| Politicos flex muscles in opponents’ areas
Politicians in Haryana have taken a fancy to slug it out in their opponents battlegrounds to make their presence felt. The trend by now is so prevalent that holding a rally at their home turf has almost become a thing of the past. The trend has also caught the imagination of the man on the street, forcing the politicos to show their political muscle in their arch opponents area of operation. Although senior politicians have been organising political performances outside their own constituencies or home districts in the past, these were either a part of a statewide political campaign like the one launched by late Devi Lal in 1985 against the Rajiv-Longowal accord or such events marked the end of campaigning before the assembly or parliamentary election in the state. For several decades, Rohtak remained the first choice of all major political parties and their leaders for hosting campaign-end shows.
The big debate: Domestic partnership equality
More human rights and counseling services are needed, not laws defining relationships. If they would put their efforts into making education, human rights and the economy a priority, the US might be able to regain it's once proud stature as a leader of the world. 8. Comment by Rick M. (Ramman) — February 13,2008 @ 9:29AM .
Health chief Neale Fong blocked search for emails
In an extraordinary move, they were given to the media almost three hours before the Opposition, which had requested them under Freedom of Information. Mr McGinty said he had made everything public to "take away the opportunity for the Opposition to milk the emails for more than they are worth". The Opposition, which was charged $300 for its FOI search, was left fuming. Three weeks ago, Opposition Leader Troy Buswell used an earlier batch of FOI documents to embarrass Mr McGinty by showing he rewrote a media statement for Dr Fong to play down his contact with Mr Burke. One of the emails released yesterday from Colin Xanthis, who was co-ordinating the department's FOI search, asked Dr Fong for approval to search his personal email files "to satisfy the current FOI request". Dr Fong replied 16 minutes later: "No." Another email between two officers, whose names were deleted, showed the lax approach initially taken by the department.
Hog-wild with tradition
Others learn how to delicately thread casings onto the well-worn, cast-iron sausage maker. A sense of festivity fills the air. "It's good for the younger children to see how older people years ago had to do this," says Naomi Wimberly, who is 63 and grew up not far from here, butchering hogs and making sausage. "Hog-killing, as it was called, was an important ritual of rural life for nearly three centuries in South Carolina," explains Prince. The task has since become a rare event. "Reasons for the decline are both demographic and economic. Although South Carolina's population has increased, the number of families owning livestock has decreased. Even in rural areas, hog-raising has become the exception rather than the rule," Prince says.
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