Against this background it is outrageous that men’s ongoing violence against women and children is not even mentioned in the prime minister’s “tough on crime” bill.

It’s a month of reflection; a month for all of us to consider the effects of gender-based violence for women in our society, for their children, loved ones, and co-workers, and, indeed, for our community.

Intimate partner abuse is not about love or anger or the result of alcohol or drugs: it is about power and about controlling the other partner.

And unfortunately, it’s tragically common.

Whether we have proof or not, most of us know a woman or child in our circle of family, friends, or co-workers who we suspect is being abused.

No one is immune or protected. Gender-based violence affects women of all ages, socioeconomic status, educational level, cultural background and race.

this story is the same a hundred of the same pattern

This subject hits close to home, lived it, endured it and survived it. Thinking it was all my fault, thought it was the way it was supposed to be. Thought others lived the same.

But years later, the recorder still goes off in my head, when someone rises there arm or hand too quickly, I still react by ducking. Loud noises remind me of gunshots and set me on edge. Yelling and screaming, do amazing things to me. Touching my neck even though you’re playing, remembering getting choked till I couldn’t breathe.

This man damaged my life, mentally and physically abused me, he manipulated me, wanted me to be who he wanted me to be, not allowing me to be me. Not to wear make-up, not to have friends, not to go anywhere, timed when I did, he knew how long it took to go to the store, get his beer and be back, don’t be late he would say, you know what will happen, he didn’t want me to have a life accept him and my children.

It has taken me years to quit looking over my shoulder, and not to look at the time to make sure I was getting home on time.

Pregnant with his son, which claimed at birth not to be his, then he raped me and I was pregnant again with my third child he wanted me to abort the baby I flat out refused, and he had nothing to say about the baby the whole nine months I was pregnant, being pregnant didn’t stop him from being a abuser. When my baby came home she was suddenly his pride and joy, go figure.

This is what really helped me decide to move to another state and taking the children, left in the middle of the night with my mom and dad would came to get us. Thinking the mental abuse was over, he couldn’t haunt me, he would be so far away.

Life took some time to get use too, looking over my shoulder, worrying about the children, at school, worried all the time.

First Things First

•Give the merchant the first chance to solve the problem. Contact the salesperson, retailer or business when you have a complaint about any goods or services you bought. When there is a complaints department, use it. When there isn’t, talk to someone in authority, such as a manager. A face-to-face discussion is best. Be firm and businesslike, but polite. Calmly and accurately describe the problem and what you want the company to do to resolve it.

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If the problem is not resolved that way, ask for the telephone number of the company headquarters and contact the customer service department. Request specifics about how and when something will be done, and get the company representative’s name in case you have to refer to the conversation later. Write down any details of your complaint and keep them in a file. Make sure to date your notes.

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If your call doesn’t produce satisfactory results, write a letter to someone higher up, such as the general manager or owner (see sample letter). Provide all the details of the problem and explain your efforts to resolve it. Ask for action. In the case of products, send a copy of your letter to the manufacturer, and be sure to keep a copy of it yourself.

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If none of these steps work to your satisfaction, consult the key consumer contacts of this Handbook for government offices and consumer organizations that apply to your situation. If you don’t know where to start, call the federal-provincial-territorial government consumer affairs office where you live. Someone there will direct you to the right organization. Or, use the Complaint Courier to file your complaint online.

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Taking legal action should be your last choice. If you decide to sue, remember that there are often time limitations on filing lawsuits. You may wish to check with a lawyer about the legal process and any limitations that may apply to your case in your province or territory.

Strategies for Success

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Do not be afraid to complain. Good businesses will be pleased to correct any mistake on their part. They know that customer goodwill is the best form of advertising.

•Always keep a file of important information related to your purchase, include the sales receipts, repair orders, warranties, cancelled cheques, contracts and any letters you have written to or received from the company concerned.
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Do not procrastinate. When a product is defective or unsatisfactory, it is important that you return it quickly so that you do not lose the right to get your money back or to collect damages in some cases. Always check the return policy before you buy.

What to Do When You Have Complained Without Any Results?

If you feel you have given the company enough time and that your problem has not been resolved, send a copy of your complaint letter and copies of supporting documents (not originals) to, or file a consumer complaint with, your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office or Better Business Bureau. If you use the Complaint Courier it will give you the option to automatically forward your complaint to the appropriate government office.

Small Claims Court

Small claims court can be an informal and relatively inexpensive way to resolve disputes when the amount involved is less than $3,000 or, in some provinces, up to $25,000. However, you will have to pay a fee to file a claim. Once the suit is launched, you may have costs for such things as serving orders, payments to witnesses and travel expenses.

You do not need a lawyer to go to small claims court, although in most provinces and territories the help of a lawyer is allowed. The court staff is experienced in helping consumers prepare the necessary forms, and the judges have the power to settle disputes. This court allows each side to explain its story and does not expect consumers to know legal technicalities.

For information on how to proceed, contact the small claims or provincial or territorial court nearest you (look in the government listings in your phone book). The websites of these courts also often list the procedures to follow and have copies of the forms you will need to complete.

The penalty for adultery under Article 83 of the penal code, called the Law of Hodoud is flogging (100 lashes of the whip) for unmarried male and female offenders. Married offenders may be punished by stoning regardless of their gender, but the method laid down for a man involves his burial up to his waist, and for a woman up to her neck (article 102). The law provides that if a person who is to be stoned manages to escape, he or she will be allowed to go free. Since it is easier for a man to escape, this discrimination literally becomes a matter of life and death.

Interestingly, Article 6 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran has ratified, states: “Sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime.” Offenses for which the Law of Hodoud provides the death penalty do not involve murder or serious bodily harm, constituting the “most serious crimes”.

Article 104 of the Law of Hodoud provides that the stones should not be so large that a person dies after being hit with two of them, nor so small as to be defined as pebbles, but must cause severe injury. This makes it clear that the purpose of stoning is to inflict grievous pain on the victim, in a process leading to his or her slow death.

The Iranian woman facing death by stoning has expressed surprise over reports that she was lashed after a British newspaper published a picture showing her without a headscarf, a judiciary official who says he met her told Fars news agency on Wednesday.

“She was unaware and surprised by reports of (receiving) lashes after a British newspaper printed a picture which was not hers and had mistakenly mentioned her name under it,” Kazemzadeh said.

Mohammadi-Ashtiani’s son, Sajjad, told a Paris news conference by telephone on Monday that he “heard” his 43-year-old mother received 99 lashes in prison after The Times of London published on August 28 a picture claiming to be of Mohammadi-Ashtiani and showing her hair unveiled.

By law, women in the Islamic republic must be covered from head to foot, with their hair completely veiled.

Kazemzadeh said Mohammadi-Ashtiani’s death sentence had been “suspended on the orders of the head of the judiciary and will not be applied for the moment”, confirming what Iranian officials have been saying since July.

On Tuesday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that her stoning sentence remained stayed as a final verdict in her case was still pending.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said in a statement in London that suspending the sentence was not enough.
“The whole world is aware of my situation because of Mostafaie’s rogue action. I am ready to be present in front of the media and on television any time to defend myself,” Kazemzadeh quoted Mohammadi-Ashtiani as telling him, adding that she had filed a complaint against the lawyer with the judiciary.

Kazemzadeh said the condemned woman, a mother of two, told him that she continued to have weekly meetings with her family and children, Farideh and Sajjad.

Everyone knows that Tiger knows that he has built a golf empire over past few the years. Golf has given him the ability to generate revenue from endorsements such as apparel, books, games and etc. He has strategically positioned himself in such a way that these revenues function as derivatives to pay him and his family over and over again. In essence the Tiger Woods brand/image is an icon to golfers across the globe, because there is no one that can deny he is one of the best at his business. THAT WAS UNTIL THE 2010 SCANDAL!

Basically what has changed –

Too bad for the Tiger Woods brand/image (and unfortunately for his immediate family), his personal set backs may negatively impact on his business in 2010. Unless he can remain focused and somehow restore his image in the public eye, the Tiger Woods brand/image and business will ultimately suffer in the short term. It does not have to suffer? But it does not have to be that way for his business. Nor does it have to be that way for internet marketing or online businesses. In fact, because of social media sites like FaceBook, YouTube and Twitter, the online marketing business is thriving in 2010 and well beyond. And yes they are free advertising platforms for all types of opportunities. But only if they are used correctly.

The correlation between Tiger and Branding –

So exactly what does Tiger Woods and internet marketing have to do with a home based business opportunity? In a one word answer, they correlate with branding an image that is recognizable. The Tiger Woods association with golf is synonymous, because he has branded his image to represent one of golfs elite players. Successful internet marketers have learned this and have built their home based business empires by replicating the process. The brilliance behind the Tiger Woods model is that he figured out this one simple strategy. Once the dust settles, he will continue building the Tiger Woods name in association with golfs elite again. This will once again provide him with derivatives that will pay him and his family over a lifetime. But knowing how competitive Tiger is, the setback will only be temporary. Tiger will be back and his image will be bigger than it was before.

What Woods is now undertaking is on a scale unlike anything that he or any other athlete has attempted before. Uncharacteristically, his timing is terrible. He is entering the real estate business just as the economy seems moribund—and if anything, the golf business is in a worse state. The National Golf Foundation, an industry trade group, reported that 2008 was the worst year in two decades for opening new golf courses, with the sluggish real estate market as the leading negative factor. It also noted that 2008 was the third year in a row with “zero to slightly negative net growth in supply”—meaning that more courses went out of business than opened.

As the nation raised its flu alert to the highest “Red” level on Oct. 4, the ministry also halted the mandatory training for reserve forces and ordered almost 660,000 enlisted soldiers to stay at their barracks.

Meeting visitors, going and sleeping off-base are not allowed in principle, although the first and last regular vacations are still permitted. Individual decisions are to be made flexibly by commanding officers, ministry officials said. It was the first time in Korea that such a confinement measure has affected the entire army.

Since the announcement, the ministry’s online bulletin board, which had less than 10 comments a day previously, has been filled with more than 200 petitions related to the confinement decision.

Introducing himself as a father of two sons, both of whom are in the service now, Kim Hong-bae wrote that the measure had already demoralized young soldiers.

Military officials say soldiers inoculated with the flu vaccine will be able to take vacations from January. However, those due to end their military service around that time would not be included, they said.

Yoon Hae-jin, a student studying in the United States, fears that she will not be able to see her boyfriend during the winter vacation.

“I plan to visit him halfway across the world. The confinement measure seems too harsh for young soldiers. Please consider the feelings of their parents and girlfriends,” she said.

Some people questioned the effectiveness of the somewhat extreme measure.

Despite the growing complaints, the ministry has not yet issued an official reaction.

“In order to protect soldiers from the new flu, the suspension measure was unavoidable. Their vacations are not denied but postponed,” said an official of the Defense Ministry.

“Each military unit is developing other programs to boost the morale of soldiers. We hope the public will be understanding for the time being.”

As of yesterday, the nation’s death toll from the disease was 49. No fatality case has occurred in the army, while some 1,500 soldiers with mild symptoms have recovered.

Sanford is the latest American politician to become embroiled in a sex scandal. Recent examples include Sens. John Ensign, John Edwards, David Vitter and Larry Craig and Govs. Jim McGreevey and Eliot Spitzer.

“Once again, Americans have another reason to throw their hands up and say, ‘There’s another politician who couldn’t keep it in his pants, and who abused the public trust,’” said CBS News Chief Political
“Confidence in political institutions is as low as it was after Watergate, and the less confidence the public has in politicians, the less competitive elections will be; fewer good people decide to run for office, and the cycle perpetuates.
he governor told reporters he had known the woman for eight years. He said their relationship began while Sanford was visiting Argentina on an economic development trip more than a year ago, and that he had seen her three times since then.

The governor has been one of the most prominent Republican voices opposing President Obama’s federal stimulus package, and has won praise from conservatives for his position. He unsuccessfully fought in court to turn down a portion of the money allocated to his state.