![Yeah That :yeahthat:](./images/smilies/yeahthat.gif)
![Big Hug :bighug:](./images/smilies/bighug.gif)
![Big Hug :bighug:](./images/smilies/bighug.gif)
I thought the same over the last couple weeks, then I thought I saw him on Twitter. But now I want to check for sure.Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:44 pm Haven't seen Stern here for a while. Is he okay?
*Odd, considering all the fun legal shenanigans going on.
Stern got all upset in early May (viewtopic.php?f=26&t=550&p=17658#p17658) and hasn't been back since.covfefe wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:48 pmI thought the same over the last couple weeks, then I thought I saw him on Twitter. But now I want to check for sure.Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:44 pm Haven't seen Stern here for a while. Is he okay?
*Odd, considering all the fun legal shenanigans going on.
Wearing a Head Scarf Can Be Grounds for Job Suspension, E.U.’s Top Court Rules
The court upheld a decision that companies can ban head scarves or other religious symbols in the workplace in the interest of “a neutral image.”
By Liz Alderman and Melissa Eddy
July 15, 2021
The European Union’s highest court reaffirmed on Thursday that companies in Europe can bar women from wearing head scarves on the job, a ruling that holds consequences for the balance between the freedom of religion and the rights of employers to apply policies requiring religious neutrality.
The ruling was based on separate cases filed by two Muslim women in Germany who were suspended from work for wearing a hijab, an Islamic head covering. The court said company policies barring workers from wearing any “visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace” did not constitute direct discrimination, so long as they applied to religious garb and symbols of all faiths.
But in further defining its 2017 ruling, which had allowed companies to ban head scarves in the workplace, the European Court of Justice said employers must present evidence that such policies were necessary to meet a “genuine need” to conduct business, including presenting “a neutral image toward customers or to prevent social disputes.”
The wearing of the hijab has fueled controversy across Europe for years, and remains a focal point in the politically explosive issue of Muslim integration. Human rights organizations argued that Muslim women would face pressure and exclusion in the workplace in the wake of the court’s decision.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/15/busi ... arves.html
Thanks guys. My body is trying so hard to kill me. I still have a great deal of swelling. The steroids and benadryl are keeping it more or less in check, but I can feel it wanting to bust loose. I would have thought this antibiotic would be out of my system by now.
I hope you get some relief very, very soon. That puts my relatively minor health issues in perspective, for sure.Maybenaut wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 5:19 am Jeez that’s scary, RV.
I’ve been to the ER *at least* six times with anaphylaxis (twice in the last two days). This is the worst reaction I’ve ever had because it just won’t stop. It’s 5:15 am. I’ve been up all night because I’m afraid to go to sleep.
And on top of it all I still don’t have a definitive answer for this thing on my head, and nothing to treat it with. The dermatologists will all be closed tomorrow so I’m going to find an urgent care.
https://gizmodo.com/maga-branded-freedo ... 1847299215Be it Parler, Gab, or GETTR, recent times have seen no shortage of dollar-sign-eyed entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on conservative America’s disdain for “liberal” Silicon Valley. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to invent the MAGA phone.
Er, make that...the “Freedom Phone.” The device, which launched Thursday, is the product of Erik Finman, a 22-year-old crypto-millionaire who says that he wants America’s patriots to take “back control” of their lives from the tech oligarchy. Finman’s phone, which costs $499, claims to offer conservatives a way to be free of Big Tech’s “spying” and “censorship”—though it is radically vague on the details. Like a random handgun, the phone should be treated as if it were loaded and dangerous because we simply don’t know what’s in the chamber.
Freedom Phone claims that it can protect users from the data collection that comes with an iOS or Android operating system (it has something called a “FreedomOS”—which, ironically, just appears to be a modified version go Google’s Android OS). The phone is also meant to liberate users from Big Tech’s alleged ideological preferences: it has an “uncensorable app store” (called the “PatriApp,” lol), where it is apparently impossible for apps to get booted no matter how unsafe or horrendous they are.
![]()
“Based on photographs from the company website a number of Internet sleuths identified that the device has the same form-factor, shape, and appearance of a Umidigi A9 Pro,” said Hickey, via email. “This device is a drop-shipped customizable Android-based phone that can be ordered from ASIAPAC region and customized to a project’s requirements,” he said, clarifying that such devices can be “bought and shipped in bulk with custom logos and branding so as to give the appearance of a phone that has been designed for a unique purpose but is actually just a common cheap Android-based smartphone with core components produced in Taiwan and the surrounding areas.” It’s also very cheap: the A9 Pro is currently available for about $120, much less than the Freedom Phone’s $500.
![]()
Hmm - as if the writer had been following our discussion threads on this deviceShizzle Popped wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 8:12 am MAGA-Branded 'Freedom Phone' Is a Black Box That Should Be Avoided at All Costs
![]()
https://gizmodo.com/maga-branded-freedo ... 1847299215
Shingles is no fun but at least you know. Best wishes for a quick recovery.
Wow, that's more than scary, that's just incredible.RVInit wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 3:34 am People who don't have allergies or don't have friends who have allergies may not realize how dangerous they can be. I am allergic to almost every plant that grows. I have no idea what it's like to not be congested. I can't breathe through my nose at all. I am always scratching itches here and there. But when I moved to Louisiana and came into contact with Johnson and Timothy grass, which I had never been exposed to before, that was downright scary. When I crossed the border into Mississippi I had a sudden craving for a cup of coffee. I was driving the car in front of my ex-husband and I pulled into the Welcome station to get some coffee. It is amazing how sometimes your body knows exactly what you need. I needed the caffeine, which can help with some allergy symptoms. We rolled into Baton Rouge late in the day, checked into the hotel and went to bed. The next morning hubby went to check in and I got up and went into the shower. As I was showering all the sudden I could feel my lips starting to hurt. Not just a little bit, but really hurt. When I got out of the shower I looked at myself in the mirror and my lips had swollen to a size that made my face unrecognizable. I was swelling in other places, too. I started having a hard time breathing because my tongue and throat started swelling and got scared and drove myself to the nearest emergency room, which thank goodness was less than 1/4 mile away. I left the car running, stumbled out of it, and was dragged/carried into the emergency room by an orderly. They immediately recognized I was having a severe allergic reaction to something. That was super scary and I know how lucky I was to be able to somehow get myself to the emergency room fast enough. I was hardly getting any air at all by the time I fell out of the car. So yeah, that's when I started having to keep epipens around and always be aware of the location of the nearest hospital.
Hoping you are staying safe, Maybenaut!
I agree, at least you have a diagnosis. I know there is a vaccine for older adults who had the measles as children (waves hand).
Did you get the expensive vaccination previous to this? I had shingles nearly 30 years ago. I was just over age 40. They suck.
Indeed. I got the first round of the shingles vaccine about 3 months ago, but not the second. You need both to be protected.
Thanks for mentioning that. I received one dose of Shingrix in November and the medical staff did not tell me that it was a two dose vaccine. Now I will have to make my way back to the doctor for dose number two in the near future.