
Sums it up nicely :)
So on just a rough comparison we see that the women's groups are protesting the wrong party. But maybe they just don't know?
In the U.S. women have to endure violence (sometimes), have to endure lower pay (research shows that most women are paid less than men in similar positions), have to endure sterotypical treatment (mother, homemaker, etc.) and have to endure degrading treatment by artists (rap music especially, but also magazines, et al.). Whew, that's rough. Let's see where they stand in Islam: Women can't work (homemaker), can't goto school, can't drive, can't be in public with a non-relative male, can be beaten (yes women are beaten in all societies, but in this one, it's actually illegal to do it, in Islam not only is it legal, they have guidelines on HOW to do it).
In the U.S.: 'Steve' and 'Adam' cannot marry, might not be able to adopt... must live with insensitive remarks and the threat of physical violence if they happen to run into an ignorant group of people (this is a legitimate threat as ignorance doesn't seem to be abating).
In Islam: Really only one downside, they would be killed.
"Cogent evidence were shown by the criminal investigations and forensics'
reports that the occupation forces have used fissile arms during the bombardment
of Sadr City. When diffused, fissile bombs hit a large number of targets and
spread on the body, which was evidently clear on the bodies of the dead and
wounded in Sadr City."
This is significant - since Mookie's threat last WE to launch an open war - the only thing that has been launched has been hundreds of intolerants and their own magical journey of a non corporeal haj to the perfumed gardens of Paradise."We only targeted armed groups in Sadr City that fired missiles at the Green
Zone in central Baghdad"
Mookie has had to announce a do over on his communique before last. A week ago Mookie mentioned miltarizing the conflict under Mahdi Army until he ruled all of Iraq.“All these men in black who imposed the laws just vanished from the university
after this operation. Things have completely changed over the past week. I now
have the university life that I heard of at high school before the war and
always dreamt about.It was a nightmare because of these militiamen. I only attended class three days a week but now I look forward to going every day.”
Issued from his comfy safe as milk lair somewhere far way from fissile missiles, new Iraqi army guys, surging up armored sons of Great Satan and his own constits who are being taken down in Sadr City, the soon to be jumped up Ayatollah reduxed his script for his newly discovered fissile missile magnets"So I am giving my final warning ... to the Iraqi government ... to take
the path of peace and abandon violence against its people. If the government
does not refrain...we will declare an open war until liberation."
"When we threatened to declare an open war until the liberation, we
meant war against the occupier. There is no war between us and our Iraqi
brothers -- no matter what their nationality, race or sect. The blood of Iraqis
are forbidden on you."
"Al-Sadr called for a ban on the killing of Iraqis before. That was only a few
days after the Samaraa crime. And yet the sectarian violence continued.
Thousands of Sunnis were killed and their mosques were burned. And the evidence
all pointed to the Mahdi Army. The killing spree continued until operation
imposing law (Arabic for Surge) started."
Intolerant, illegitimate weaponized enemies of free choice are being marginalized and annihilated - fissie weaponry aside - by a baby democracy and her legit army guys under the protective watchful eye of Great Satan.
This op may actually be the last chance to avoid a regional war - with Iran and her mullahs, IRRGC's and al Quds duds being the target.
A case could be made that security in Iraq has tranformed about as much as it can - unless the progenitors of Iraqi destability in Tehran are engaged in a really cool mix of asymmetrical, overt covert regime killing regime change.
"Launch a massive blitz on the top 20% of Iran's ruling clerics and IRRGC using cruise and conventional missiles, attack aircraft and old school special ops.
While Iran's rulers have some redundancy in their command and control posts, these are actually quite few in number as are the few calling the shots. Any wanna be successor 'Supreme Leader' could get his guts stomped out in the streets by the Iranians themselves."
There are less than eight months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States. The person elected will be the president of all Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans. To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice. It's time that we all came together, Democrats and Republicans alike.
If you support the policies and character of John McCain, please drive with your headlights on during the day.
If you support Obama or Hillary, please drive with your headlights off at night.
(thanks JS)
The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA) will make it a federal offense to transport a minor girl across state lines for the purpose of obtaining an abortion if done to evade a parental notification or parental consent law that is in effect in the girl’s home state. In addition, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act will require, in a state without parental consent laws, that before an abortion provider performs an abortion on a minor girl who is the resident of a different state, that provider must notify a parent. The abortion provider does not have to notify a parent if the minor has already received authorization from a judge in her home state (judicial bypass), or unless she falls into carefully drafted exceptions to cover cases of abuse or medical emergencies.Via Ironic Surrealism, go here to sign.
BBCWinehouse cautioned over assault
Winehouse arrived in a people-carrier and was surrounded by paparazzi
Troubled pop singer Amy Winehouse has been cautioned for common assault, police have confirmed.
The star, whose battle against drug addiction has overshadowed her recording success, spent the night in the cells at Holborn Station in London.
The 24-year-old singer was questioned by police about an alleged assault in north London on Wednesday.
She agreed to attend the station voluntarily but has now left the police building.
Winehouse's spokesman said in statement: "Amy Winehouse was questioned this morning at a London police station in connection to an incident in Camden in the early hours of 23 April, 2008.
MOTEGI, Japan (AP)—Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps.YahooPatrick finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval after leader Scott Dixon pitted with five laps left and Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan came in a lap later.
“It’s a long time coming. Finally,” Patrick said. “It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn’t believe it. This is fabulous.”
The 26-year-old Patrick won in her 50th career IndyCar start, taking the lead from Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race.
“I think Danica is such a fantastic person and I’m thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back,” said Michael Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing. “We have all believed in her and she proved today that she is a winner. Frankly, I think this is the first of many.”
MOTEGI, Japan (AP)—Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps.YahooPatrick finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval after leader Scott Dixon pitted with five laps left and Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan came in a lap later.
“It’s a long time coming. Finally,” Patrick said. “It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn’t believe it. This is fabulous.”
The 26-year-old Patrick won in her 50th career IndyCar start, taking the lead from Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race.
“I think Danica is such a fantastic person and I’m thrilled for her that the monkey is finally off of her back,” said Michael Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing. “We have all believed in her and she proved today that she is a winner. Frankly, I think this is the first of many.”
INDIANAPOLIS — A judge has upheld the issuance of Indiana license plates bearing the message "In God We Trust," dismissing a constitutional challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.
Marion Superior Court Judge Gary L. Miller wrote in a 13-page opinion that the plates were comparable to standard plates issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and were created specifically as such by the Legislature.
"Courts are not to second-guess the Indiana General Assembly when it comes to calculations of this sort," Miller wrote, contrasting the `In God We Trust' plates with other specialty plates that require the payment of administrative fees.
Miller said the issuance of the plates did not violate the section of the Indiana Constitution that forbids the Legislature from granting special privileges or immunities not available to all citizens.
The ruling, issued April 10, denies a motion for summary judgment in the suit by the ACLU on behalf of Mark E. Studler, an Allen County resident who has an Environmental Trust plate for which he had to pay extra fees.
Fox
"On July 29th 2008 Iran successfully launches a Shahab rocket and orbiting
satellite, proving it has a formidable functioning delivery vehicle, then
announces it has produced sufficient fissionable material at its Natanz
facility to build two nuclear bombs in 2009 and begins work on underground
test facilities in the basalt formations beneath the great salt desert of Dacht-e-Kavir.
Supreme Leader Ali Khameini announces baldly that his nation has manufactured weapons-grade fissionable material enriched to nearly 100% (in lieu of 5% enrichment for peaceful nuclear reactors)."
"American warplanes and missiles carefully avoid striking research reactors
in Teheran and Ispahan as well as the nuclear reactor at Bousher--less than 100
kilometers from Kuwait--as well as the centrifuges themselves at Natanz in an
effort to prevent the spread of radioactive material to nearby population
centers.
However, other missiles producing electromagnetic pulses do knock out
virtually all of Iran's electric grid and computer systems"
"For there are some extraordinary surprises in this consummate, if brief, but
brilliantly conceived work by the man who is perhaps Europe's leading global
thinker--chairman of the London-based International Institute for Strategic
Studies, adviser to French presidents and ministers of defense and foreign
affairs going back to Valery Giscard d'Estaing and top adviser to French arms
makers from Thompson to Matra."
"The Syrians didn’t appear to be aggressive. Rather, they deployed these
forcesin a defensive posture, in a way walling off their part of the valley. "
"Syrian ground forces deployed near the Lebanese border would be fair targets. By eliminating 500 Syrian tanks--tanks that Syrian President Bashar Al Assadneeds to preserve his regime and presented with a choice between saving Hezbollah and staying alive, Syria's dictator will choose the latter."
Little Satan and Suriya al Kubra both dissed any designs for a fight."The deployment therefore seemed intended to keep the Israelis on the
Lebaneseside of the border — on the apparent assumption the Israelis were going
into theBekaa Valley. "
" It involved the entire country, and was designed to test civil defensesand the
ability of the national command authority to continue to function inthe event of
an attack with unconventional weapons — chemical and nuclear.
This was a costly exercise. It also involved calling up reserves, some of them
for the exercise, and, by some reports, others for deploymentto the north
against Syria. Israel does not call up reserves casually.Reserve call-ups
are expensive and disrupt the civilian economy.
The Syrians already were deeply concerned by the Israeli exercise.
Eventually, the Lebanese government got worried, too, and started to
evacuate some civilians from the South. Saudi Arabia told everybody to leave.
Hezbollah, which still hadn’t retaliated for the Mughniyah assassination, also
claimed the Israelis were about to attack it, and reportedly went on alert and
mobilized its forces.The Americans, who normally issue warnings and cautions to everyone, said nothing to try to calm the situation. They just sat off shore on their ships."
Also, Great Satan's fave Vulcan Regime Changer - the avuncular (and nigh indestructable cardiac wise)VP Cheney hit the ME during the Arab League's Lo Down Ho Down in Damascus - and hung out with Oman."Ignoring all rhetoric — and the Israelis have gone out of their way to say that
they are not looking for a fight — it would seem that each side, but particularly
the Americans and Israelis, have gone out of their way to signalthat they are
expecting conflict. The Syrians have also signaled that they expect conflict,
and Hezbollah always claims there is about to be conflict.What is missing is this: who will fight whom, and why, and why now. Thesimple explanation is that Israel wants a do over with Hiz'B'Allah. But while that might be true, it doesn’t explain everything else that has happened.
Most important, it doesn’t explain the simultaneous revelations about the bombing of Syria. It also doesn’t explain the U.S. naval deployment.
Is the United States about to get involved in a war with Hezbollah, a war that the Israelis should handle themselves?Are the Israelis going to topple Syrian President Bashar al Assad — and then wind up with a Sunni government, or worse, an Israeli occupation of Syria? None of that makes a lot of sense."
Other theories include Iraqi WMD (though to be fair - WMD stashed in the same locale brings up the same quiz)."Why would Syria want a nuclear reactor and why put it on the border of Turkey,
a country the Syrians aren’t particularly friendly with? If the Syrians had a
nuclear reactor, why would the Israelis becoy about it? Why would the Americans?
Having said nothing for months apart from careful leaks, why are the Israelis
going to speak publicly now? And if what they are going to say is simply that the
North Koreans provided the equipment,what’s the big deal?That was leaked months ago."
couriermail.com.auA DOCTOR running hospitals in Cambodia has refused a donation raised from the sale of a nude photo of France's first lady.
Swiss paediatrician Beat Richner, head of a children's medical care group, said he had turned down an offer of $US91,000 ($97,700) raised at a New York auction last week of the 1993 picture of Italian ex-model Carla Bruni, now married to President Nicolas Sarkozy.
"My decision was taken out of respect for our patients and their mothers," he said in an interview with Le Matin Dimanche.
"Accepting money obtained from exploitation of the female body would be perceived as an insult."
In Cambodia "use of nudity is not understood in the way it is in the West".
He did not wish his institution, the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital Association, "to be involved in the media exploitation of Madame Bruni".
Flush and hot with victory in recent Majiles run offs - Iran's Praetorian Guard - the Revo Guards and their co dependent fanboys (Mahdi Army, JAM, 'Special Groups') most likely had an urge to surge of their own."In the eyes of many Middle Easterners, Iran today seems to be on a roll.
While other regimes (the Syrians, the Saudis, the Egyptians) are perceived
throughout the area as inextricably mired in corruption, Islamic heterodoxy, or
political impotence, Iran’s Shiite mullahs have maintained an image of
integrity, piety—and power.There is much to sustain that image. From Damascus, which increasingly takes its directions from Tehran, to Bahrain and the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, where Shiite majorities seethe, Iranian influence is growing.
Through its Lebanese proxy, Hizballah, the Islamic Republic has placed
some 10,000 Katyusha rockets along Israel’s northern border and (according to
Israeli intelligence) has orchestrated almost two-thirds of all recent terrorist
attacks from the West Bank and Gaza.Finally, over the past two years, Iranian leaders have leaned back and watched as the United States—the Great Satan—has eliminated two of their most pernicious rivals, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein."
"Tehran's decision to make the gamble was based on three assumptions:
* Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wouldn't have the courage to defend Basra
at the risk of burning his bridges with the Islamic Republic in Iran.* The international force would be in no position to intervene in the Basra battle.
The British, who controlled Basra until last December, had no desire to return,
especially if this meant getting involved in fighting. The Americans, meanwhile,
never had enough troops to finish off al-Qaeda-in-Iraq, let alone fight Iran and
its local militias on a new front.* The Shiite clerical leadership in Najaf would oppose intervention by the new Iraqi security forces in a battle that could lead to heavy Shiite casualties. "
Great Britain, Great Satan and the new Iraqi army guys are still fighting - in a semi asymmetrical way - and so is Iran and their myriad minions.
After two years of record-low ratings, both CBS News executives and people close to Katie Couric say that the "CBS Evening News" anchor is likely to leave the network well before her contract expires in 2011 -- possibly soon after the presidential inauguration early next year.I could have gotten them to the bottom much cheaper. Heck I may not have even dropped them quite as far.
Ms. Couric isn't even halfway through her five-year contract with CBS, which began in June 2006 and pays an annual salary of around $15 million. But CBS executives are under pressure to cut costs and improve ratings for the broadcast, which trails rival newscasts on ABC and NBC by wide margins.'Discredited report', gotta love that terminology. More like 'bald-faced' lie. But what can you expect from a network that pays this much money to lag behind everyone else.
Her departure would cap a difficult episode for CBS, which brought Ms. Couric to the network with considerable fanfare in a bid to catapult "Evening News" back into first place. Excluding several weeks of her tenure, Ms. Couric never bested the ratings of interim anchor Bob Schieffer, who was named to host the broadcast temporarily after "Evening News" anchor Dan Rather left the newscast in the wake of a discredited report on George W. Bush's National Guard service.
After two years of record-low ratings, both CBS News executives and people close to Katie Couric say that the "CBS Evening News" anchor is likely to leave the network well before her contract expires in 2011 -- possibly soon after the presidential inauguration early next year.I could have gotten them to the bottom much cheaper. Heck I may not have even dropped them quite as far.
Ms. Couric isn't even halfway through her five-year contract with CBS, which began in June 2006 and pays an annual salary of around $15 million. But CBS executives are under pressure to cut costs and improve ratings for the broadcast, which trails rival newscasts on ABC and NBC by wide margins.'Discredited report', gotta love that terminology. More like 'bald-faced' lie. But what can you expect from a network that pays this much money to lag behind everyone else.
Her departure would cap a difficult episode for CBS, which brought Ms. Couric to the network with considerable fanfare in a bid to catapult "Evening News" back into first place. Excluding several weeks of her tenure, Ms. Couric never bested the ratings of interim anchor Bob Schieffer, who was named to host the broadcast temporarily after "Evening News" anchor Dan Rather left the newscast in the wake of a discredited report on George W. Bush's National Guard service.
It’s the Politics, Stupid:
Comparing Labor Market Data in 1996 and 2008
Democrats on the Economy in 1996:
“Our economy is the healthiest it has been in three decades.” (President Bill Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 23, 1996)
Democrats on the Economy in 2008:
“The bottom line is that this administration is the owner of the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover." (Senator Charles Schumer, Press Release, March 7, 2008)
It’s the Politics, Stupid:
Comparing Labor Market Data in 1996 and 2008
Democrats on the Economy in 1996:
“Our economy is the healthiest it has been in three decades.” (President Bill Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 23, 1996)
Democrats on the Economy in 2008:
“The bottom line is that this administration is the owner of the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover." (Senator Charles Schumer, Press Release, March 7, 2008)
Here's the headline on a story in the Chicago Sun-Times: "Suburban Obama delegate quits over 'divisive' remark." Here's the subhead: "Says when she called black kids 'monkeys,' she was asking them to get out of tree."
Being a newspaperman of many years, I know a thing or two about headlines. They are supposed to accurately convey the essence of the story. Now, any reasonable person would have a problem with a woman, whether an Obama delegate or not, calling little black children monkeys. If she did. Check out what she really said (emphasis added):
Click over and see what the rest of the story entails. It's a horror piece of PC'ness in a poor Chicago world.
Here's the headline on a story in the Chicago Sun-Times: "Suburban Obama delegate quits over 'divisive' remark." Here's the subhead: "Says when she called black kids 'monkeys,' she was asking them to get out of tree."
Being a newspaperman of many years, I know a thing or two about headlines. They are supposed to accurately convey the essence of the story. Now, any reasonable person would have a problem with a woman, whether an Obama delegate or not, calling little black children monkeys. If she did. Check out what she really said (emphasis added):
Click over and see what the rest of the story entails. It's a horror piece of PC'ness in a poor Chicago world.
[Main]Jennifer Muir of The Orange County Register reports on the California Department of Motor Vehicles' "Confidential Records Program," which was created 30 years ago to keep DMV records of police officers private from criminals. The program has since expanded to cover "hundreds of thousands of public employees – from police dispatchers to museum guards – who face little threat from the public. Their spouses and children can get the plates, too."BoingBoing
TimesOnlineIt has taken more than 90 days, 270 witnesses and a bill of £10 million to slay the obsessive conspiracy theories of one man. And in the end yesterday, a jury discarded the soft option of accidental death and placed much of the blame for the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed on the shoulders of one of Mohamed Al Fayed’s own employees.
The Princess and Dodi were unlawfully killed by a combination of their drunk driver, Henri Paul, and the paparazzi who were chasing their car, the jury at their inquests decided.
It was a disastrous outcome for the owner of Harrods, whose allegations of a murder plot masterminded by the Duke of Edinburgh were rejected decisively by the coroner for complete lack of evidence. It was a damning indictment, too, of the pursuing photographers who must accept an equal share of the blame. Even the dead do not escape censure. The couple might have been alive today, the jury decided unanimously, had they been wearing their seatbelts.
Recently played a few games on Caldera (warzone) and then... Lots of luck in this one, but satisfying