Urgent Help Needed Today to Stop Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu

Your action is needed today, before 4 July, to help stop the cruel spectacle of jallikattu.

Every year in certain districts of Tamil Nadu, people chase and taunt bulls for fun in an event called "jallikattu". During jallikattu events, huge groups of men and boys throw themselves on top of bulls in an effort to "tame" the animals and win prizes.

Recent PETA investigations at five jallikattu events have documented that workers tie bulls so tightly that the animals experience severe discomfort and pain, hit the animals with their fists, twist and pull the animals' tails, jump on the animals and wrestle them to the ground. Not only is jallikattu cruel to animals, it also poses a threat to public safety. In one four-day period in January 2011, 215 people sustained injuries during jallikattu events. Of these, 154 were spectators. Two people died.

PETA India has filed a petition with the Supreme Court against the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act No 27 of 2009, a state law that permits Jallikattu, pointing out that this cruel event both violates the spirit of the national Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and causes numerous injuries and deaths every year to human participants and spectators. The case is scheduled to be heard on 4 July 2011.

The Ministry of Environment & Forests has the power to bring an end to this cruel game. Please write to the Ministry right now and ask them to support PETA's case and push for a complete ban on Jallikattu.

Peritoneal mesothelioma

Peritoneal mesothelioma is the name given to the cancer that attacks the lining of the abdomen. This type of cancer affects the lining that protects the contents of the abdomen and which also provides a lubricating fluid to enable the organs to move and work properly.

The peritoneum is made of two parts, the visceral and parietal peritoneum. The visceral peritoneum covers the internal organs and makes up most of the outer layer of the intestinal tract. Covering the abdominal cavity is the parietal peritoneum.

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and abdominal pain and swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.

[edit]Diagnosis

Peritoneal mesothelioma has two clinical types which can be differentiated with the help of CT findings, the "dry" type and the "wet". It is classified as "dry" when there are multiple tiny masses or one dominant localized mass and generally little or no ascites. The "wet" type has widespread small nodules, no dominant mass and a presence of ascites. If fluid is found, the process of eliminating it is through paracentesis; however the analysis of this fluid has limited diagnostic significance. Normally, a definitive diagnosis may be obtained through tissue biopsy.

[edit]Causes

Asbestos is a known cause of peritoneal mesothelioma in humans.

Federal student loan consolidation

In the United States the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDLP) include consolidation loans that allow students to consolidate Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans into one single debt. This results in reduced monthly repayments and a longer term for the loan. Unlike the other loans, consolidation loans have a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan.

Interest rates and payments

Consolidation loans have longer terms than other loans. Debtors can choose terms of 10–30 years. Although the monthly repayments are lower, the total amount paid over the term of the loan is higher than would be paid with other loans. The fixed interest rate is calculated as the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated, assigning relative weights according to the amounts borrowed, rounded up to the nearest 0.125%, and capped at 8.25%. Some features of the original consolidated loans, such as postgraduation grace periods and special forgiveness circumstances, are not carried over into the consolidation loan, and consolidation loans are not universally suitable for all debtors.

History

The Federal Loan Consolidation Program was created in 1986. In 1998, the United States Congress changed the interest rate to the aforementioned fixed rate weighted mean, effective February 1, 1999. Consolidation loans taken out before that date had a variable interest rate, determined by the individual FDLP loan origination center (e.g., in the case of a university, that university) or FFELP lender (e.g., a third party bank).

In 2005, the Government Accountability Office considered consolidating consolidation loans so that they were exclusively managed through the FDLP. Based on several assumptions about future variations in interest rates, the loan volume, the percentage of defaulters, cost estimates from the United States Department of Education, it concluded that while doing so would incur an additional cost of $46 million, caused by the higher administrative costs of the FDLP compared to the FFELP, this would be offset by a $3,100 million saving comprised in part of avoiding $2,500 million in subsidy costs. In 2008, turmoil in the financial and credit markets has led to the suspension of many loan consolidation programs, including Sallie Mae, Nelnet and Next Student.