, and buy newspapers wherever I happen to be. That would be true online as well, if I could do it. But I can't, because that's not an option.
For example, my butt is in California right now, but my nose is in Boston, where I'm reading the Globe. I don't want a subscription to the Globe, but I would like to pay for today's paper, or for at least the right to read a few stories from it.
Not easy. Or even possible, after the first one or two. Because, soon enough this paywall thingie comes up:
It' a subscription come-on, modeled after the one the New York Times has been using for years, and I wrote about back in 2012, here. (The switch after the above bait: "$.99*… *That's less than $1 for 4 full weeks! Then pay the regular low rate of $3.99 per week.")
I had some advice for the Times at that last link, and I've got some for all papers today: create an à la carte option. I know there are lots of reasons not to, all of which arise from system-based considerations on the sell side of the relationship with newspaper buyers.
What I'm saying is that the newsstand option has worked fine for more than a century in the physical world, and should be an option in the networked one as well.
At least think about it. Constructively, as in Let's see… how can we do that? Not "It's too hard." Or "People only want free stuff." Those are all echoes inside the old box. I want us to think and work outside of that box.
People are willing to pay value for value if it's easy. So let's make it easy. The ideas I vetted three years ago are still good, but don't cover the à la carte option. Let's just focus on that one, and consider what's possible.


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The America We Live in Now
I don't consider myself a political person. To me, there are no "wrong" political beliefs. I believe that democracy means respecting everyone's right to her opinion. And if I were forced to declare my own political views, I would have to reluctantly admit that, out of cynicism and self-interest, I find myself increasingly leaning towards […]...more


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Boerse Stuttgart Adds Litecoin, XRP ETN Trading
The second-largest stock exchange in Germany, Boerse Stuttgart, has just added exchange-traded notes (ETN) based on the cryptocurrencies Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP,) tracking the price in relation to both the euro and the Swedish krona.
The exchange already offers crypto trading and storage since February of this year, available for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple.
The securities are issued by the XBT Provider in Sweden, an issuer of Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and XRP Exchange Traded Products - "listed on Nasdaq and the Nordic Growth Market in Stockholm [NGM Exchange]," according to their website. The ETNs can now be traded on the Boerse Stuttgart between 8:00 and 22:00 hours CET, according to the announcement, and were already tradeable since April on the NGM Exchange, a subsidiary of the Boerse Stuttgart. This is reportedly the first such product available in Germany.
Jürgen Dietrich, Director of Blue Chips & Funds Trading at Boerse Stuttgart, said in the press release, "There is a lot of interest in cryptocurrencies. These ETNs will allow investors in Germany to track future price developments of the two cryptocurrencies Litecoin and Ripple (XRP) through exchange-traded securities for the first time."
Exchange-traded notes (ETNs) are a type of unsecured debt security that tracks an underlying index of securities and trade on a major exchange. ETNs are similar to bonds but do not pay interest payments, as their price instead fluctuates similarly to stocks. When the ETN matures, the financial institution that issued it (like the Boerse Stuttgart) takes out fees, then gives the investor cash based on the performance of the underlying index. ETNs are different than exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in that the latter has to own the security in the index it tracks.
The Boerse Stuttgart stock exchange has been crypto-positive in the past as well: other than offering crypto trading and storage, they have also announced a complete, end-to-end infrastructure for digital assets back in August 2018, although they have not specified when this infrastructure could launch. The idea is to offer a platform for initial coin offerings (ICOs), a trading venue, as well as custody services for cryptocurrencies, all under one roof.


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The FIA formally announced the calendar for the 2015 Formula One World Championship during the latest meeting of the World Motor Sport Council today.
The calendar, which will at twenty races, matches the busiest season in the history of the World Championship, with Mexico returning to the Grand Prix schedule for the first time since 1992.
Once again Australia will open the season (March 15), followed by Malaysia two weeks later. In April, the series takes in Bahrain and China, before beginning the European leg in May with Spain and Monaco. As per usual, June brings a brief sojourn to North America, when F1 visits Montreal, before returning to Europe for the Austrian Grand Prix in the third week of that month.
July will be a busy month for F1 with the British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix taking place before the a four-week summer break commences and ends with the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August. The Italian Grand Prix holds its early-September date, concluding the European leg season.
The championship heads east with Singapore and Japan before the end of September and begins to return westway and to Russia in mid-October. Initially in the draft version of the calendar that did the rounds at Monza last week, the US Grand Prix slotted in after Mexico; however that has been reversed in this final version, with the Circuit of the Americas hosting its fourth US Grand Prix at the tail end of October, with the returning Mexican Grand Prix taking place a week later on November 1st.
Once again the Brazilian Grand Prix (November 15th) will lead into the finale in Abu Dhabi two weeks afterward. Unsurprisingly, the Grand Prix at New Jersey is missing and the Indian Grand Prix, which was originally pressing for a 2015 return, is also absent, which may most certainly to consign that race – and circuit – to history.
2015 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar Australia (March 15) Malaysia (March 29) Bahrain (April 5) China (April 19) Spain (May 10) Monaco (May 24) Canada (June 7) Austria (June 21) Britain (July 5) Germany (July 19) Hungary (July 26) Belgium (August 23) Italy (September 6) Singapore (September 20) Japan (September 27) Russia (October 11) USA (October 25) Mexico (November 1) Brazil (November 15) Abu Dhabi (November 29)


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Mission Statement
Within the limits of climate protection and security of supply, the customer determines what his energy supply, mobility and heating solutions should look like. The members of bne offer these new solutions.
The path of decarbonisation is competitive, European and open to technology. Pure energy saving policies in the sense of a simple reduction of kilowatt hours contradicts this task and shortens it inadmissibly.
Many factors affect the implementation of the energy transition. All of them are based on four fundamental requirements:
- Energy transition is based on renewable energies,
- it has to be decentral, digital and flexible,
- energy transition has to integrate electricity, heating and mobility with the help of a carbon price,
- energy transition asks for a reform of regulated price components, energy transition needs to be simple and standardized.
Decentral with renewable energies, flexible and digital
Renewable energies are generated, stored, made flexible and demanded in a decentral way. The focus is on a decentralised market for the production and use of renewable energies. Generation, storage, trading and consumption are controlled flexibly, digitally and fully automated down to the second. Digitization enables data to be displayed every second. It is the basis for regional and local electricity trading. Business models and digital innovations "behind the meter" must become the standard. Flexibilities are developed via market mecha-nisms that are open to all technologies.
The price for CO2 generates investment security and demand for renewable energies
The European Emission Trading System is working, but has so far been ineffective due to quantity errors and it does not cover all necessary sectors, such as heating and cooling as well as transport. An effective carbon price combines market economy and climate protection; it promotes investment security and makes the development of non-fossil solutions predictable and lucrative. It ensures that heating and cooling as well as mobility generate a demand for renewable electricity. Thus, renewable energy is given a price. The Renewable Energies Act (EEG) has made wind and sun power competitive. When renewable energy has become the normal case of production, it must endure in the market and receive an adequate price by demand.
Apportionment, levies and the reform of grid feeds
First and foremost, distribution grids have to link generation, storage and consumption. To achieve this purpose, they must be large enough and operated efficiently. New energy industry means to distribute the grid costs fairly. Grid costs are mostly fixed costs and therefore independent from the amount of electricity used by the costumer. They should therefore be designed as an annual infrastructure charge paid by the costumer. They are neutral and do not impede the necessary flexibility. Social hardship should be avoided by additional measures.
The future energy system is elemantary
Obsolete standards and regulations must be purified and modernised. Many rules from the era of national monopoly and the early days of liberalisation have become superfluous or even harmful, while others have never been sufficiently consistent. More freedom and more scope of action for consumers, prosumers, entrepreneurs and other market participants are essential to boost the market. An easy and secure competition among the multitude of players, market roles and market participants asks for fair grid access and usage rules as well as efficient processes. Especially when markets meet areas of regulated monopoly, standards for interfaces need to be developed.


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While the myClub mode in eFootball PES has been around for a new years, not many fans have tried it. I certainly didn't get into it right from the start.
Probably similar to some of you, my reasons for not rushing into myClub were
- Reluctance to play online due to stories of rage quitters and lag cheaters
- Not wanting to play a laggy game
- Having to purchase Playstation Plus to play online
Eventually, I did give in.
For a new PES myClub player, the mode can be a little confusing. While the learning curve isn't steep, it takes time to understand the different features, much more time than the standard Master League and Kick off.
I created this guide to help new players ease into the mode, so that hopefully you will be able to enjoy the game within a quicker timeframe.
Team spirit
Team spirit determines how well your players link up with one another.
Team spirit is key to your enjoyment in myClub. Some players recommend not playing with other online players until your team spirit is above 95.
A high team spirit is achieved when your players' offensive and defensive tactics are aligned to your manager's preferred attacking and defensive instructions.
There are a number of attacking and defensive tactics and instructions. The more they are in sync, the higher your team spirit.
It is almost impossible to achieve an ideal match at the start of your myClub career. However, over time, your players will learn now to play with the manager's style. Players will learn the new style (without forgetting their own styles) and become more versatile. Your team spirit will then gradually increase.
Managers also have a 'Adaptability' rating, which is his Familiarity score, maxing out at 120%. The higher the score, the faster your players will learn the manager's system.
This is something to keep in mind when choosing your myClub manager.
You can use the item, Familiarity Boost, to speed up the process of players learning the manager's playing style.
You can also use the item 'Tactical Training', to make players more tactically fit, to increase team spirit.
Team Strength
This is determined by your players' overall rating. During matchmaking, you will be paired with teams with strength similar to you.
However, it may be hard to find matches if your team strength is low, as most online players have strong teams.
Player Management
We have heard stories of managers in real life who are unable to effectively manage a team of superstars. This is well reflected in how myClub is structured.
Each manager has a 'Management Skill' rating, which is his maximum cost. Higher-rated managers will have a number. This refers to the manager's ability to manage players.
Every player has a cost, and players that you play in the first team will contribute to the total cost. Playing iconic players will lead to an increase in total cost. Keep total costs of all players below the manager's total cost, or else team spirit will be affected.
You can use the item 'Management Skill Boost' to increase the total cost of your manager.
Training Players
Players are categorized by ball type
- White
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
- Black
Players can increase in levels. You can train players to make them better.
Over your myClub career, you will receive a large number of players, and will likely not play most of them.
Convert unwanted players into trainers, and use them to train other players.
Once players are converted in trainers, they are no longer playable in the team. The conversion is irreversible.
There are three types of trainers
- EXP Trainer
- Skill Trainer
- Position Trainer
EXP Trainer
For effective training, use trainers who have a lot in common with the player you wish to train. This refers to nationality, club, playing styles, position.
If your trainer and the trainee are the same player, experience points will increase even more, as they are duplicates and will have everything in common.
If, for some reason, you wish to convert a highly rated player into a trainer, this will lead to more experience points for the trainee.
Skill Trainer
Help your players learn a new player skill, such as Heading, Man Marketing etc.
The maximum number of skills a player can have is ten. Use a Skill Trainer on a player, and he will learn a new skill, decided randomly but based on the player's position.
You can use skill trainer to overwrite a recently learned player skill.
Position Trainer
All players will have a natural position (denoted in blue), and other playable positions (denoted in green).
Position trainers can be used to turn any of the green positions into blue. Your players will be able to play better in those positions.
Unfortunately, we cannot add new green positions.
Player Conditions
Players are assigned form arrows. Based on previous PES guides, it is believed that the top blue arrows lead to a 6% to 12% increase in stats. A green arrow leads to a 3% to 6% increase in stats.
Each player has a Conditioning rating, with the maximum at 8. The higher than number, the higher the probability of the player playing at their base stats.
Whenever possible, field players with high conditioning.
Based on real world performance, Konami's live update will overwrite the player's condition rating. If Ronaldo played well, he will be given an 'A' rating on live update, and he will have blue or green arrow that week on myClub.
For obvious reasons, avoid playing players who have been hit with a 'D' or 'E' rating.
Live updates are released every Thursday.
Signing Players
Players in myClub are signed using
- Agents
- Scouts
- Loan
- Trades
Signing Players by Agents
Top Agents
Use Top Agent to get a player in a chosen position. It costs 25,000 GP or 250 coins for a spin.
You will get a Silver ball rated player 83.6% of the time, Gold ball at 13.5%, Black ball at 2.9%.
GP are reward points that you get in the game for completing challenges and winning games. Coins are in-game currency that can be purchased for real money.
I suggest going with GP for most of the time, and use coins only for Special agents.
Special Agents
In some weeks, Special agents are available for you to sign selected players of the week from selected clubs and countries. These players would usually have performed well in real life and will be rated highly, in the Black ball category.
Use 100 coins to get a spin. You can do this 3 times for each special agent.
Collector's Box
Look out for the collector's box to get yourself a top rated player or legend player.
Signing Players by Scouts
Through agents, you get players quite randomly.
If you have a particular player in mind to sign, you will need to use a combination of scouts.
Each scout will have a star rating, category, and speciality in looking for a particular type of player.
Star rating determines the ratings of players you can sign.
- 1 star – white ball
- 2 star – bronze ball and below
- 3 star – silver ball and below
- 4 star – gold ball and below
- 5 star – black ball and below.
Category and speciality refers to player characteristics, such as Position, Club, League, Nationality, Certain abilities, Age, Preferred Foot etc.
You will need to combine different scouts to get the players you want.
For example, you will need scouts with 5 star FC Barcelona, 5 star Argentina, 5 star RWF.
There are many other combinations you can use to sign your preferred player.
Free Scouts
You will obtain scouts after every match. Combine these scouts to get the players that you want.
That said, not all kinds of scouts are available for free. You will have to visit the Auction House to bid for your preferred scout.
Auction House
Search for the scouts that you need, and place a bid. You will acquire the scout if your bid wins after the end of the timer.
Place your preferred scouts on your wishlist, so that you can place a bid when they become available.
If there are scouts that you do not wish to use, you can choose to sell it. That said, the better option is to just sign the player, and use the player for SIM matches or sell him. It will be worth more than selling a scout.
While signing players via agents will get your duplicate players, using scouts mean that you will not get a player that you already have.
This means that if you have a 25% chance of signing a player that you want with scouts, and you already have the other 3 players, it is a 100% chance to sign the player you had in mind.
Signing Players on Loan
You can loan players for a short period of time. Choose to pay by GP or Coins.
Trading Players
If you have 3 of the same player, you can do a free trade for any player of the same quality i.e Gold ball for Gold ball.
This is a good way to get more high quality players in the game.
Game Modes
vs COM
Play a one-off match against the AI.
Co Op
6 players from your squad will be used to create a team. This is great for earning GPs, as you will only be using contracts for those players, rather than all players in your starting 11 and substitute bench.
Challenge cups
Earn rewards such as GPs, Scouts, and player packs for winning these cups, such as playing against Legend difficulty.
Ranked match
Play 10 matches for the system to decide on your rating. You will be assigned a division. The highest position you achieved in that week will determine your rewards. There is the potential to earn 20k – 30k GP in the highest divisions.
Ranked Match Sim
You will be playing against someone else's squad, and will only be controlling tactics and advanced instructions. You do not have control over your players. This is a good way to earn GPs, scouts and increase team spirit.
Farming Coins
If you do not wish to spend money to purchase coins, you will have to spend time farming for GPs and coins. Complete all challenges and log in bonuses. Play SIM games. Try the introductory online cups.
myClub players generally have strong squads and will use all available tactics to win.
Earn sufficient GPs and coins to build up your squad before competing with other human players online for a better myClub experience.
Main image credit: Konami


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A little over halfway through Bloodshot, everything clicks. Up until that point, the new Vin Diesel joint is a familiar sci-fi action movie about a soldier who is brought back to life and goes after the man who killed not just him, but his wife. Then the story changes and like the last piece of a puzzle, you step back, look at everything together and go, "Oh, this is way better than I thought."
Directed by Dave Wilson in his first feature film gig (he previously worked in visual effects), Bloodshot is the first live-action film adaptation of a Valiant Comics character. Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, the aforementioned soldier who finds himself brought back to life thanks to Dr. Emil Harting (Guy Pearce). Harting takes injured soldiers and makes them extraordinary thanks to advancements in technology but Ray—codename Bloodshot—is his Mona Lisa. He's infused Ray's blood with microscopic, thinking machines called nanites that repair his body and connect him to the internet. He's like Wolverine, with wifi. And though Ray doesn't instantly remember how or why he was killed, when he does, he goes into a murderous rage, desperate to get revenge on Martin Axe (Toby Kebbell), the man who killed him and his wife Gina (Westworld's Talulah Riley).
But, again, that's just how it starts. If you know the Bloodshot comics you probably can guess what happens next as it's right in line with the character's basic origin story. If you don't know the comics though, I won't spoil it. Suffice to say, everything happens a little too easily for Ray and eventually, he figures out not all is what it seems. That's where Bloodshot locks in. It's the rare superhero movie where the audience doesn't know all the answers. We think we do, just as Ray does, but time and time again, the film either plays against those expectations or subverts them entirely. As a result, Bloodshot keeps its audience on its toes and helps put us into the mindset of this confused super solider just trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
Okay fine. You do have some idea of what's going on. Bloodshot is going to beat the bad guys. It's just that who, exactly, the bad guys are and what, exactly, they want, is delightfully murky. And that mystery allows screenwriters Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2) and Eric Heisserer (Arrival) to have a lot of fun. All of a sudden, since we don't know what's real, what's not, what's true, or what's false, things that may have been dismissed as cliché suddenly have a purpose. Events that seemed a little too predictable were meant to be that way. A seemingly serious story is shot in the heart with an edge of self-awareness, which alleviates some of the nitpicky issues like logic or lack of characterization. Bloodshot becomes a comic book movie that knows it's a comic book movie but doesn't act like it.
As Ray, Vin Diesel exhibits more range than we've come to expect from the actor. Ray has pain. He has confusion. And Diesel shows that in his performance when he needs to. After him though, the cast is mostly window dressing, with the exception of Eiza González (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) as another enhanced soldier named K.T. and Lamorne Morris (New Girl) as a tech genius named Wigans. Each adds just enough attitude for Ray to play off of to keep the story moving.
For a first time director, Wilson makes strong visual choices throughout. There's a full action scene using flour (yes, really) and lit by red flares. Another scene almost completely unfolds in heat vision. Some excellent CGI shows off just how Ray's nanites can improve and repair his body, and the film builds to an intense third act set piece that is so over the top, you can't help but howl with laughter.
Once you realize what Bloodshot is doing, though, it never elevates itself beyond that. While Ray and the audience seek the truth, Bloodshot seems fine holding it back. There's never a truly clear picture of all that happened with Ray and his past. Many questions go unanswered. And maybe that was done on purpose for potential sequels, but it ends up undercutting a little of the goodwill the film has deservedly earned with its twists and turns.
Nevertheless, while Bloodshot can be cheesy and a little frustrating, it's much more entertaining and surprising. The film has a strong story, told relatively well, with fun reveals and action scenes throughout. Is it good enough to be Valiant's Iron Man? We don't know. But it is, without a doubt, a valiant effort that worked out for the best and we hope there's more to come.
Bloodshot opens Friday.
For more, make sure you're following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.


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There are many historical buildings in Delhi. Red Fort is one of them. It is famous all over the world. It is a symbol of the Mughal power and majesty.
It was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan in 1648. It is made of red stone. It is situated on the west bank of the river Yamuna. In front of it is famous Chandni Chowk market.
There is museum in the Red Fort. It is very beautiful inside. The Red Fort has many beautiful buildings. The Diwan-e-Am is the hall of Public Audience. There is the Diwan-e-Khas also.
Many beautiful stones have been removed by the English. Nadir Shah took it away to Iran after conquering Delhi. The Rang Mahal is another attraction.
The Pearl Mosque or Moti Masjid is near the Rang Mahal. Our Prime Minister comes to the Red Fort on the 15th August and hoists the National flag on the Red Fort on that day.