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lady-plantagenet · 4 years ago

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What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2

Episode 2: SOdden (or Sod ‘Em depending on your persuasion)

(Dont know how long I’ll be able to keep these puns up)

Catherine, like this woman, does not really fit into this era. But while this woman seems dropdead cool and at least looks the part, Catherine just...

To all those of you keen enough to have come back for another segment of ‘what hasn’t already been said: TSP’, as opposed to have just been scrolling when you see this - welcome back! (Scrollers you too <3)

To anyone who’s seeing this for the first time: what this is a list of observations, jokes, reactions and criticism which occur to me upon a rewatch. I wait every week until Saturday to do this so that I have had my fill of scrolling through the tag and aggregating what has already been said. I tried doing a whole spoof (here where I gave up 10% in) but tbh a) I don’t know the history well enough b) it’s more time consuming than I thought and c) this series is just not as funny or as crazy as TWQ, so it’s untenable. Having said that: This is not a hatepost. I’m not hatewatching this series and nitpicking on purpose but expressing my honest views and trying to find the good in it as well as the bad.

Without further ado...

First Scenes:

The baby cloth lifting into the ceiling of the chapel had nice ‘myth of the demon countess of Anjou (ancestress of the Plantagenets)’ vibes. I am 100% that was unintentional. I get this impression by the cringiness of the baby’s screams (what’s up with those sound effects? It sounded like a zipper).

Henry gives me such softboi vibes? It’s pleasing to me because it’s making me attracted to him as a viewer, but no good in convincing me this is Henry VIII.

I think Catherine’s exposition about how she feels is pretty ok actually, it’s fitting that she would feel anger.

CHARLES’ FATHER IS NOT MAXIMILIAN, IT’S PHILIP (or rather it was). ~~ A quick wiki search guyz, a quick wiki search. Ughh

Again with the whole everyone acting like Catherine is Queen. Can they cut it out? Also while we’re at it, what was Catherine’s attendance in councils even like?

The music was nice

Post Child announcement phase:

Oof I hate to say it but I lowkey wanted de la Pole back in this mother. Mainly because it would mean more Margaret Pole and by this point I am scared her storyline will fade in prominence now that there’s no longer a Yorkist subplot (showhorned as it was, it was the crowning glory of last season tied with Arthur x Catherine).

More x Maggie Pole and all of it over Seneca and learning :’). I already know this will be the best part of the episode.

‘We certainly know stoicism in our family’ ~ I guess she’s referring to Reggie? Because our boi Clarence was no poster boy for stoicism. Though could she be making an ironic reference to her father~?

Edmund de la Pole Debacle:

Well this convo at least passed the bechdel test.

Maggie and Edmund’s interactions here are touching. I know this plotline was rushed but I think it was just right to bring us back here for 5 min as a mournful throwback to the bygone era to which Maggie Pope belongs to and now continues to do so alone. It is emotionless and you can just feel how the York cause was hanging on by a tired old threat by that point.

Maggie Pole is becoming matronly now and I like this transition.

What bothers me about a lot of fans of Margaret Pole is that what they don’t realise is that she wasn’t all like ‘I want nothing to do with my family I’ll stay low and obscure’. While far more cautious than the likes of her ancestors, she did engage in land disputes with Henry VIII and was an outspoken supporter of Catherine and Catholic. Having her be a woman woth dubious loyalties towards the Tudors is accurate.

Scotland with Meg and Jammes:

LMFAO it’s like they read my mind when I spoke of how much I laughed when Meg was like ‘Alexander Steward you pig!1!!’ last episode.

Nice reference to Aulde Alliance

I like James.

Henry and Catherine on the balcony:

Was she commander of the forces? Was Howard appointed that? Regent she was, ok.

Charlotte Hope’s new hairstyles really suit her!

‘Will you please stop cursing’ agahsjdk ahah

No offence to women (of which I am one) but this comparison between childbirth and war is just... wrong. I know Starz think they are being smart but childbirth is far less impressive than winning or surviving a battle - comparing the two diminishes the bravery of soldiers. YET ,having said that, childbirth is necessary for our society whereas war is almost always futile and by comparing them, it wrongly represents violence as something inherently as natural to us as birth and continuing of civilisation. overall not a smart, respectful or accurate parrallel to make.

Meg and prep for invasion + Catherine in her weird armour:

So Margaret dreams that her husband is dead and bloody in her bed. Ughh show you neeed to get more creative. But I did like the whole ‘dreams are how our ancestors talk to us’ line from Angus Douglas.

Re: Meg in her beret... Why is Meg dressed like me going to the London shops in October? Digging the aesthetic but not sure about the accuracy.

Rich of Catherine to bring up Edmund.

Why is Ursula Pole crying??? What is all this to her really?

Did Howard just call the guard... sonny?? Is this some WW2 crossover?

Catherine - James and the tent parlay:

Did Catherine just insult Meg’s intelligence??

Also lmao I’m going to miss James.

Re: Howard saying ‘I’m not going to get insulted by a man wearing a dress’ .. UMMM Starz, you do know that just thirty years ago men were prancing about in dresses and leggings (essentially). From around the middle of the 14th century to the beggining of 16th century (if not earlier), Englishmen were also essentially prancing about in ‘skirts’.

Am I getting a weird cooperation-partnership vibe between Meg and James?

The Battle:

Charlotte Hope looks so good with the helmet, she’d really suit an english hood! Such a shame they won’t give her one!

Ewwww he’s eating mud, why?

Just standard battle scene. They are all the same to me no matter which movie.

Aftermath:

Jesus, I find the whole Meg crying over James IV so heartfelt ‘you arrogant bastard’ for some reason just came out so full of emotion. Can someone please explain why the hell I ship them more than Henry x Catherine?? Like how ??

Awwww Linna is sooooo adorable ughhh. Also this whole Catherine going into armour among all the women crooning over the children gives this adorable sense of Catherine boyish and bloodying herself out to protect their peace, idk. All I have to say is that these series is less eager to pitt women against each other than the previous. I think that’s a step forwards.

Also, good to see Catherine being modest about her victory so Henry can save face. Finally starting to seem like the real Catherine.

‘Go on you dog’ arghh ahah he sounds like some public school rugby lad egging his mate on.

Re: Wolsey cock-blocker; the real Catherine would know it was uncatholic to have sex when you were pregnant. Also Catherine is not technically speaking in confinement if she’s wandering about.

It’s nice to see Catherine sticking up for Howard, she at least learned to respect him during the battle.

I foresee Oviedo having enough of this Christian stuff and wanting to return to the berber domains (I suppose Spain is out of the question)

Knighting Ceremony:

Apparently Margaret Pole herself was made Countess of Salisbury during this same ceremony... right? @houseofclarence

Also Maggie Pole being like: “being a rebel is in my blood, or so they tell me”... gahhh what’s with these shows and the Clarence erasure? Can’t they make one bloody reference to her dad or grandad Warwick? Ugh. Especially with lines like this. Actually? You know what? Ignore my previous comment about the stoic remark and it being an ironic reference to Clarence. I put such subtlety above this show’s writers.

Catherine has a habit of going to the coldest places possible to lose her children...

Haha @ Henry asking Bessie Blount (of all people) where Catherine is.

Conclusion:

6/10

What I’m happiest about is that Flodden got dealt with in one episode because warrior xena Catherine is not what interests me most about this show. Having said that, it was a true shame that James IV died because his were some of the best scenes. This whole show is starting to feel so historical fantasy-ish because the aesthetics are so confused. Granted it’s still pretty (not eyesore like Reign) but it doesn’t penetrate.

I am as always invested in the Poles (and More) but am also starting to get attached to Princess Mary whose actress exudes plenty of charm. This show remains confused with its feminist message because while it shows women being proactive there is so much emphasis on babies that what remains with the mind after watching is this womanish birthdrama, as opposed to a show about struggles which affect both genders.

You might tut at me and say I’m being ridiculous and that it is historically accurate to put so much emphasis on women’s babies and I say that’s swell. I would happily watch a show where that element is strong (most pre 1995 historical dramas are like that with traditionally feminine characters and I gulp them up like sustenance), but if a show promises feminism and women-men being partners I want it to deliver that properly. As I said in my previous post, why do we keep trying to make women engage in acts like war as if such an abhorrent act is the only way to take them seriously? I await the day where cunning, rationality and cool-headedness will be the traits portrayed as feminist ones.

There is nothing else to really comment on... the only potentially deeper message in this is the gender discourse. I am unsure about the accuracy so I can’t speak of the historical value of the interpretation. But what I will say is that though I remain excited for each new episode... I’m just not as invested as I was in TWQ (rewatch every year dont @ me) or TWP despite their many flaws. Some characters pull me in eg Maggie Pole (Carmichael is a bae), Thomas More etc but not the whole cast like TWQ. Anyway... would be interesting to see if anything happens with Lina and Oviedo tommorow as their storyline is conspicuously slow.

#the spanish princess #the spanish princess 2 #fool if you thought I wouldn't jump on the whole 'being a rebel is in my blood' opportunity to bring up Clarence #I was delighted last time when people left comments and stuff #rofl #so yeah #Please please I love discussions and do not think twice before sending me an ask or commenting !#lady plantagenet's series reviews #the dialogue remains a bit trite #the sugared grape counterpart for this episode was edmund's death and the whole ironic reference to Senenca and stoicism #not because the dialogue around edmund's death was particularly poignant but how conspicuously quiet and swift the whole affair was as #...as compared to previous york pretender plotlines left a mournful note #basically I feel like I keep focusing on stuff the show doesn't want me to focus on #and am projecting therefore

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irisbleufic · 5 years ago

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Happy 2020! Can I tag you to do that 2019 Fic Year in Review thing?

Happy New Year to you, too! Sure thing. I can’t remember the last time I did one of these; since 2019 is the end of a decade, it feels fitting. Here goes…

14 February 2019: After spending 14 of my 15 years (2020 marks the start of my 16th year) in Good Omens fandom working on it, I finally finished and posted the 75th and final installment of Crown of Thorns [The Walls, the Wainscot, and the Mouse] ’Verse. LiveJournal was still the fandom’s primary posting hub when I posted the first-ever installment, A Better Place, on 1 October 2005. The series didn’t get its second installment (The Walls, the Wainscot, and the Mouse) until 2010, but work on the series from that point forward was pretty much constant. 2012 saw a higher number of CoT updates than any year previous; that was also the year I transferred it to AO3.

25 February 2019: I finished and posted the last chapter of my third Good Omens collaborative fic ’verse with @procrastinatingbookworm, Turn In Your Arms. We couldn’t believe there was no Good Omens fusion with Tam Lin, so we went for it. Given our first collaboration in 2018 was a Good Omens fusion with Groundhog Day (Game Over, Insert Coin), that wasn’t a stretch.

27 February 2019: @aspiringjedi and I posted the first of our two Good Omens meta-essays, Making An Effort: Queer (Trans) Masculinity in the Ethereal & Occult Beings of Good Omens. Yes, it’s 1,990 words due to the novel’s publication year. When you’re just under 2,000 words anyway, why not?

28 February 2019: @procrastinatingbookworm and I followed up Turn In Your Arms with a brief sequel, Burn After Reading. All of our collaborations to date have ended up as multi-story mini ’verses.

25 March - 20 April 2019: I went about as livid over Gotham’s Season 5 as I did over Season 3 and wrote Darkroom to address how dirty the show did Bruce and Jeremiah. I had a stand-alone Season 4 fix-it story (focusing on Oswald and Edward, like most of my other Gotham work) called Triage from 2018 that had never quite felt like it was meant to be a stand-alone. Triage and Darkroom became the first two installments of a series called Playing for Keeps, to which I added another 6 stories by April 20th. Darkroom somehow got more traffic than any of my other Gotham pieces since When You Find It, Run over in DDO ’Verse (although those two stories are keystone pieces in much larger series, they can both be read as stand-alones).

4 April 2019: In the midst of working on the aforementioned, @aspiringjedi posted our second Good Omens meta-essay, Southern Pansies: Subversive (Trans) Masculinity in the Ethereal & Occult Beings of Good Omens.

8 May 2019: Brief blip back into Pacific Rim fic! I posted a missing Anthology correspondence/inset ficlet called L’amour, c’est comme la guerre. For anyone who ever wanted more of the email correspondence in Anthology’s final chapter, this fills in some gaps you didn’t know were there.

16 May 2019: Thanks to some behind-the-scenes persuasion from several really tenacious Gotham readers who didn’t want me to abandon it / shut down DDO ’Verse, I completed The Knights’ Tour after almost a year on hiatus from it. This turned out to light a fresh fuse on DDO, because TTK didn’t end up being the final story in the series like I had once planned.

18 May 2019: The only His Dark Materials fic I’ve ever written, also a Gotham fusion, got a belated new final chapter. Gold Dust is sort of an alternate take on DDO ’Verse, one in which Dust and daemons are present.

23 May 2019: I posted what I thought would be a stand-alone Gotham story called The Meaning of This City. It manages to be a marginally less dark and complicated take on the Bruce-and-Jeremiah situation (than Darkroom over in PfK ’Verse, that is) without sacrificing some of the most difficult features of what they need to overcome. More on why this didn’t remain a stand-alone in a bit.

6 June 2019: Good Omens requests came around, one of which led me to follow the Imagine Hastur Ficlets (which themselves exist thanks to the accidental prompts at @imaginehastur) interlude in CoT with The Imagine Hastur Epilogue. This was a sort of neat in-narrative way to deal with having gradually come out about my biological (inter)sex and (nonbinary) gender identity over the 14 years I worked on CoT.

15 June - 1 July 2019: I posted another Good Omens collaboration-set with @procrastinatingbookworm called Have Faith at the series-title level. The two stories in it, You Bloody Snake and Enough of a Bastard, focus almost entirely on Hastur and Ligur. Seeing Aziraphale and Crowley through different (and less favorable) eyes was a weird pleasure; seeing people indignantly realize they were enjoying fic about Hastur and Ligur was even more of one!

15 August 2019: @verumx persuaded me to watch Jamie Marks Is Dead with her and @one-eyed-bossman, and then implored me to fix it. Using Our Words is the stand-alone that resulted, which is no shock given I can’t resist ghost stories. It’s unique among this year’s stories in that it may be the only genuine stand-alone aside from the Gotham piece called Gold Dust.

17 August 2019: After an experimental in-character snail mail letter-writing exchange that lasted about 6 weeks, @verumx and I transcribed the letters and framed them in a piece of collaborative Gotham fic, We Were All Forgiven. Since about late April, I had been getting progressively sicker and sicker (didn’t know yet that I had cancer). Keeping busy as things got worse helped at least in the psychological sense, but by mid-August my exhaustion and difficulty eating were hitting their peak. I was hiding it from everyone except my partner.

1 September 2019: Returning to two stories I’d written for Batman: Europa, I created a series umbrella called Once Is Not Enough and explicitly placed London (Letting Go) and Five Love Affairs under it as companion pieces. Between Thursday Friday of this particular week, I experienced an increasingly more frightening set of symptoms that landed me in the ER and got a sequence of diagnostic tests finally rolling.

22 October 2019: After receiving a diagnosis of colon cancer on 10/1/19 and starting medical leave Monday of Halloween Week, I decided to complete the sequel to The Meaning of This City, which was a Gotham piece I’d left hanging mid-progress for weeks. The Maze of Your Ingenuity was hard for me to complete due to constant blood tests, CT scans, and outpatient procedures in the lead-up to my Thanksgiving Week major inpatient surgery, but I did it.

23 September - 11 December 2019: My longest Gotham fic ’verse (Delicate, Dangerous, Obsessed, a.k.a. DDO), having refused to die even once The Knights’ Tour was complete, got an entirely new ending stretch of stories focusing on, of all people, Jerome Valeska and Five (514A). They were the only two characters from canon who I had mentioned and/or shown briefly in passing earlier in DDO, but whose arcs from canon (and onward into my fic) I had done nothing to wrap up. Challengers, Thicker Than Blood, Take This Waltz (It’s Yours Now), Finally Fair (In Love and War), and What We’re For (And What We Want) may, collectively, be the best writing I did during the entirety of 2019 (unless you count what I wrote in February to finish CoT). The experience of terrifying, unexplained illness and harrowing treatment was entirely too timely to one of my two protagonists in this set of stories. They were worth their weight not just in distraction, but also in catharsis. Five survived, and so did I.

#good omens #gotham #wayleska #fic year in review #fanfiction

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cassolotl · 5 years ago

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Testosterone, Day 432

That’s just over 14 months. Still on one pump of Tostran per day, which is 10mg of testosterone. (For comparison, I found out that one pump of Androgel or Testogel is 20.25mg.) My dose is considered low. Gel vs. injections dosages are not comparable so watch out for that.

BIG CHANGE compared to the last update: 5 days ago (27th Nov), I had my first injection of Decapeptyl (intramuscular injection, administered to the buttock every 12 weeks by a nurse who can do IM injections). It’s a hormone blocker that shuts down my ovaries, as far as I know? It didn’t hurt at all, but I gather that pain varies from injection to injection. It has different components that need to be mixed with a separate syringe, so it’s not really like getting a flu jab.

It was prescribed to me by the endocrinologist at the London gender clinic, after I explained that 12 days of being off T (even coming off only 1 pump of Tostran per day, the lowest of the low) gave me some truly awful menstrual symptoms. The idea is, if I’m on Decapeptyl and it stops my ovaries, coming off T will only cause coming-off-T symptoms rather than that plus menstrual symptoms. Then I can look into either going into menopause on purpose (and taking drugs to prevent heart problems and osteoporosis), being on T again, or letting my ovaries kick back in.

I am curious to find out how it affects my sex drive and my appetite, which are the two things that are affected most by hormonal treatments for me. (Testosterone made my sex drive increase a LOT at first and then gradually decrease until it’s back to normal after 6 months, and as my sex drive gets back to normal my appetite increases.) It’s only been a few days and it takes at least a month to get to its full effect so it’s going to be a while until I find out how it feels.

Last entry: Day 309.

Skin: My skin is totally back to normal! If anything, it’s a little better than pre-T because the highs and lows of my menstrual cycle are levelling out.

Appetite: I have that thing, a very familiar hormone thing for me by now, that I’ve had before with hormonal birth control and with the first round of T: wanting to eat and feeling “fake hungry” even though I can tell I’ve had plenty of food. It happens especially in the evening, and I always want to eat carbs. It happened 6 months into the first testosterone period, and then at 7ish months I stopped T for 12 days and then started again for unrelated reasons and my appetite got totally reset back to normal and it was such a relief. Now, it’s about the same amount of time into testosterone again and I’ve been noticing the weird appetite creeping back in over the last couple of weeks. So I guess this is just something that happens after 6 months on T for me!

Sex drive: Pretty much back to pre-T levels.

Menstrual cycle: (I have working ovaries but no uterus so it’s just hormonal cycle stuff.) My joints generally feel less loose than before, and my pre-menstrual symptoms are much reduced.

Voice: There has been very little change over the past 3-5 months. It’s just a very slow meandering downwards, really. Sometimes I feel really resonant in my voice, and sometimes it gets kind of more head-voicey (which feels bad at the time), and in the head-voice times it gets higher-pitched and then it cracks a bit in a teenage boy way, and I have to consciously lower my pitch and deepen the resonance to reset myself!

Body hair: Very little change over the past few months. The hair under my belly button is a bit coarser, and it’s spreading out a bit. I have visible but light soft hairs on my thighs. My lower legs are a bit hairier, and the hair extends to the top of my feet a little bit. I continue to be not into the masculine body hair pattern, but I can live with it for the time being I think!

Facial hair: Darker hairs on my upper lip, still quite cis woman amounts. Some very light peach fuzz on my cheeks, and lately I’ve noticed some tiny hairs on my lower lip too. When it was just my upper lip, my facial hair gave me masc and fem dysphoria at the same time - fem because it’s a very typical cis women look, and masc because I know it’s caused by taking testosterone. The increase in other facial hair is reducing dysphoria all round though, I feel pretty okay about it, even though I was not expecting to. I hope it doesn’t get thicker.

Genitals: No change since the last update. I am 100% ready for the metoidioplasty (no testicular prostheses, no vaginectomy, no urethral messing-about), but it’s going to be a couple of years probably.

Fat distribution: My body fat is mostly concentrated around my middle (belly and thighs) now, and I don’t think I have any gender dysphoria about it, but it does bother me because testosterone has increased my appetite, so I’m putting on weight and I don’t like it! I hate having to buy new clothes and I hate change (#ActuallyAutistic), so I just want my body to be the same size as before but with smaller hips and whatnot.

Actual hormones: Since the last update I had a fasting blood test 4-6 hours after applying the Tostran gel and it was about 13 nmol - low masculine range, but higher than the last T blood test.

Hairline: It still feels a smidge higher than pre-T. I’ve been growing out my hair for 122 days and it looks ridiculous, but I can’t blame testosterone for that - it’s just that it’s too long and too short at the same time, that classic growing-out-your-hair feeling.

Transition details: Nonbinary, only really want to change my voice pitch and then stop, I’m on the lowest dose of testosterone.

Voice pitch app data:

#original posts #cassian's hormones #cassian's transition #nonbinary #testosterone #low-dose testosterone

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niapeiris · 6 years ago

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It is going to rain

Toby

It is going to rain. The sun has eloped with the small amount of patience that I had left, off to a place far away, leaving me with nothing but troubles and rain. It is a matter of minutes. I watch the sky darken, the sea of black rippling above me, and I wait. And just before the first droplet connects with the ground, she runs into the restaurant. How typical of her. All disorganization and chaos but never lets it spill over the edge. I’ll never know how she does it. She sees me and casually walks over to the table, as though she isn’t half an hour late. But despite my annoyance and lack of patience, I stand and envelope her into a hug, because I know, that behind that picture-perfect smile and those glistening eyes, that half of her world just shattered into a million little pieces.

Lorrain

As soon as I see him a weight is lifted off my shoulders. He is ok. He is picking up the pieces, his hands covered in cuts and scars like mine, but he is putting them back together again. Last time he was too afraid, too broken. But this time I think he was prepared, he knew what was coming. I guess we all did. Seeing him reminds me that I can do this; I got through it when dad died, so I know that I will resurface again. But these fresh wounds are sore, and I know that even when they heal, their scars will always haunt me.

Toby

We sit in silence for a while. The food comes but I am not hungry. Lorrain doesn’t appear to be either. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. Normally Lorrain will have made some sort of conversation by now, being her dazzling social self. But today it’s different.

Against all my natural instincts, I decide to break the silence. And the small talk begins. The usual “I might get a cuppa” and “how’s work”, “terrible weather today” and other British stereotypes to break through awkwardness. I like to cut to the chase. But it took me until the end of the meal to muster enough courage to bring up the dreaded subject.

“How are you coping Lorrain?”

She does not respond seemingly engrossed in the delicious steak on her plate. The steak which she would not touch a few seconds ago.

“It’s getting better,” she says, “What about you?” “I am sorry I didn’t come to mum's funeral. I wasn’t as close to her as you were but now both of them are gone.” “So you shut yourself away from the rest of the world again?”

I don’t respond because I know that it is true. We don’t talk until the bill has come and gone and we are getting ready to face the torrential downpour outside.

“Any plans after this?” she says knowing I don’t but asking anyway.

“No, you?” “Not today. I can walk with you to the station,” she offers. She lives around here, in the heart of London. I prefer calm and convenient, a pair that rarely comes together. So I live in the outskirts.

As we walk, Lorrain gets a phone-call.

“Hello, Lorrain Martins speaking --- How did you get this number? --- The lab gave it to you? --- Ok then --- oh? --- But that is in Turkey? --- It isn’t uncommon --- I’m not sure --- Things have been a bit hectic at the moment --- I guess I could use the distraction --- ok --- I’ll be there at 11am tomorrow --- yep --- no worries --- bye!”

I knew that it wasn’t right that she didn’t have any plans. But of course, now she is going to Turkey, presumably flying out at around 2am on the last plane that will get her there for 11.

“You’re going to Turkey!” I say in such a forced, unenthusiastic voice that I wonder if it even came from me.

“And you are coming too!”

“Um, no. I have work to do!” I respond. There is so much to be done as I haven’t been in since mum died.

“It’s not as though you are actually going to go to work for another week. I know what you are like Toby Martins, and I don’t need your excuses.” I don’t reply because I know that she is right. Again. Despite my greatest efforts I won’t be able to drag myself to the office for a while. But still, I am NOT going to Turkey

Lorrain

I am so glad that Toby came along. He could really use the distraction. So could I. An air-hostess walks down the aisle offering refreshments. Toby is in the outer seat, the one next to the aisle and is in a place between awake and asleep – 2am flights aren’t his thing.

I tried to explain to Toby what the trip is about, but he was too stressed about almost missing the flight. So far I have been regarding it as an escape, to get my mind of things. But now that I think about it, I find myself wanted more than a getaway. A refugee camp. Each night a new corpse found. Each corpse covered in a black gooey liquid. I want to know why. I want to solve this. Stop this.

It was all a blur after that. The past few hours were made up of me puzzling over the possible reasons behind this case. Toby seemed very uninterested and soon grew irritated as I was reciting these theories aloud. Being his little sister it is my duty to wind him up, no matter how old we get.

But now we are in a taxi and we are sitting in silence because we can see it. The rows of huts and tents. The dirt track roads crawling with foxes and rodents. The people. It is a graveyard for the living. Refuge from the past but a horror in the present. After parking, we are shown to another part of the camp, the part where the managers and staff live. It is solely made up of a tall tower, littered by windows, topped with a cylindrical level, presumably a look out point over the camp. As we are led inside the tower, it appears that all the windows are the rooms for the staff, quite like a hotel but far from it. A tall, Aryan featured man appears to be scolding two other workers. He looks up at us and smiles with blinding white teeth and comes over. He introduces himself as camp manager Asil Orun, the man who rang me and asked that I would come. He seems very out of place; a man of such features should not correspond with refugees, or so society implies. He leads us through to a room on the ground floor, taking care to hold the door politely for me and taking even more care to let it swing in Toby’s face. There he explains more about the case. I glance over at Toby, who is sitting next to me with glazed over eyes and pursed lips; a sure sign that he has more than a few things to say to Asil. After we have been briefed, we are escorted up to the topmost floor where our room is.

Toby

I don’t like him. And it isn’t just that he has taken an inane interest in Lorrain, but it seems that there is more to him than what meets the eye. I don’t trust him, something about him isn’t right. But I just can’t put my finger on what it is.

But now I must return to the moment because we are walking into the other side of the camp – the refugee side. I smell them judging me, I wince as they stagger away, afraid. Lorrain isn’t comfortable either. I look at them, bony and mistreated, wondering the terror of what they must have fled to call this place a “sanctuary”. We stop outside one of the shacks and Asil shows us in. As we enter the shade of the place, my eyes grow accustomed to the light. And there it is lying on the bed, gender indistinguishable due to its front being covered in a sticky substance. Lorrain steps closer to the body. She looks it up and down and then opens her briefcase and lays it on the floor. She gets a wooden stick and takes a sample of the substance covering the body. Lorrain investigates the sludge, mixing it with various liquids. Hours pass as she examines the body, prodding and poking, testing and what-not, while Asil and myself sit intently around her.

“Toby. Toby wake up.” I feel warm air hiss into my ear as I fight to open my eyes. I must have fallen asleep. I look around. It is night time and the shanty is empty, spare Lorrain, her briefcase, a body bag and myself. No sign of Asil. Lorrain helps me up. I check my watch. It is almost midnight. We leave the cabin and walk towards the tower, leaving the body bag behind.

“What did you find?” I ask, still drowsy.

“Various bits and pieces that don’t fit together at all.”

“Go on.”

“Well, I am now certain that the gunk covering the body was in fact blood.”

“Blood? It was too dark to be blood. Black almost.”

“I am sure that it was blood – it had the correct reading and concurred with all of the tests. But very few things could turn blood so tar-like.”

“I assume that she coughed it up?” I say.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I am not sure, there is a small incision at the back of her throat, where I initially suspected that the blood had come from, but it is nowhere near large enough for all of it to have come gushing out of. But I don’t think the cut is significant.”

“I see. Did you learn anything else?”

“Yes, I also discovered something, the faintest of traces but it proves to be both vital to the case and thrilling at the same time.”

“And what, may I ask, is this insight?”

“There were traces of poison in her blood.”

Lorrain

It is only 8am in the morning but we are already out and investigating another body. Asil found it quite far away from the body I looked at yesterday. Whatever is happening to them isn’t contagious. I look down at the body. At first glance I presumed that it was a replica of the first, the same liquid covering the body, the same incision in the throat. But now I see that the substance is indeed redder so presumably healthier than the first; the incision in the throat is much smaller and the traces of the poison I found yesterday are gone. I run the same tests again, inspecting the body for any more clues. Toby is slumped in a corner, half-asleep. I don’t think that this trip is very interesting for him, but he is definitely getting more sleep than he would have at home.

It is raining. And the fact that the roof of the hut is poorly-thatched does not help. I watch the body as it rests idly on the floor. It was a boy this time. A young boy around the age of 6. It broke me when I saw him lying there, helpless as the world turned away from him, time and time again. Toby just glazed over.

After a while of examining I find something else in his blood. After digging into it I discover that it also seems to be poison. A different one to the one I saw yesterday. Some sort related to the digitalis genus. I asked Asil to question the food producers of the camp and I haven’t seen him since. I don't know much about poisons, being a forensic pathologist, but I know that there is no connection between Digitalis poison and blood disease. No, Digitalis is commonly used as a medicine for heart deficiency. I have come across many cases when one has overdosed on the drug which has led to heart failure. Heart failure. The person could have died from heart failure. But how would they have had access to the pharmaceutical in a refugee camp?

“I can hear your brain churning from over here,” Toby startles me. I thought he was asleep.

“I think I am onto something,”

“And what does figuring it out involve?”

“Cutting open the boy’s heart.”

Toby

I am trying to sleep but the sounds don’t help. The slicing and squelching. But I hear another noise, footsteps. Of course, the camp is littered with people, so I am bound to hear footsteps. But the refugees tread carefully, quietly, not wanting to be noticed or even to exist at all. These footsteps are different. Loud. Purposeful. And as they draw closer, I hear that there is in fact two sets of footsteps.

Two men enter the shack. One is Asil but that does not make me feel any more settled. Asil introduces the man beside as the caterer of the camp, Yusuf. I study the man. He is muscular, tall and wears a dirty apron around his waist, as if to back the fact that he is the food chief. He exchanges greetings with Lorrain and myself and then goes on to talk about the food that he produces. He claims that the main component of the refugee’s diets is broad-leaf plantain due to its accessibility and low price. They eat it with a small portion of rice once a day, twice if they are lucky. He seems sincere, unlike Asil who stands there, smiling nervously while he talks. Lorrain is deep in thought. She has already examined the heart and has exclaimed continuously that the boy had died of heart failure. Quite a few times I had splash water on her face or tug her hair to get her to stop thinking and tell me her thoughts. But I have just realised that I know something that I need to tell her. And I need to tell her soon before her brain explodes from over-thinking, because this case might just be easier than she thinks.

Soon Asil dismisses the man, but he himself stays with us. He claims that the man is a new employee. He says that Yusuf has proved to be reliable and moral, and that he wouldn’t doubt him at all if it weren’t for the fact that he hadn’t known him for long, thus hasn’t enough time to figure out Yusuf and see if his outward friendly behavior is just a mask. Funny. That was exactly what I was thinking but about Asil.

Asil then leaves. Lorrain and I sit there in silence while I think about the best way to phrase what I am about to say.

“Lorrain I have something to tell you.”

“Mmm.”

“Lorrain stop thinking and listen,”. She looks up from the body and at me.

“Sorry,” she says.

“Broad-leaf plantain. The most eaten food in this camp.”

“Yes.”

“While you were talking, I got out my laptop and did a little research myself,” “Oh wow you actually helped!” she says playfully.

“I am serious. I found something. Broad-leaf plantain shares the same genus as the so-called poison that you discovered today. It is a Digitalis plant,”. She sits there for a few moments and processes what I just told her.

“So there might in fact be no poison, no murderer, and the genus I have found is just from the food.”

“They might have been fed some faulty or highly concentrated leaves by accident which has led to this.”

She looks plainly disappointed. It was clear that this case excited and intrigued her, but the most logical answer does not seem to satisfy that. I stand up to go back to the room. She doesn’t say anything so I know that she will stay and look into what I said, still doubting and eager to prove me wrong; that she may still have a case yet to follow. I had best leave her to it.

I leave the tent silently. And as I creak my way to the exit, I hear thumping footsteps running. Running away. I look outside quickly but everything appears to be normal. Or as normal as it gets in a refugee camp. It could have been anyone. I continue back to the room.

Toby

I wake up to the breaking of glass. I sit up abruptly and look around. My eyes are blinded by the sudden exposure to the light and I can barely make out anything. At first, I think that I am alone in the room but I hear shuffling coming from the toilet. I quietly make my way there. I push open the door with a shaking hand and find … Lorrain. I let out a sigh of relief. Lorrain is scrambling on the floor trying to recover bits of glass that she has broken when she dropped what used to be some sort of measuring utensil. After helping her clear up and exclaiming that she cannot scare me like that, I go back to me beside table and check the time. 7:00am. I should get ready. I tell Lorrain to hurry up in the bathroom and use the time while I wait, to go back to sleep.

Lorrain

Yesterday was disappointing. I was really interested in the case. I thought that maybe this one time it might not just be some sort of illness, maybe something mysterious or unexplainable. Oh well. At least we have a pretty certain cause behind this. We’ll be able to stop more of these deaths. That’s the boring truth. I went back to the first body to run some tests and to look into the poison that I discovered on the first day. However the body wasn’t there. It was at that point I just gave up and went back to the room.

We are sitting inside another shack. It was a girl this time, thirteen years old. Her situation is identical to the boy’s. I have utilised the past few hours back up this new theory. I have run many tests and the reason behind this appears to be the result of a parasitic broad-leaf plantain. Nothing more.

Toby stands up. He is growing impatient. He thinks that we should be home by now – the reason behind this case being obvious. He leaves the tent stating that he is going back to the room. There is no arguing with him when he chooses to be assertive, which is very rarely I might add.

Toby

As I walk back to the room I see Asil walking towards me. He smiles as he walks past and I force an imitation of the notion. After I am about a dozen metres away, I turn to see if he has gone into the tent that Lorrain is in. I would never leave her alone with him. But he walks past the tent and carries along done the dirt track. I look at where his footsteps have met the mud. And there I see it, a white letter on the floor not far from Lorrain’s tent. I pick up the letter, debate showing Lorrain or giving it back to Asil, but then decide that I will take it up to the room and read it. Maybe it will tell me something about Asil, maybe clue me to the reason that he seems so untrustworthy. But here is not the place to exploit potential secrets so I pocket the envelope and head to the tower.

Once safely inside, I pull out the letter and turn it over. There are no markings on the envelope, so I proceed to open it carefully. Inside is an equally as white piece of paper with all but a few sentences on it:

04/04/2018

That is good to hear. Use the same ratio this time. It seems to be leading her in the wrong direction – this is good. Give her two more and then eliminate. Burn this when you have read it.

The first thing I concur is that there is something going on, something desired secret. My brain runs through the list of things that this message could be a reference to. Some key words dance around me displaying secrets just out of reach. When would a ratio be used in this camp? What is leading who in the wrong direction? Why must this be kept behind closed doors? I puzzle over it for a half hour until I realise that I had been over-looking the smallest and most significant detail. Her. Leading her in the wrong direction. Over the past two days I have only seen male staff around the camp. I presumed that women were not employed due to the lack of safety here. In fact, the only woman that I have seen, who was not a refugee, was Lorrain. With that in mind I read the message again.

A theory develops in my mind – Asil is behind this. The ratio must be something to do with the Digitalis genus. This case isn’t over, it wasn’t caused by any plant malfunction. But pieces of my puzzle are still missing – what is the wrong direction. What does it mean give her two more? Two more what?

Bodies.

And suddenly a chill runs down my back. Eliminate? This message was sent last night. Two more bodies. So that was one last night and one more tonight. Then eliminate. We need to get away from this place. Fast. I throw all my belongings into my rucksack, do the same with Lorrain's stuff, pocket the letter and dash out of the room. I don’t know for sure if the letter meant what I thought that it did. But either way. Eliminate still means to kill.

I run to the tent of the dead girl where Lorrain was, but to my utmost horror she is not there. I find her briefcase and the body instead. I look around hoping that she has left a note; that she has just gone to the toilet, but I realise that she wouldn’t have left a note because as far as she knows, I am just lazing around in the hotel room. I run out of the tent and right into Lorrain.

“Lorrain!” I can’t do anything but hug her tight. I was so scared for her.

“I have found something -” I cut her off.

“Never mind that. We have to get out of this place. I don’t know what is going on but we, you especially, are in great danger.”

“Wha-,”

“I found a note lying on the floor that Asil dropped. It was addressed to him from someone titled “M”. Here read it. I thrust the letter into her hands while she looks at me like I am mad.

“It think it is about you.” I whisper in her ear as she reads through it. Her eyes open wide as she scrambles to read it again.

“I was right,” I hear her whisper under her breath.

“What do you mean?”

“You need to come with me. It isn’t far from the tents down the far end,” she starts packing up her briefcase.

“What?! We need to get out of here. Do you not understand what the letter meant?”

“I do. But I need to show you something. With what you have just showed me and what I have just discovered, I think we are very close to solving this case,” “Never mind the case. Do you not understand what eliminate means?”

“You need to calm down Toby.” “DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN. DAD IS DEAD AND I JUST LOST MUM. I CAN’T LOSE YOU TOO!” I yell. She stops. I never yell. I never get mad. But I am scared.

“Toby. I -”

“I didn’t mean to shout,” “I am sorry,”. Neither of us speaks until she has fully packed up her things. In a hushed voice she talks.

“Toby. I understand what you are saying. But listen. We have a chance to save lives, not just examine their dead bodies. As you say – we have to play this carefully. I need you to come with me now,” I nod my head and follow after her, exhausted by my outburst.

We walk through the stitches of the camp to the very borders where the tents begin to fray away. Soon we have left it all behind. It appears that we are just walking in the green. But in the distance I see a change of scenery. A change of colour. I see purple. And as we draw closer that purple begins to take form. Low to the ground but hundreds of them. Plants. Flowers. And soon I realise why Lorrain was so keen on showing me this. For this, this is a field of foxgloves.

Lorrain

I look at Toby’s face as he takes it all in, watch his face calculating and concluding.

“Foxgloves. Foxglove poison. Heart failure.”

“Yes,” I respond.

“It is of the same genus that you found in the body. The broad-leaf plantain fiasco was the “wrong direction” mentioned in the message. It was just a cover-up,”.

“Yes.”

“Asil. I knew that I didn’t trust him. We need to take this to the police.” I say, even more frightened than before. But I can’t let it break the surface. I need to be like Lorrain.

“No. We need evidence first. Whoever Asil is working for has to be high up if they can afford this,” I say gesturing to the foxgloves. “They will be able to wriggle their way out of our grip unless there is hard proof,”

“Tonight we will follow him. Record it all. Then we will show it to them,”.

“Agreed” I respond. We make our way back to the camp. We have a theory, the best that we have yet. But there are still some holes in it. We think that Asil is behind this. That he is feeding these refugees foxglove poison (the digitalis genus that I found) and framing it as a broad-leaf plantain parasite. But we don’t know why or how. And that is what we will find out tonight.

Lorrain

It is late. Now around 10:30pm. We are closely huddled together, Toby and I, in a failed attempt to fight off the cold. We sit silently by the exit of the tower, waiting and watching. But mostly listening. I never thought that it could be so quiet in a refugee camp. And though the world seems to sleep, I somehow hear more than ever before. The wind; a ribbon wrapping around the place. In the day-time it was like a whip – clacking and striking in a furious rage. But now it flows gently, whispering dreams of grandeur to the hopeless refugees who lie asleep. I hear the soft pattering paws of animals. The gentle singing of lullabies in a foreign dialect. So quiet.

But then I hear something else. Footsteps. Coming from the tower. Treading carefully, as though the outing is desired secret. And soon we see the slender figure of Asil fall into the night. He carries what appears to be a small briefcase in his hand. We follow him, quite far behind. Every corner he turns he checks behind him in a cautious, guilty way, and we have to dart to some bushes or round the back of a favela. We follow him for a while as he seems to randomly sneak through the paths.

However, when we enter a different part of the camp that we haven’t seen, he begins to peek in and out of the tents as if looking for something. Or someone. After a while of this hide and seek, he enters a wooden shack and does not come out of it for a few minutes. We tread closer and peer through the cracks of the structure to see what he is doing and I get my camera out and start recording.

Toby

It is going to rain. The moon has fled with all of the courage that I had left, off to a place faraway, leaving with nothing but rain-clouds and fear. It is a matter of minutes. I sense the sky darken, a sea of black rippling through me and I watch. It is the most unsettling thing, not watching Asil, but the fear that we ourselves are being watched. We see as he opens his briefcase with the light of a small lantern. It is lined with test tubes full of various substances topped with a cork aside some surgery-like tools. He pulls out a pipette and proceeds to transfer some of the test tube substances into it.

Use the same ratio this time.

It fits again with the letter. When he decides that the pipette is full, he pulls a thin, razor tipped utensil from his case. He then tilts the chin of the refugee backwards and we rush to stifle a gasp as he opens the person’s mouth, trying to do so without out waking them up. However half-way during this process the victim awakes and starts to struggle. They fight silently, Asil with a look of fire in his eyes, pinning what is now revealed to be a man of Toby’s age down and opening the man’s mouth. We watch in utter horror, both of us jerking to stop this atrocity but pulling each other back knowing what the consequences may be. Asil gets a window of opportunity and he takes it, moving the razor into the man’s throat, feeling around and making a cut. The man is now flitting in and out of consciousness. And then Asil takes the pipette and squeezes it into what we imagine is the incision. The man does not move, in a deep sleep he won’t wake up from.

Asil puts out the lantern. We stare in lament at the poor man. Thousands of thoughts run through my head. Now that we have this on tape we can stop this from happening to other people. We did the right thing, even if it did involve letting one go for the good of others. But I can’t help but feel guilty for just watching. And as I look at the body with tears in my eyes, I forget about anything else. And so does Lorrain. And we stand there. Still. Warring with ourselves. Until we see a flash of fire from the entrance of the shack. And as we turn abruptly we become face to face with it and freeze. For even without the light of the lantern we can see it screaming at as from those eyes I thought were blue. And we run.

Lorrain

Run. The only word that pops into my mind. And I do. Toby follows close behind. Asil is getting closer. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Not only did he see the camera, but he also saw us. And at this moment, losing the camera or the video does not bother me. But he can’t get rid of what we saw.

Unless he gets rid of us.

We push onwards. Toby tries to alert the refugees and to get them to help but I stop him. We don’t know who else is on Asil’s side, and we don’t need more people hunting us down. Soon I begin to gain my bearings – we are getting closer to the tower. I know where we are. It should be any minute now. We take a tight turn and I pivot, hauling Toby and myself into a staff-cabin. It is empty. We dash away from the door and to the window and look for Asil. We hear his footsteps slow down as he decides whether to turn or not. Then he stops altogether. The sound of silence rings through my ears. And I realise that it must ring though Asil’s too. He won’t hear our footsteps because we have stopped. And now he knows that. We hear him walk slowly towards us. We are going to get caught. He is going to ki-.

No.

I won’t let that happen. Think Lorrain. Think. I risk a glance through the window. Asil is walking in a circle looking at the huts and cabins surrounding him, wondering where we are. I need to play this carefully. I reach up to the window. It is fastened shut with a latch. I carefully undo it and at once the wind creaks the window open a fraction. I hear Asil’s steps coming towards us and feel Toby’s fear and outrage. The footsteps are right behind the window now. And just when he is about to peer inside, I jump up and smash the window with my fist. The glass goes flying into his arm. He falls down, groping it as we run back to the tower.

Toby

I shook hands with death that night. I was terrified. I don’t think that I will ever feel safe again. After we had reached the tower Lorrain passed out. I had to make the calls, tell the information, get the police. We solved the case. But hearing it being said aloud repeatedly does not help.

“So you admit to being the person behind the murder of the refugees at your own camp?” an inspector queries for the umpteenth time.

“Yes” Asil replies. His eyes are grey. No mask of blue. No anger or fire. Nothing.

After hours and hours of sitting there, listening to him give dismissive, brief answers, he has finally admitted it. The man behind it all. Or so it seems.

“I invite Ms Lorrain Martins to describe her opinion of the happenings, and then the convict will consolidate her statement, if he wishes to.”

“The way that he killed the refugees was using a poison. Foxglove poison. He would make a small incision in the back of the victim’s throat and squeeze the poison into there. Once the poison was inside the victim, they had minutes to live. He would then leave the body there and the next morning, would claim to have found the body in such a state.”

“Thank you. And do you admit to this Asil?” “Yes” “Ms Martins, you previously mentioned that he worked closely on the case with you. Would you care to reiterate it so that we may add it to an official document?” “Yes. He contacted me some days ago via phone call, saying that random refugees at his camp were dying for no apparent reason. He wanted my help. My brother and I flew to Turkey. He was with us most of the time, listening to my theories. Now that I think about it. I can assume that you were also listening to Toby and my self's private conversations. But why Asil? Why?” Asil sits there for a few minutes. Opening his mouth and closing it. Deciding what to say and whether to say it or not. No-one dare moves, scared they will stop him from opening up.

“I had to wipe out the entire refugee camp. I had to kill them all and frame it as something else, some natural cause. But I didn’t want to release this poison only to find that is could easily be tracked and identified. No. That is where you helped Lorrain. They wouldn’t have died if it wasn’t for you. Each time you would say what you found. So I would fix those areas and use a different ratio. Until I got it perfectly balanced and you didn’t think that there was a poison at all. And if I could bluff you, I knew that I could bluff the rest of the world.”

We all sit in silence, thinking hard. Understanding. It is ingenious really. But why would he want to kill all of these people? “Why?” I say, startled at myself for speaking up.

Asil just smiles.

Lorrain

Weeks have passed since the refugee camp ordeal. Not long after Asil’s confession, a Turkish politician was arrested and thrown into jail. Apparently, he was the one who was funding it and who was in charge. He wanted to free Turkey from refugees for economic and racist purposes. Toby and I have been spending more time together since. We have cleared out Mum’s house. It is going to be hard to leave behind, whenever it is sold. It is going to be hard to leave the memories of the case behind, whenever it blows over. Right now, I am studying the poison at work. We know that foxglove was in it but there were other components that we can’t identify. And we still do not know where the black blood came from. I am scrolling through some data a co-worker has emailed me, not really reading through it.

Suddenly I hear a shout from the lab next door. Then whoever is working in there calls for me. I swiftly move through the door to see what that commotion is about. My colleague is there looking ecstatic to say the least. She shows me a piece of paper from a freshly opened letter and I read it. And then I understand my co-worker's excitement. We have solved the case. And I ring up Toby.

“Toby?”

“Hi Lorrain. How are you?” “Toby you’ll never guess what I just found out.”

“What is it?” “So you know we still don’t know why the refugees were covered in blood, right?” “Yes …"

“Well now some results have come back. It was so obvious Toby, I don’t know how we didn’t get it. What few things cause vomiting of black blood?” “Lorrain you know I don’t know these things.”

“I was right at the very start. Remember when I found that poison in the very first body. Not the foxglove one but the other one. The faintest of traces?”

“Yes”

“It was arsenic Toby. It was arsenic.”

His confirmations and excitement poured through the line but I am not really listening. Instead, I am looking outside, through the window, and the heavy clouds gathering above. It is going to rain.

By Nia Peiris

14/02/2019

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shimclinic · 6 years ago

Text

Are Home-Based STD Testing Options the Answer to Getting More People Screened?

Given the option of at-home testing for infections, would this increase your likelihood to get screened?

A new study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine revealed some interesting results.

Londoners were almost twice as likely to get STD testing when given the option to mail in samples of their biological material, than go to nearby walk-in STD clinics.

E-STI testing, as referred to in the study, was indeed expected to be more popular because of the privacy and convenience it comes with.

Paula Baraitser, the study’s co-author and a researcher of sexual health at King’s College London, said that it is developing rapidly, as there are ads for it all over.

How the study was conducted

The researchers selected 2 low-socioeconomic municipalities, Southwark and Lambeth. Past research has shown these 2 to have the highest STD rates in London.

They searched streets, markets, bars and other public places for people between the ages of 16-30. This, apparently, is the prime fornication age in the U.K.

Presenting themselves as public health clinicians, they asked the bystanders if they had had at least one sexual partner in the past year. If they had, they were asked for their phone contacts.

More than 2000 numbers were collected. The individuals then randomly received a link to either information about e-STI testing and related information or a list with 7 walk-in clinics and respective contact information.

Those who went for the e-STI test were sent kits via mail. They then sent either urine or blood samples or vaginal swabs (depending on the gender). Results were sent back through text messages or phone calls.

6 weeks later, the correspondents were asked if they had gotten tested and checked the answers against the records.

The results?

It was found that 50% of those who got the e-STI information got tested, while only 26.6% of those told about local clinics actually showed up.

2.8% of cases of infection were found in the e-STI group, with 1.4% of cases diagnosed in the walk-in-clinic group.

It was highlighted that while the researchers were asking their preliminary questions, the respondents were not awkward or shy about the conversation. This definitely implies that more people are taking their sexual health seriously.

Drawbacks

The team initially desired a target group of 3000 people, therefore fell short of this. The group was not large enough for them to analyze differences in infections diagnosed and treatment rates.

Interpretation of findings

Baraitser said that even while the group was not sufficiently large, an important fact comes to light. Increased access to STI testing automatically increases the rate of screening.

What’s more, people are more likely to choose a method that provides them the most comfort and privacy.

Emphasis was placed on the fact that e-testing was offered alongside traditional methods of screening. She added that the success of e-testing was also attributed to getting people to understand that it was just as effective as the services offered in a clinic. It is not a separate service, just a different modality of care.

Home-testing for STIs is becoming more popular with the increased need for privacy and convenience. Given more emphasis, it would undoubtedly increase the population getting screened.

Source: PLOS Medicine

Original content here: https://www.shimclinic.com/blog/are-home-based-std-testing-options-the-answer-to-getting-more-people-screened

#The Shim Clinic Blog #HIV #HIV PEP #STD #STD Clinic

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kawaiifunhologram-blog · 6 years ago

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Health insurance for geriatrics.?

My mom is going to be 64 years old in December and has being diagnosed with high blood pressure. She doesn't qualify for medicaid yet; which insurance company should I contact in Florida, so she can get an individual health insurance?""

Life and Health Insurance Exam- I have taken it like 5 times and not been able to pass it?

I have been doing this online course license2go.com, and it has a lot of good information but it seems like on the test, there is a lot of stuff I didn't ever see when taking the test. Is there any alternative way to getting a license? Like online? If not, what are some other good ways to study for it? Thanks""

I have insurance for a car I had for 6 days. The insurance co. says it's a total loss. They gave me a value?

Audatex is not kelly blue book they look at craigslist & not the dealer. Craigslist sometimes has cars where a mechanic might not catch it but is damaged. The price I paid is higher due to getting sick & credit went down so I had to go to a local dealer with higher interest. They want the insurance check plus $1700.00 & interest. So I will pay for this thing for over 1 1/2 years. I had it 6 days when some crazy driver almost hit me I turned & hit a wall. The insurance company says I loose my good driver discount. Since I will have to wait to pay off this car I can cancel my insurance once the dealer gets the check. Is there any California law that would say if this happens I would be able to pay off the car. It's worth more as a loss then to try to fix it. Please help. Thank You.

How can i Switch to another health insurance?

my son has keystone mercy for his health insurance but i totally forgot that the hospital he was born in doesn't accept that insurance they accept americhoice and i want to switch but im worried because i don't if americhoce would pay the bills from when he was born!!!! help!!

""Selling Car, how to do a test drive with no insurance?""

I'm selling my car but it has no insurance or a plate. I live in Alberta, Canada. I know people would like to test drive the vehicle before buying it, is there a way to do this legally?""

Cheapest cars to insure for a 17 year old?

How high are insurance rates for a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer GT?

Its a car with the whole package; mags, sunroof, skirt, spoiler, sound etc. It's a 4 door 2.0L 4 cylinder. I'm wondering how much insurance I'll be paying in comparison to a Hyundai Elantra GL to which I was quote 1300 a year for - yikes! Anyone own this vehicle in Canada? Btw I'm 20, clean record, been driving for 2-3 years (dont even remember honestly).""

A question about gender and insurance?

I know guys pay more for car insurance, but on average how much more a year? and according to this... http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/did-you-know-women-pay-more-for-health-insurance-302611/ women pay more for health insurance?...but does anyone know why or how much more?""

What's the average price of a Doctor's visit without health insurance?

My eyes are yellow.

How much is insurance on a Kawasaki Ninja R6 with 636cc displacement?

Im wanting to buy this bike, but all the insurance companies I have found are outrageous. Do you know of any that offer cheap insurance?""

How much would insurance cost me on this car?

im 22 heres the link thanks http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280280977518&_trksid=p2759.l1259

What is the cheapest car insurance and what company for a 17 year old?

also can i use a motorbikes 1 year no claims for my cars insurance thanks

The average price of the Mazda RX8 insurance?

Ive been searching for cars, and Ive picked out the mazda rx8, it will be wrecked and im gonna fix it. Im 16 and I was wondering what the average price of insurance would be with AAA car insurance.""

How much is the average costs for running a 125cc motorbike/Moped?

How good is the Cover Kids insurance in Tennessee?

I'm moving from California to Tennessee so we can afford to live on our own but their dad doesn't provide insurance and I'm thinking about running a daycare so I would have to buy insurance for them. I just want to make sure that Cover Kids is good insurance with good doctors, etc.""

Car insurance changes?

hi i have had my insurance since august and i have decided to buy another car and change it over, but as the insurance may be cheaper elsewhere than staying with my current insurer, if i cancel am i liable to incur costs? if they quote me more than another insurance company obviously i will go with the cheaper. i pay monthly not in whole.""

Cheap car insurance for 18 year old female in uk?

Please suggest companies that you have used or know off that are cheap for this age group. The cheapest quote I've found so far was approx. 1780 but I need it to be cheaper. You help will honestly be appreciated

Car insurance question?

My car insurance is under my brother's name, but it is my car. If someone hit my car, would I be able to handle everything myself? My brother is out of town for a week. Or should I wait for him? Thanks.""

How do I get my insurance website to bring up quotes?

I want to start an online insurance company but would like to know how I go about getting the website to bring up quotes like with other insurance companies. How do I go about doing this I'm very serious about it so would like serious answers please thank you.

""New driver, teen car insurance?""

does anyone know about how much the average teen's car insurance is? im 17 and looking for a car, i have $1750 in my bank account... about how much would car insurance cost me? and how much do i have to pay upfront? i know its sometimes cheaper if you have good grades, and i have straight a's. can anyone help me? thanks!""

Car inspection for insurance?

So I hit my friends car and he told me to tell the insurance company someone hit me in a parking lot. If I do that and the insurance company inspects it, will they be able to tell that I hit someone instead of someone hitting me?""

Could affordable government health insurance help stimulate the economy?

Services like water treatment, police, fire departments, and schools are supported by taxpayers dollars because it saves money in the private sector in the long run. Affordable government health insurance may also saves families thousands in expenses each year, giving them more money to spend in the general economy. Would this not be a way to help stimulate the economy?""

Motorbike Insurance/Tax/SORN/MOT need help!?

Hi, I recently bought my first motorbike a few month in advance of my 17th birthday, with the intention to ride it once im 17. When i got the bike, it had no MOT or road tax and it was registered as SORN (meaning it was registered as being off the road). So i filled in the registration document, rang up the DVLA and re-registered the vehicle as SORN again. The thing i would like to know is, when it comes to the time of my 17th birthday, in what order do i get each of the things, for example, would i get the MOT before the roadtax and if so how would i get my bike to the MOT centre without having roadtax, and would i still be able to get insured on an untaxed bike with no MOT? So basicly, what order do i get the insurance, MOT and roadtax in? Sorry i hope this made sense i have tried to describe it in the best way possible, thanks for any help.""

California insurance testing help!!! Please! ?

I've been studying for the California life health and accident license and I haven't been able to pass. I'm rescheduling and I wanted to know where I could find more information or ways to study. Where can I find tests similar to the actual one and so forth. Please this means alot and hopefully I can finally pass.

Ticket for no insurance while riding my motorcycle in california?

I got pulled over for speeding. i have no insurance but i have my motorcycle permit and my driving license. when he pulled me over he asked for my license and of course, i didnt have it. it was in my jacket and i didnt wear it. i had my permit for my bike though. gave him that and my registration. he asked for my insurance, and i knew i didnt have it. but i looked through my backpack and under the rear seat. so when he gave me the ticket he said that the no insurance and license was just a fix it ticket and to take it into the court and show them and they will sign it of and the other is speeding. when i looked at the ticket when i got home, in the part where they rite down if it can be corrected or not the license says yes and the insurance says no. my question is, if i buy insurance now and go in and show them that with the license will they sign it off. or what will they do if i dont have insurance? also the reason i dont have insurance is i dont have the funds to buy it. i just want an answer to my question please not a lecture. thank you""

Is it possible to fake an Auto Insurance Quote survey...?

I do surveys online for things and there are some that give a lot of credit but they are usually like auto insurance quote ones and health insurance quotes so im wondering if i can fake that i dont want to put any of my info what im really looking for is like a list of working SSN and junk like that.

Are there any cheap car insurers for older cars?

I am a 38 yr old woman who has held a license for 20 yrs but has not driven for about 10 yrs. Therefor i have no NCB (No claims bonus) which i can use as it needs to be current or expired for no more than 2 yrs. I have bought a very cheap car for about 300.00 and have looked at insurance but the cheapest so far is around 600.00 which i simply cannot afford. If i could afford to pay that amount i would have obviously bought a car that was worth much more but unfortunately at the moment a cheap car is all we can get. We have been desperate to get a car as i am in a new relationship and my partner has a 13 yr old son who we want to take to lots of lovely places over the summer holidays for some fun. It seems that we will not be able to do it as the insurers are penalising me and im sure lots of other drivers who are sensible drivers but have just not driven in a while for many different reasons - I think this is very wrong! I cant feasibly pay 600.00 for a car that isnt even worth quite half of that - its lydicrous!! Please can someone help me by pointing me in the direction of a cheap insurer who is prepared to insure for the minimum amount. I have read about pay as you go car insurance but dont really know if it is a good option although we ont be doing many miles so i dont know. If anyone has used pay as u go car insurance could u tell me if it is any good please. I hope anybody reading this can help me with the cheapest insurance possible as i am totally deflated at the moment as it has taken us ages to save up enough for the car and tax and what we thought the insurance would be ( we saved another 300.00 for insurance as i thought it would be as much as the car roughly). Thankyou ever so much. Jane.

Why does car insurance cost more in one state but is cheaper in another?

How much should I expect to pay per month for auto insurance?

21 year old male with a new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have been involved in one minor accident (my fault) and have one traffic ticket.

Which is the best car insurance? Are there secrets your car insurer won't tell you?

Automobile insurance coverage options can be confusing and their prices vary from company to company...( Geico,Allstate,AIG Progressive and many more)""

Where do i find affordable health insurance for my dog?

I need health care insurance for my American Bull Dog

Co-Buyer of car. Insurance liability?

Hello all, I was not very clever and bought a car with my ex GF. She had bad credit so I helped her out. I am not worried about the loan payment. I check with lender occasionally and will pay it if needed. Per Toyota she is listed as buyer and I am listed as co-buyer. I got a registration renewal notice in the mail addressed to her or me Like I said I am not worried about the loan payment. What worries me is this: Can I be held responsible if she has an accident? The car was added to her mothers insurance policy by the car dealer the day we bought. Apart from the loan payment do I have any other liability? Thanks for your advice.""

How much will my auto insurance go up for speeding?

i live in iowa. im 20. i have had my licence for 4 years. i have geico insurance just the state minimum. this is my first violation. i was going 41 in a 30. how much will my auto insurance go up? right now im paying about 40 a month

""Car Insurance, i passed my Drving test yesterday,Insurance Premiums?""

I live in Manchester(longsight), passed test yesterday, age:17...,can anyone plz tell me that how much will be the insurance premium for me(new driver), i asked from some of the insurers and most of them told that my insurance premium will be at least 2000. is it? Can any one tell me about some cheap insurance company who's price is 1000 or near about. Thanks.""

What kind of car insurance do I need?

All I want is liability, but what does the state of California require as their bare minimum? Do I need uninsured motorist bodily injury limits and property damage limit? I drive a 1993 Jeep Cherokee.""

I want my own car but my parents wont pay for insurance?

They say that they can't afford it but I know they can. They just don't want to pay for something that they think isn't necessary. Since they won't pay for insurance, I can't drive anyone's car. Not their cars, not a friend's car. So, my license will basically be useless. So I had this idea. After I get my license I'll buy a cheap car on Craigslist. I'll get a friend to drive it home for me. I'll threaten to drive uninsured, and if that won't make em pay for insurance, I'll actually go drive uninsured. Then they'll HAVE to buy insurance. Will that work?""

Can you report someone for driving without car insurance?

i know this person and i was just wondering if you could turn them in for not having car insurance without them knowing who turned them in. I want to prevent someone from getting hurt and not getting there part of the insurance claim or whatever.....anything will help..THANKS!!!!

Why do they ask your occupation when appliying for insurance?

Does it really matter? Or is it for marketing purposes?

What's the insurance estimate for a 2003 Toyota Celica?

I am turned 17 recently and I want to buy a Toyota Celica because I think its cool. i understand that if I want to know the insurance I just get a quote but that takes long. And if someone has other suggestions for a cool list of cars for teen drivers please help.

How much is the average costs for running a 125cc motorbike/Moped?

Sisters friend took car and crashed will my insurance cover?

She took the car without permission I know alot of people say that but this is really true.She crashed and didn't have a license or insurance. She was not at fault since the other person was driving with headlights off at night and no one was hur however both cars are wrecked. Will my insurance cover I only have liability.

Does anybody no any cheap car insurance company for young male drivers plz help in Ireland thank you?

""If you have insurance and someone else in your house gets a drivers license, does it make your rates go up?""

This makes no sense to me, but my boyfriend and I are getting our licenses and since we're 19 and have no driving record, our rates are going to be very high, so we were just going to put the car and the insurance in his moms name and just pay her, but she said that when we get our licenses at her address, it will make her rates go up automatically, because there are other people in the house with a drivers license? Is she just BSing me or is this true??""

WHAT LIFE INSURANCE IS BETTER?

Should my husband get whole or term life insurance?

Can I let somone drive my car who doesn't have insurance? [Ontario]?

So the law says you can let somone drive your car if they have a license. If they get into an accident the charges are on my insurance. Make sure that if you are loaning your car to someone else that you first verify their license or you may be without a car for 7 days while it is in impound. Ref: http://find-a-driving-school.ca/10-ontar But law also states that if you are driving you must have insurance ... right? So for example... can I let my bro drive my car even though he has his G2 and is not insured. What are the consequences? Thanks!

When I turn 25 does my car insurance automatically go down or do I have to notify them? (AAA car insurance)?

I heard when you turn 25 the car insurance rates go down a lot, but is it automatic or do I have to tell them?""

How can i find the lowest car insurance rate for my car?

How can i find the lowest car rate for my car All the insurance companies advertise they have the lowest

How does a first time car buyer get insurance?

I'm thinking about getting a car, used most likely. The question is how do I go about getting car insurance, I'm a first time car buyer btw? Do I need it before I buy the car? Am I able to buy it with the car? How would I go about getting car insurance? Thanks""

Hardtop convertible increase my car insurance?

I know your car insurance increase with a convertible, but will it also increase as much with a hardtop convertible? I was thinking of getting the VW Eos, does anyone have one? Is it a good car? The other car I have been looking at is the Ford Edge but everyone tells me Ford vehicles don't whole their value? What you think I should get?""

Who has the Cheapest libility Car Insurance in Chicago?

I want some libility Insurance under $50.dollars, not over $49dollars.""

Use my insurance to pay for high repair costs?

My vehicle was vandalized and due to that I have Many scratches and dents to the sides of the car. My insurance estimate 2100$ worth of repairs in which I pay 300$. Initially the representative told me that my insurance would not go up monthly because I don't have a.bad history of claims n the incident was not my fault. But that was before they appraised the car so now they would have to give me 1800$ and im.not sure whether I should go through the insurance or not I don't want to affect my monthly payments. Any suggestions?

How can i get cheaper car insurance?

I have 2 years no claims bonus and im 19 and only drive a little 1.4 honda civic, but my insurance premium this year is apparantly going to be 900 (cheapest quote) is there any way of lowering this utterly rediculous price? I thought that after a couple of years driving the price was supposed to go down significantly well this is not the case.""

Whats minimum car insurance cover allowed for producing at police station in UK?

Got stopped by the police today for having no car insurance due to my insurance company cancelling my cover without even notifying me. I've got to produce a cover note to the police station stating my car is now insured. As the car has been impounded and I will be not paying for it to be released, what is the minimum cover period that the police will accept to I can pay my fine as I have to produce my Drivers Licence, Tax and Insurance Cover notes. For example, 1 day, 7 day or 28 days insurance etc.""

How much does car insurance cost.?

I am 18 and ready to get my drivers license but how much does car insurance cost per month on average.?

How much will my insurance premium go down by?

After a years no claims? I'm currently paying 1700 (140 a month) for a 1.2 corsa. Not happy but still. I'm 19 and had my license since June 2008. Had insurance before but never got to the full year as my car broke down so I got rid. I know it's hard to give an exact amount but how much on average?

How much will car insurance be for a sixteen year old girl who lives in California?

My parents don't have the money (plus they don't want to) to pay for my insurance, so even though i'm turning seventeen this year, I still don't have my license. I'm trying to get a job, though, and was wondering if anyone could give me a ballpark for how much it'll cost a year...I get good grades, I know some places will give you discounts if you have good grades...so yeah. :)""

Will private insurance companies still exist after Obama care is implemented?

will govt be the health insurer once Obama care is implemented

Car insurance on your parents policy?

my family currently has 4 cars on Geico insurance. Im 16 years old and when i got my license, the cost of our insurace rose to $1200 more a year. Now, im looking to buy my own car but my dad claims buying another car will raise it to $1800. Can someone explain this to me please? Does your insurance raise everytime you buy a new car? And is the fact that we have 4 cars making my share of the insurance cost more?""

Who pays the car insurance?

The registered owner or the title owner me??

Ultrasound price WITHOUT insurance?

Just wondering what the price would be. and do they charge for pictures for you to take home?

Car wreck....Why is his insurance calling me? Can someone please clear this up?

So Friday morning, my fiance' and I were headed to New Jersey to visit his family for Christmas. On the way there, I was driving his truck so he could sleep a little before we switched places. Early morning when we were in Virginia, I pulled off the highway to go to a McDonalds to get some coffee. When I pulled off, it was a weird exit and I had no clue where I was going. I stopped at a red light, which had another light very close behind it which turned green, my idiot self was looking at that light for some reason while our light was still red...I hit the gas and then slammed on my breaks realizing what I was doing but it was too late and I hit a guy on the side of the door. It wasn't a big wreck. The guy didn't fly across the intersection. He didn't even move, his door was just dented and it will definitely need to be replaced but the man said he was not hurt at all. The truck we were driving in barely had damage, just a little dent in the hood that was very small to the eye and a bent license plate. We were in much better shape; but again, he was not in pain and his door was the only thing that seemed to be damaged. ANYWAYS, I received a traffic ticket for failing to obey a traffic light which I totally accept because this was extremely stupid of me and I am planning on mailing the fine to the court. So since I was driving my fiance's car, which is under his parents insurance, I assume my insurance is not affected. The trooper just told us that the other guy's insurance will contact my fiance's insurance. So I am thinking all I have to do is just pay this awful fine. Well my fiance' called me this morning and said that Statefarm (the other guy's insurance) called him asking for my number. Why would the other guy's insurance need to contact me if my fiance's parent's insurance are the ones who insure the truck? I just want to know what's to come when they call me. I don't know much of anything about insurance. I just want to know why the other guy's insurance would contact me when, yes, I caused the accident but my fiance's father is the insurance holder of the car that was wrecked. Thanks!""

HOW MUCH WILL MY CAR INSURANCE BE?

I am a male 17 years old G2 license car: toyota camry 1999 never had an accident part time driver i went to drivers school and obtained my certificate.

Will my insurance cover someone else's car that has no collision insurance?

Will my collision insurance cover someone else's car that has no collision insurance when I get into an accident while driving that car?

""Can you suggest a good,affordable health insurance plan?""

I am an adjunct instructor at two colleges in Michigan. Neither institution offers health insurance for adjunct instructors. For the last three years I have been getting health Insurance through a postdoctoral fellowship. Now this fellowship has come to an end, and I am in desperate straits. I have heart problems and I need specials medicationss for depression and attention deficit disorder.What do I do?""

ChEaPeSt CaR iNsUrAnCe? (UK)?

WHAT IS THE CHEAPEST CAR INSURANCE THAT YOU KNOW OF. WEBSITE PLEASE. THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

How much is the average costs for running a 125cc motorbike/Moped?

Child custody in california?

my husband wants me to have full custody of child but is it possible for him to have visitation rights for child in summers? and the non-custodial parent doenst want to pay any child support? is this allowed in california?

A question on car insurance?

It is the first time we r thinking of a car. Can someone please tell what are the steps to get a insurance? It is a used car that we wish to buy from a friend. so, next what do we do?""

How old do you have to be to buy insurance?

how old do you have to be to buy Business insurance?

Can i get insurance just to do a title transfer??

i just sold my truck which i took the insurance like 4 months ago since i didnt drive it, and to get the title signed and notarized so i can sell it i have to have insurance. can i get like temporary insurance just to do that? how much is it?? thanks!""

How much will my car insurance cost?

I'm a 16 year old female in Connecticut with a GPA over 3.5 and only a's and b's. I also took the drivers ed course and I will be driving a 2008 jeep grand Cherokee.

""I'm looking for a good, affordable car, can you help me?""

I'm 16 years old, soon to be 17 and I'm looking for a car. I don't have a ton of money to spend on a car so I'm also looking for something cheap. I like the 2004 Chevy Malibu a lot however I want something that is automatic. I guess now I'm looking for something similar to the malibu just automatic. I'm planning on making a $2000-2500 down payment on the car so like I said, I need something that's not to expensive. I'd like a car that's the same size as the malibu and possibly a car that somewhat resembles the malibu as well. Anyone with any suggestions, comments, or whatever, I'd greatly appreciate your help here. Thanks in advance.""

How much will my insurance cost?

how much will insurance cost if i'm 17 a girl and driving a 2002 mustang?

Whole Life vs. Term Insurance?

People always ask about whole life vs. Term Insurance and the insurance salespeople always defend Whole life and trash Suze Orman (not a fan of her anyway)... But they fail to prove the point with real hard numbers. Show me how Whole Life beats Term with the additional premium saved being invested in a Total Stock market index fund or other no load investment at a Vanguard or other low cost provider.

What is public liability insurance? where can i get one?

im applying for business permit and one of the requirement is public liability insurance.

Insurance for newborn?

I am on my stepfather's insurance through bluecross/blueshield. I am about to have a baby and she can't be covered on this insurance. would i have to lose my insurance and get medicaid and us be on it together or can i just get medicaid for her and keep my insurance? and what if it isn't all resolved when she is born, will she be able to see a doctor?""

How does it cost for insurance on a sports car?

""Cheap sports car, and to insure and run ?""

does anyone know a sports car in the uk thats cheap, maximum 1000 pounds, cheap to insure and fuel consumption is good ? thanks""

Penalty for driving with no insurance or registration in california?

Got pulled over, had expired tags and no insurance. Officer didnt tow my car. Just gave me a ticket for both and sent me on my way. How much am i looking at?""

Insurance for honda civic?

Does anyone no how much insurance is for a Honda civic, I am 17. Do i have any hope of getting any?""

Around how much does insurance cost for a sports car?

Hello I am looking to buy a 2007 mustang but my dad is telling me it's a bad idea because insurance is going to be too high. The mustang I'm looking at costs 9,989 and I plan to leave a 1000$ down payment and just pay monthly. I need a new car because I have been driving my 2000 Jetta 5 years and every year it has broken down on me at least 3 times! And last Friday I'm hoping it broke down on me for the last time. I need a new car. I only pay 35 for insurance right now I only have liability and I understand that since I am not paying for the mustang up front I'm defiantly going to need full coverage. Im 22 years old and i finally got promoted at work So I want to get something nice for myself. I still cannot afford a brand new car so I am looking to get a decent used car. I fell in love with this mustang & it's not that I can't afford the insurance (I don't even know how much it cost?) but my dad says I should save money and not get a sports car. I'm just not sure how to go about buying a car. My dad pretty much isn't helping me since I'm really interested in this one so I'm alone on this process. can someone please help me out ?""

What is the Cheapest Insurance?

Hi. My dad has been having AAA as his insurance for $82, compared to our other family members insurance, that is pretty over priced. Isn't the insurance price supposed to go down if you didn't violate anything over the year? And also, i am 16, and have my license, i basically have my dad's old car so he needs to get me into his insurance. What is the best insurance for me and him together? I know Im a minor and the insurance is going to go up but what is the cheapest insurance or best insurance for both of us? My dad wants to switch if ever we find a good deal?""

""What is the cheapest insurance for an 18 yr old college student, who lives away from home?""

What is the cheapest insurance for an 18 yr old college student, who lives away from home?""

Why should I have to pay for your health insurance?

An answerer on another question said, Do you have insurance? What of those who cannot afford it (my sister comes to mind, and she has a husband and two sons under age 18 years who are also not covered)? Medical care is extremely expensive and necessary. I'd much rather my tax dollars go toward a means of making insurance affordable to everyone than to fund an immoral war. Oh, and my sister and her husband have always worked very hard. Neither are fat, lazy bums who sit around all the time. Heck, my sister would love to have 10 minutes to herself, but can't take the time. * 20 minutes ago These people made a choice to have two children they cannot afford to insure. They had a responsibility to seek employment where they would have health insurance coverage for themselves and their two children. Or obtain insurance on their own. If they are healthy, it can be gotten at a rate comparable to what I pay through my work. I work two jobs. Both of my jobs, even the part-time job, offer me health insurance, so jobs with health benefits are not so hard to find. Why should I be made to pay for other people's poor choices? I have wants and needs, too, and it's MY money.""

Can anyone give me an estimate on how much insurance would be on this car for an 18 year old?

http://www.arnoldclark.com/detail.html?ac_reg=cc_z7zzceuy0c1uz99c&$ac_branch=&$ac_min=&$ac_variant=&$ac_trans=&$ac_type=&$ac_model=Z4&$ac_body=Convertible&$ac_doors=&$ac_max=&$ac_year=&$ac_cc=&$ac_fuel=&$ac_color=&$ac_miles=&$get_results=View%201%20Cars&$ac_make=BMW&$ac_sr=0&$ac_pp=10 I'm 18, and am considering buying this car. I'm not naive, I am aware the insurance will be very high as I'm a teenager and it's a sports car, but is there anyone here who works in the car insurance industry who can give me an estimate on how much insurance would cost me a year?""

Best auto insurance company for young adults?

So after working hard in college and multiple internships, I am going to graduate college in three years and best of all, managed to score an incredible job with Boeing aerospace division in this toilet of an economy. I even managed to use most of my savings to buy an apartment. However, after all this, I realized I was missing a crucial thing. A car(i live far from work). I only drove in my highschool years, so I am completely oblivious when it comes to insurance rates and what not. So my questions are as follow: 1.Is it better to have an older car or newer car as far as premium amounts go? I used to fix cars with another mechanic, so im not worried about an older car breaking down. 2. I am 20 years old, in your experience, what company is the best for young adults? I have no criminal records and no accidents from my highschool years. 3. How much insurance should I buy? In other words, should i just buy coverage for the other person if i hit someone, or should I buy coverage for my own car as well? 4. Just generally, in what range should I expect to pay? Just curious, I have to get it whether I like it or not. 5. Finally, any good tips on bartering with the insurance company to get a lower premium? You dont have to answer all the questions, feel free to just answer one, any help is appreciated!""

What is a fast car that is in a relativley low insurance group?

Hi i'm looking for a car which is fast but not that high in insurance i have 4 year NCB but i'm only 23 and have already got 2 smashes under the belt and a speeding ticket i'm currently looking at a ford cougar 2.5 which is group 14 insurance but i have own one of these before but was just wondering if there is a faster car then this that is lower then group 15 insurance i live in the uk can anyone help.

Will insurance premiums rise?

Will insurance premiums rise if you get caught breaking the law and loose demerits while the insurance is expired?

Some Health Insurance Companies Offering Decent and Cheap Plans for International Students in the US?

I will be studying my Master in the Boston area, this September. The grad-school health insurance is a little too expensive to me. What would be some companies offering decent and affordable health insurance plans?""

Is Kaiser HMO a good health insurance plan to buy?

Here's the thing. My current doctor told me that he's leaving and he's going to Kaiser. I don't want to lose him so I my only way would be to purchase Kaiser. So if I already know the doctor I want, does that make Kaiser okay? What are the benefits and drawbacks of Kaiser Health?""

My medicaid that i used for my pregnancy had expired...? here in texas?

back in august of 2011 & i no longer have insurance. what do i do now? i called my health plan & they said i gotta apply again but i don't know where i can get the application. i really need insurance cause i got upcoming appointments for me & if i don't have insurance, i'm not gonna be able to afford the expenses. anyone know where i can get the application for medicaid here in texas?""

How much is the average costs for running a 125cc motorbike/Moped?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/access-car-insurance-quote-laura-richmond/"

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simonconsultancypage · 7 years ago

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Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit

The news late last week that London’s transport authority had stripped ride-hailing firm Uber of its ride-hire license on the grounds that it was “unfit to operate” in the U.K. capital was merely the latest blow to the company, following a string of scandals, probes, and damaging revelations. Now the company – which, despite its enormous size, is still a privately held firm — has been hit with a federal court securities class action lawsuit, the most recent instance where one of the high-flying “unicorn” companies has been hit with a securities fraud lawsuit after a decline in fortune. The new lawsuit has a number of interesting features, discussed below.

As noted in Greg Bensinger’s September 26, 2017 Wall Street Journal article (here), on September 26, 2017 an Uber investor filed class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California against Uber and its former CEO, Travis Kalanick. The complaint, which was filed on behalf of the Irving, Texas firefighters’ retirement fund, purports to be filed on behalf of a class of investors who purchased an interest in Uber securities between June 6, 2014 and September 22, 2017. (The class period ending date coincides with the date on which the news about that the London transport authority had revoked the firm’s license.)

The complaint, a copy of which can be found here, contains a detailed description of Uber’s rapid and dramatic growth and of the company’s more recent reverses. The company alleges that beginning in 2014 the defendants conducted a “mass media campaign designed to induce investors to invest billions of dollars in the company.” The campaign included statements about the benefits to consumers from the company’s business model’s disruptive impact. The complaint also refers to Kalanick’s statements as a part of the campaign about the company’s “values” and “principles.”

The campaign, the complaint alleges, was “a resounding success,” as, by 2016 directly or through investment vehicles raised more than $10 billion from investors and by mid-2016, the company had reached a valuation of over $70 billion, a level greater than some of the country’s most venerable industrial firms. However, the complaint alleges, the defendants failed to disclose that the company’s rapid growth and its skyrocketing valuation were inflated by illicit conduct and that the company’s business prospects were subject to numerous undisclosed legal, reputational, and operational risks.

In 2017, the complaint alleges, “defendants’ story began to unravel.” In a short span, “a shocking litany of corporate misconduct came to the fore” and investors “learned startling truths about the willingness of C-Suite executives to flout local, national, and international law, stifle competition, misappropriate trade secrets, and seek vengeance against detractors.”

The complaint lists what it calls “just some the Company scandals, including: news that the FBI is investigating the company’s use of the “Hell” software app to monitor drivers who worked for both Uber and Lyft; inquiries concerning a covert program called “Grayball” that allowed the company to mislead regulators and evade detection in jurisdictions in which it was operating illegally or had faced opposition; news that the company had schemed to steal self-driving car technology from Waymo; disclosure that the company is under investigation for possible Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations; revelations of allegedly rampant gender discrimination and sexual harassment. The complaint alleges further that as a result of these scandals Kalanick was forced to resign, as were as many as 14 other executives.

These revelations, the complaint alleges, caused the valuation of the company’s securities to “plummet.” The complaint alleges that investors have been forced to mark their securities down as much as 15%, which translates to as much as $10 billion in 2017 alone. Many of these write-downs took place before even more recent revelations which allegedly caused valuations to decline further, allegedly bring cumulative valuation declines to as much as $18 billion.

The complaint alleges that the defendants’ false and misleading statements about the company violated California Corporations Code Sections 24500(d) and the complaint seeks the recovery of damages pursuant to California Corporations Code Section 25500.

There are a number of interesting things about this securities class action lawsuit, the most important of which to me is that it has been brought against not a publicly traded company whose share are traded on a public securities exchange, but rather against a privately held company whose shares were purchased in a series of private placement transactions. A lawsuit of this kind against a private company is not entirely unprecedented; as discussed here, in late 2016, investors filed a securities fraud lawsuit against the blood testing firm Theranos and certain of its executives. So investors filing a securities fraud lawsuit against a private company is not unprecedented, but it is still noteworthy.

It is also interesting to me that the plaintiff has chosen to file its claim exclusively under the California state securities laws, rather than under the federal securities laws. I suspect that the tactical decision to file state law claims only was an effort to avoid hurdles or obstacles the plaintiffs’ lawyers anticipated that a claim under the federal securities laws might face. (I encourage readers to contact me to suggest what some of those hurdles or barriers might be.)

The plaintiffs will face other obstacles. Showing how investors were misled presents some interesting challenges. As a private company, Uber made relatively few disclosures as a company, and those were within the controlled environment of the private placement offerings. The complaint attempts to supplement these offering disclosure with various public statements the company and Kalanick made. The plaintiffs will not only need to show that the defendants made misleading statements but also that the plaintiffs relied on the statement. (The defendants will argue that because Uber’s shares do not trade on an efficient market, the plaintiffs cannot rely on the fraud on the market theory.)

The plaintiffs will face another challenge owing to the fact that the company’s shares were not publicly traded. The plaintiffs will have to establish that the misrepresentations inflated the company’s share price and that the revelations of the truth caused the company’s share price to decline. The magnitude of the inflation represents one challenge, and the causation of the loss will present another challenge. Without a daily share price to use as a measurement, plaintiffs will face difficulties showing that specific disclosure caused specific loss in an identifiable amount.

It is of course not news that a private company has been sued by investors on the basis of alleged misrepresentations. It is not even news that a private company has been sued for securities fraud. What is news is that the lawsuit was filed in the form of a securities class action. Given the magnitude of Uber’s valuation prior to the alleged valuation decline, the range of potential damages also is noteworthy, again given that Uber is a privately held company.

As I noted at the time of the Thernos lawsuit, the advent of securities class action litigation against private companies, particularly litigation that potentially involves the magnitude of losses allegedly involved here, represents a significant new development for the D&O insurance industry. The industry has tended to view private company liability exposures and public company liability exposures as two distinct and separate classes. However, this new lawsuit and in particular the potential magnitude of the damages have attributes that more typically would have characterized the public company risk class and not the private company risk class. Clearly, with the arrival of these kinds of lawsuits, the perceived division between these two risk classes may be breaking down. Indeed, with the recent rise of private companies with valuations in excess of $1 billion, the perceived distinction between the two classes already was becoming blurred.

The challenge for the industry is that because of the past categorical distinction between the two risk classes, the industry offered two distinct types of policies, one for privately held companies and one for publicly traded companies. There are numerous distinctions between the two types of policies but among the most salient derived from the perception that publicly traded companies had liabilities under the securities laws, while private companies do not. The lawsuit filed against Uber, and the earlier lawsuit against Theranos, highlights the fact that private companies can face liability under the securities laws.

The possibility of this kind of private company lawsuit has numerous implications, including among things, for the amount of insurance that a private company might seek to buy. Private companies with these enormous valuations already should have been thinking about increased limits, but the possibility of securities class action litigation underscores the need for these kinds of companies to reconsider the amount of insurance that they buy.

In any event, it will be interesting to see how this latest lawsuit progresses. As a more general matter, it will be interesting to see if others of the so-called unicorn companies face significant setbacks if more of these private company securities lawsuits follow.

The post Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit appeared first on The D&O Diary.

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golicit · 7 years ago

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Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit

The post Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit appeared first on The D&O Diary.

Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit published first on

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blueorpinkuk · 1 month ago

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youtube

#6 Weeks Gender Blood Test London #Early Gender DNA Test London #Baby Gender Blood Test London #Early Gender Blood Test London #Early Gender Detection test London #6 Weeks Gender Blood Test UK #Early Gender Detection test UK #Baby Gender Blood Test UK #Early Gender Blood Test UK #Early Gender DNA Test UK #Youtube

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lawfultruth · 7 years ago

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Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit

The post Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit appeared first on The D&O Diary.

Though a Private Company, Uber Hit With Securities Class Action Lawsuit syndicated from http://ift.tt/2qyreAv

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salemspoint-blog · 8 years ago

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❝ I’m sorry to tell you this but you failed the test, you’re not a psychopath after all. ❞

» Catherine Black » Thirty-six (655) » Vampire » History Professor at the University » Kelly Reilly

Physical Appearance —

Catherine’s style is both timeless and eye catching, she’s never without her sky high Louboutins and trademark pencil skirts and blouses. When she does don pants they’re skin tight and pressed, she knows she’s got a body some would kill for and isn’t afraid to show it off. She’s always put together even if it means making others fashionably late.

She moves as if she’s floating and acts as if she’s better than everyone else in the room, head held back high and barely giving those she doesn’t seem worthy the time of day. She’s soft spoken but careful with her words and uses her melodic tones to sooth others into a false sense of security before taking advantage of their trusting natures.

Personality Traits —

♦ Loyal, witty and perceptive ♢ Stuck up, stubborn and an asshole

Biography —

THEN:

Catherine Black was born in 1383 in England during a time that could today be commonly referred to as a disastrous period in English history, which it was. Rebellion in Wales, Scottish monarchies and the War of Independence for Scotland were only some of the highlights of the last quarter of the 13th century. The Black Death was another thing sitting upon young Pamela’s head throughout her growing years, claiming two of her siblings and her mother when she was very young.

But as difficult as things were back then, the period between the Black Death of 1348 and 1485 was, among other things, a golden age for women. War and depopulation allowed them to contribute much more effectively and influentially to society. After being married off to a young man, Damian “Ian” Hamilton, Catherine became a governess at 15 for a wealthy family in London and it was while under their care that she encountered the man who would later become her Vampiric Sire although she didn’t know this at the time.

Catherine loved her job, she enjoyed learning and passing along that wealth of knowledge onto the children under her charge and more than anything, she loved Caroline. An incredibly improper thing for a lady of not only her time but of her gender, from the first few weeks in her care, Catherine seemed to calm the vivacious Caroline with a tenderness that none had shown the girl previously. Despite being 6 years her senior, the two got along as thick as thieves and Pamela did her best to coach the younger girl on how to behave like a proper lady which is what her parents wanted for her.

She was employed with the family for 6 years until Caroline’s 10th birthday, upon which her family had decided that they no longer needed a governess. She had been planning on leaving the family to start her own two years prior, but at Caroline’s insistence remained. Catherine hated to leave the girl behind but promised to keep in touch and have her and her future husband for dinner as much as she could after Caroline was wed. Catherine gave birth to her first daughter at 23 and a son the following year. Her employment with the wealthy family afforded Catherine places in society she had only heard about in whispers and as time wore on she couldn’t imagine going back, it was only nature she got swept up in it.

Caroline remained a constant in Catherine’s life as she grew, often sneaking away from her family or her fiance to spend the afternoon walking the gardens with Pamela or making love in the lake near Pamela’s home and Pamela did her best to keep her two lives separate although they had one or two very close encounters over the years. She knew it was morally and spiritually wrong to be with the girl, felt it in her bones every time they were together but when Caroline was with her it didn’t feel wrong. Catherine always felt right when she was around.

At a time where living to 30 was practically unheard of, somehow Catherine Hamilton had made it. However the joy behind it was short lived when a tall, handsome Lord friend of the family attended her celebration and drugged her drink with pure Absinthe, which caused the woman to hallucinate and pass out in a lone corner of her garden. He drained Catherine of the blood in her body and exchanged it with his own, leaving her dead in marriage bed and retrieving her body the morning after her burial.

Catherine struggled greatly at first with the change, having spent so long teaching and loving people that she couldn’t bare to kill them so senselessly. But eventually with time, like many great changes throughout the ages, it became a part of her. Although she had been forbidden to reclaim her former life by her Sire, it didn’t stop her from trying to keep an eye on those who had meant the most to her in life from a distance, she wasn’t just going to abandon them in death too.

Caroline died not a few years later in childbirth and it took all of her restraint, and that of her Sire, Charles, to keep her from saving the girl and adopting the child as her own. It would have been the least she could do for someone who had meant so much to her.. But she couldn’t.

Eventually as the years rolled on, Catherine went back to her maiden name and left for France, where she spent many years learning the culture, the language and more importantly the men and women. When she returned to England, a sordid tale of debauchery followed but Catherine tried to pay it no mind. She remained in England for centuries, constantly reinventing herself as a relative of her former self, settling herself at the height of society and wealth as she went: hosting balls and dinners, parties and far far more.

Catherine’s station within the English court during the reign of Henry the VIII remain some of the most cherished times in her life even though they ended far bloodier than they had begun. Catherine’s sire Charles was highly influential with Henry’s council and helped them eventually charge Queen Anne with treason and witchcraft, due to Catherine’s refusal to assist Charles in helping return Catherine of Aragon to the throne.

Her sire had also wasted no time in trying to frame her as an accomplice in the wrongdoings against the crown, something Catherine would never have done. A royalist to the bone, she did her best to convince Henry and fix things but failed. Not being able to stop Anne and George’s execution haunts her. She had to go on the run for a time after that, her good name sullied for many years and despite being stronger and older than they were, it got to her, and it continued to both her for many years.

Her friends were endless, her lovers timeless and connections vast. She commanded the room when she entered it, all eyes and hearts on her wherever she went. Catherine herself even served as an inspiration for Jane Austin’s character of Caroline Bingley, her home as a setting for the Bingley household in Austin’s novel Pride and Prejudice, a feat which tickles her to no end, even today. She loves the character, defends her tirelessly, and a personally signed copy of the finished piece sits tucked away in her home library for all time. A beautiful memory of a past life. She was Caroline Bingley for many years of her life, and she’ll never be ashamed of that no matter how many people loathe the fictional woman.

Victorian London remains her favorite point in her life, so many new inventions and turning points that were bound to be burned into her skin forever: Catherine met John, a doctor in the army who would go on to conspire with her to kill her Sire and free herself of him forever. They would later marry. She made her first vampire, Esme, a beautiful young girl she had taken under her wing to bring into society and whom Catherine became completely enchanted by. She and John would respectively go on to be the inspirations for Arthur Conan Doyle’s John and Mary Watson, a character also very dear to her heart. They soon began a whirlwind romance that spanned a few decades before they parted. She penned her first novel, a feat done by few women of the time, and finally, she made her first journey to America. A place that would change everything for her.

NOW:

600 plus years have passed since her life first began and more than a hundred years since arriving in America, Catherine had never been more tired. She continues to spend her days and her nights with children, now young adults of their own, teaching classes at the University. During her years she also became both a doctor and a nurse and continued to write Gothic romance novels under her first married name. More than anything she spent her days and her nights curled around her little vampire who had recently returned to her after decades away.

Catherine longs to return to England, where although things have certainly changed if she chose to go home she could reclaim old estates, return to the highest of society and sleep herself into complete boredom if she opted to. But her little one loved America, and Catherine loved her little one. After so long apart she couldn’t bring herself to up and leave her behind, it was both lovely and tragic all wrapped into one. She could admit to adoring teaching to some degree, many of her students could be brilliant if they put their minds to it. Her female students showed such promise as opposed to their counterparts, how the times had changed.

Part of that role reversal was what Catherine loved about America, that women wanted more than what had been expected of them for so dreadfully long. She constantly challenged her fellow scholars, using her intimate knowledge and grace against them. It amused her to no end to see them fluster about after throwing a wrench in their discussions and texts, honestly she could do that part of it forever.

Over the years Catherine’s morals haven’t changed all that much, she was very neutral in life and has remained mostly the same in death. However as she came to advise and council others over the years she has taken on a more lawful stance on things but at the same time understands that chaos is sometimes needed for the greater outcome. She isn’t afraid to get down and dirty if she has to and even enjoys it more often than she would ever admit to. Letting her hair down is a past time she too little indulges in. Catherine favors her own and while she goes out of her way to tease and make things difficult for the new ones, she does it in hopes they learn from their mistakes. She’s of the belief that not all vampires deserve to live and that sometimes it should be okay to help end their lives if asked. Something that some of the Original’s would love, even if it’s something they can never have.

Catherine’s maternal instinct in life has left her wanting to care for the younger community in Salem in death, even though sometimes it gets in the way. Catherine likes them because they listen, they trusts easily because they’re looking for someone to care for them. Catherine is only too happy to oblige.

#catherine black #takenf #c.vampire #kelly reilly

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