Indian eunuchs given separate IDs

India's Election Commission has given eunuchs an independent identity by letting them choose their gender as "other" on ballot forms.
The commission said it had received representation from various individuals and interest groups on the subject.
So far, eunuchs were forced to put down their gender as either male or female.
There are about 500,000 eunuchs in India. Known as hijras, they comprise the hermaphrodite, transvestite and transsexual communities.
Eunuchs are feared and reviled in many parts of India, where some believe they have supernatural powers.
The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi says the election commission's recognition of eunuchs as an independent group is a first step towards an official recognition of the community which has so far remained on the margins of society.

'Readily agreed'
"The commission has duly considered the request and has decided to allow eunuchs and transsexuals to indicate their sex as 'Other' where they do not want to be described as male or female," the Election Commission said in a press release.
"Necessary instructions have been issued to all electoral registration officers through the chief electoral officers of all states and union territories (areas directly administered by the central government in Delhi) to give effect to the above decision of the commission."
The commission said it had received several representations from individuals and groups to include eunuchs in the electoral rolls with a separate identity.
"When the representations came, we readily agreed," Times of India newspaper quoted Election Commissioner SY Qureishi as saying.
"Why should a section of the population be left out? The decision will help in mainstreaming a section of the population," he said.
Most eunuchs earn a living by collecting cash gifts from people during marriages and child births.
But in recent times, with the decline in their traditional roles, many have been forced to work as commercial sex workers.
However some have contested elections and entered the public arena.
But correspondents say these success stories are rare.

andrewducker

Well, let's compare the UK and US using OECD data (UK and USA):

- The UK has 2.5 physicians per 1000 people, 10 nurses per 1000, 2.6 acute care beds per 1000, a life of expectancy of 79.1 years, and an infant mortality rate of 4.8 per 1000.
- The US has 2.4 physicians per 1000, 10.6 nurses per 1000, 2.7 acute beds per 1000,life expectancy was 78.1 years, and an infant mortality rate of 6.7 per 1000.

Most people would say that the UK was marginally better than the US overall with the exception of infant mortality where it was considerably better. Why? Because infant mortality is heavily correlated with poverty and an unequal healthcare system- like the US has.

BUT the big difference? There was one stat that I left out. That is the cost of healthcare. For a healthcare system that is comparable but worse in significant ways, the US has to spend a whopping 16% of its GDP. We pay 8.4% of GDP.

zarq

Maclaren Recalls 1 Million Strollers Due To Amputation Risk

The Consumer Product Safety Commission released information on the affected strollers today.

The recall applies to every umbrella stroller Maclaren has distributed in the US since 1999. The specific models are: Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

The CPSC says the strollers' hinge mechanism, "poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller."

Dear Samantha [redacted];

I'm the Giveaway/Sweepstakes Editor for Womansday.com and am happy to inform you that you are the winner of the Beacon Escazú Hotel in San José, Costa Rica Getaway featured in our August sweepstakes.

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We are required by the IRS to send you an affidavit to have notarized since the prize value is more than $600.00. You will have to pay approximately [redacted] percent in taxes on the prize, if you accept.

Let me know if you'd like to accept the prize and we'll proceed.

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Sincerely,

Marcy Lovitch
Womansday.com Giveaway/Sweepstakes Editor

When confetti runs out, Yankee fans toss files

NEW YORK — New York City office workers who got carried away during the Yankees victory parade Friday apparently began tossing files and documents out the window when they couldn't get their hands on confetti.

Auditor Damian Salo attended the Manhattan parade. He tells The New York Post he found all sorts of personal financial documents in the mountains of shredded paper tossed from skyscrapers as the players rode up Broadway.

They included pay stubs, banking data, law firm memos and even some court files.

The founder of one financial firm, Alan Sarroff, says his company reprimanded one "overzealous" employee for throwing records out the window that should have been shredded.

Ticker-tape parades on Broadway are a New York tradition.

___

Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com

I left the battle with blood in my helmet and now there's blood in my hair and when I got out of my armor this afternoon I tripped on a dead solder and by mistake I dropped my sword in the catapult while the thing was launching and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.

At dinner Aristotle found a fat juicy rabbit in the tall overgrown grass and Demetrius found a striking young buck in the tall overgrown grass but in my tall overgrown grass all I found was tall overgrown grass.

I think I'll move to Carthage.

In the march my bodyguard told Homer to have the left flank. Plato and Hephestus were told to take the right flank. I said I was being scrunched. I said I was being smushed. I said if I don't get a place on a flank I am going to be homicidal. No one even saluted.

I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.

Several companies have recently recalled certain cat foods deficient in thiamine, dog foods containing mold, and dog foods that could contain plastic.

Diamond Pet Foods recalled several lots of cat foods deficient in thiamine that Diamond manufactured for Premium Edge Pet Foods. The recall applies to Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat food and Premium Edge Adult Cat Hairball Management food with date codes of RAF0501A22X 18 lb., RAF0501A2X 6 lb., RAF0802B12X 18 lb. (BB30FEB11), RAH0501A22X 18 lb., RAH0501A2X 6 lb. The dates of manufacture are May 28 and Aug. 30.

Wysong recalled certain lots of dry dog foods containing mold—but no mycotoxins—that the company manufactured in June and July. The recall affects lots 090617, 090624, 090706, and 090720 of Wysong Maintenance dog food and lot 090623 of Wysong Senior dog food.

Nutro Products recalled several lots of dog foods with a best-by date of Sept. 10 after finding pieces of a worker’s plastic hat in the production line. The company determined that the final products probably did not contain any plastic.

The recall applies to Nutro Ultra Puppy food in 4.5-pound packages, bar code 79105 51313, and Nutro Natural Choice: Chicken Meal, Rice and Oatmeal Formula Small Bites Puppy food in 5-pound packages, bar code 79105 23050, from PetSmart stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The recall also affects Nutro Ultra Puppy food in 30-pound packages, bar code 79105 51315, from Petco stores in California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.