Decriminalized...

 

The Manhattan district attorney's office will no longer prosecute arrests for prostitution or unlicensed massage in a new, formal policy that may be a first for New York.

Vance's office dismissed more than 900 open cases for those offenses, dating back to the 1970s, as well has more than 5,000 cases tied to the now-repealed "loitering for the purpose of prostitution" statute.

While the office had, since 2016, not prosecuted prostitution cases if the defendant went through mandatory counseling, under the new policy all offers of services will be voluntary and all charges dismissed by the office's Human Trafficking Response Unit.

Other DAs have, however, made similar moves. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez moved to dismiss more than 1,000 prostitution cases earlier this year; he has also previously called for Albany to decriminalize sex work..

Are we going to legalize this act and protect women, men, families and bankrupts Human Trafficking?....

It's a Boy...

One New Hampshire family's gender reveal party was such a blast that it rattled towns, set off reports of an earthquake, and could be heard from across the state line.

Police in Kingston, a town not far from the Massachusetts border, received reports of a loud explosion. They responded to Torromeo quarry where they found people who acknowledged holding a gender reveal party with explosives.

The source was Tannerite — 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of it, police said. The family thought the quarry would be the safest spot to blow up the explosive, which is typically sold over the counter as a target for firearms practice, police said.

Nearby residents said the blast rocked their homes. Some reported property damage.

“We heard this god-awful blast,” Sara Taglieri, who lives in a home that abuts the quarry, told the television station. “It knocked pictures off our walls ... I’m all up for silliness and what not, but that was extreme."

Short...

 

Infrastructure...

 

Sleep...

Investigators at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital found that those who get five or less hours of sleep per night are twice as likely to develop dementia than those who slept seven to eight hours per night. Even more, they discovered a link between sleep disturbance and sleep deficiency with overall risk of death. 

They found a variety of sleep related factors influenced chances of developing dementia. For example, routinely taking 30 minutes or longer to fall asleep was associated with a 45 percent greater risk for incident dementia, while "routinely experiencing a difficulty in maintaining alertness, routinely napping, reporting poor sleep quality, and sleeping five or fewer hours per night was also associated with increased risk of death."   Just a thought.

Extraordinary...

 

And so we have been left with a two-dimensional portrait of the duke; salt-tongued and short-tempered, a man who told off-colour jokes and made politically incorrect remarks.
 Prince Philip was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life; a life intimately connected with the sweeping changes of our turbulent 20th Century, a life of fascinating contrast and contradiction, of service and some degree of solitude. A complex, clever, eternally restless man.

Philip fought for Britain in the Royal Navy, three of his sisters actively supported the Nazi cause.

When peace came, and with it eventual economic recovery, Philip would throw himself into the construction of a better Britain, urging the country to adopt scientific methods, embracing the ideas of industrial design, planning, education and training. 

A decade before Harold Wilson talked of the "white heat of the technological revolution", Philip was urging modernity on the nation in speeches and interviews. And as the country and the world became richer and consumed ever more, Philip warned of the impact on the environment, well before it was even vaguely fashionable.

Respect...

 

A somber and focused funeral service was held Saturday for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh — a service that Philip himself had chosen, despite the COVID-19 protocols that meant only 30 people could attend. Queen Elizabeth sat alone at the service due to the virus.

Many of the funeral's personal touches were planned by Philip, including the music sung by a choir of just four people. He also designed the Land Rover that brought his coffin to St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. 

People across Britain held a moment of silence before the funeral, and the service reflected Philip's dedication to military service. His casket was draped with his military cap and sword, and military bands played tribute to him. 

Prince Philip was interred in the Royal Vault at St. George's Chapel alongside the remains of other royals.

The funeral brought the Royal Family together in public for the first time in many months.

Duty...

 

Bye...

 

Version...

 

The Soviets occupied Afghanistan during the 1980s and ultimately withdrew after resistance from fighters, collectively known as mujahedeen. Among them was Osama bin Laden. 

The US funneled arms and help to these anti-Soviet forces. 

But in the post-Soviet power vacuum, the Taliban was formed under the leadership of Mullah Mohammed Omar, who wanted to create an Islamic society, expel foreign influences like TV and music from the country and impose a repressive version of Islamic law that is particularly harsh on women.

By 2001, they controlled nearly all of the country.

Did we win any thing of being there for that long?