September 16, 2007 at 9:20 am (Crime, Culture, Race, Religion, Women)
Tags: flds, warren jeffs
Warren Jeffs leads the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a polygamist sect based in Southern Utah and northern Arizona. He is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice for using his church authority to coerce an unwilling 14-year-old girl into marriage.
CNN.com has posted snippets of Warren Jeffs’s recorded sermons. Beware, the recording is potentially enraging to not-sexists, not-racists, and fans of the Beatles.
One tidbit in all the stories of the lifestyle of Jeffs and his followers is that the color red is banned, since it is thought to be the color of evil.
However, after spending months on the FBI’s most wanted list, Jeffs was arrested when his red Cadillac Escalade was pulled over just outside of America’s most popular Sin City: Las Vegas, NV. Classic!
Leave a Comment
September 13, 2007 at 7:58 pm (Crime, Culture, Race)
Tags: jena 6, roy breithaupt
And the award for the dumbest person in the whole Jena 6 mess has got to go to Roy Breithaupt. After three students hung nooses in a tree because some black students sat under it, he’s the superintendent who overruled Principal Scott Windham’s recommendation that they be expelled, and gave them three days of suspension instead. His reasoning? It was just an adolescent prank.
First of all, if your school district has trees whose shade is reserved only for white folk, you’ve got a SERIOUS problem. If people start hanging nooses from them, that’s a sign you’ve let things go too far. A noose is a weapon, Mr. Breithaupt. If those students had brought guns to school, would you consider that a prank, too?
Meanwhile, Mychal Bell, one of the Jena 6, awaits sentencing after being convicted of aggravated second-degree battery, because his sneaker was ruled to be a weapon.
By the way, the dumb ass superintendent is making news again by banning “Free the Jena 6″ t-shirts.
Leave a Comment
September 9, 2007 at 9:31 pm (Communication, Culture, Language, Politics)
I found these comments after a news story about the first-ever Spanish-language presidential debate:
-
If you live in our country, learn the lauguage. And do not come here illegally. If you cross the border of my house, you will be looking down the barrel of a gun. So why is it ok to cross our borders illegally? Its not ok. Our scientific poll showed that all hispanic people do not want illegal alliens in our country. These stupid demo’s and libs are just pandering and looking for votes. Next week they will turn there backs on you. The cause of the week and weak. Say no to demo’s and libs.
-
THAT DISGUSTS ME THAT THEY WOULD CATER TO A POPULATION THAT DO NOT CARE ABOUT LEARNING THE LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY THEIR WORKING AND LIVING IN AND PROBABLY HAVING CHILDREN IN!
In a different context I would be quite a bit more forgiving of these orthographic errors, but you know, the irony is just too poignant.
Leave a Comment
September 9, 2007 at 3:27 pm (Hoax, Nature, Photography)
Tags: meerkats
Thanks to Roy Greenslade for this item.
Several UK newspapers ran the story of a Longleat Safari Park meerkat named Monty who took photographs when a photographer left his camera in the enclosure. When the photographer returned, he found three new photographs on the digital memory card.
The accompanying pictures were of Monty with a Canon EOS 650, apparently looking through the viewfinder, with paw seemingly hovering over the shutter button. and two out-of-focus shots of Monty’s family members.
However, Barney Britton at Amateur Photographer pointed out that the Canon EOS 650 is a 20-year-old film-based SLR camera — no digital memory card.
You’ll probably want to hurry and click on Greenslade’s blog, above, to see the news stories before the newspapers pull them down!!
Leave a Comment
September 8, 2007 at 10:16 am (Entertainment, Money)
Tags: Britney Spears
I am so naive. I didn’t really know that someone would actually spend $25,000 for a night in Vegas. But I guess that if you’re Britney Spears, you can afford such luxuries, according to People.
I really have a hard time grasping the concept. Here, I’ll try to draw some correlations to put it in perspective.
In addition to a night in a villa at the Palms Casino Resort, $25,000 could buy you:
- A year of tuition at a private college. (Source.)
- Four years of tuition at a public college. (Source.)
- A 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid. (Source.)
- Two 2008 Toyota Yaris. (Source.)
- Small, single-wide mobile home. (Source.)
- Groceries for 3 average American families of four for an entire year. (Source.)
- Food for 735 children for an entire school year. (Source.)
- Education, medical care, nutrition and income-generation skills for 166 AIDS orphans for one year. (Source.)
- Child support for one month for one of Britney’s children. (Source.)
Comments on what else $25,000 might get you are welcome.
Leave a Comment
September 6, 2007 at 9:30 pm (Food, Health)
Tags: diacetyl, hyperactivity, popcorn, preservatives
In the news today there are a couple of items that are presented as shocking health news but really, we should’ve known.
First up is the microwave popcorn scare. Let me summarize:
- The rare disease dubbed “popcorn lung” normally affects popcorn factory workers who inhale large amounts of fumes from the flavoring ingredient called diacetyl. Some workers have died from it and many have needed lung transplants to survive.
- A fellow named Wayne Watson (a Coloradan) ate about two bags of microwave popcorn daily for ten years, and now has the disease.
Diacetyl is billed as a “natural substance,” but let’s face it, it’s really artificial flavoring in this context. And the fact that it’s lethal when heated and inhaled over a long period has been known since at least 2001, as demonstrated in this New York Times article.
My two cents:
- Um, why is there debate about this? If workers are dying from it, stop using it.
- Everything in moderation, folks. You probably won’t die from a bag of microwave popcorn a week. But why not pop it old-fashioned-like, anyway?
Next up is the not-surprising news that artificial preservatives make kids hyper. TIME reports:
A carefully designed study released Thursday in The Lancet, a leading British medical journal, shows that a variety of common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate — an ingredient in many soft drinks, fruit juices, salad dressings and other foods — causes some children to become more hyperactive and distractible than usual.
…The Lancet study is the first to nail down a link between artificial ingredients and hyperactivity, though the connection has long been suspected and was the basis for the Feingold Diet, which eliminates all artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives and was popularized in the 1970s as a treatment for ADHD. Though such a diet alone is not a proven treatment for ADHD, some clinicians routinely advise parents of kids with ADHD to stick with a more natural diet. “I’m not maniacal about it, but I tell parents that your kid will do better if they are on a diet that is free of additives and junk food,” says psychiatrist Edward Hallowell, author a several books on ADHD. “I urge them to eat whole foods; they’ll be healthier anyway.”
Since the 1970s, eh?
My two cents:
- Um, didn’t anyone else notice that eating that crap makes you feel like crap? If you listen to your body, it will tell you it prefers naked foods.
- Everything in moderation, folks. Some sodium benzoate laced salad dressing now and then probably won’t cause ADHD. But why not make your own dressing, anyway?
1 Comment
September 3, 2007 at 11:21 am (Bureaucracy, Children, Health, Politics)
Tags: medicaid
I was listening to Colorado Public Radio last week when I heard some aggravating news. It seems that one of the latest immigrant witch hunts is taking its toll on US citizens who are eligible for health insurance through Medicaid.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 requires proof of citizenship and identity when someone applies for or seeks to renew their Medicaid coverage. Now, states are reporting a decrease in Medicaid enrollment, with an increase in administrative costs. However, the decrease in enrollment is not due to non-citizens being turned away, but rather to the fact that the people most in need of Medicaid have the greatest difficulty coming up with the documentation that’s required.
Low-income children are the most affected.
Click here to hear the KCFR broadcast.
Click here to see what the The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has found.
Leave a Comment
September 2, 2007 at 10:48 am (Body Image, Culture, Health, Women)
The World Health Organization defines female genital mutilation as:
…all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons. There are different types of female genital mutilation known to be practised today. They include:
- Type I – excision of the prepuce, with or without excision of part or all of the clitoris;
- Type II – excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora;
- Type III – excision of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching/narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation);
- Type IV – pricking, piercing or incising of the clitoris and/or labia; stretching of the clitoris and/or labia; cauterization by burning of the clitoris and surrounding tissue;
- scraping of tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice (angurya cuts) or cutting of the vagina (gishiri cuts);
- introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina to cause bleeding or for the purpose of tightening or narrowing it; and any other procedure that falls under the definition given above.
They also mention that the reasons given for FGM include (italics are mine):
psychosexual reasons: reduction or elimination of the sensitive tissue of the outer genitalia, particularly the clitoris, in order to attenuate sexual desire in the female, maintain chastity and virginity before marriage and fidelity during marriage, and increase male sexual pleasure;
hygiene and aesthetic reasons: the external female genitalia are considered dirty and unsightly and are to be removed to promote hygiene and provide aesthetic appeal.
Just compare the above with the marketing at one cosmetic surgery website.
Why Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery?
Many women undergo female cosmetic genital surgery, for various relevant and personal reasons. They simply want to look and feel as normal and attractive for themselves and sometimes for the other significant person in their lives. Sometimes it is because a woman is dissatisfied with her genital appearance or sexual experience.
Additional related negative comments made by others can have devastating effects on her self-esteem and confidence. Cosmetic vaginal surgery can help restore their self-esteem and confidence and assist them in recreating sexual excitement and rejuvenation of their love lives. Many more women are considering these procedures to improve their career prospects, such as in advertising, sport modeling, etc. You will have your own reason(s), and it is important that you feel convinced that this is something you want, at least for yourself.
Some of the cosmetic gynaecological procedures being performed include:
- Labioplasty – Labial Reduction / Augmentation
- Vaginoplasty – Vaginal Tightening / Vaginal Rejuvenation
- Vulvoplasty – Perineoplasty / Liposculpturing / Vulvar Lipoplasty
- Hymen reconstruction (Hymenoplasty / Hymen Repair)
- Hoodectomy, G-Spot Augmentation
What’s more, The Wall Street Journal reports that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say “potential risks, including infection, scarring, nerve damage and loss of sensation, outweigh possible — if any — benefits.”
It would seem, and I’m not a doctor, but it would seem that nerve damage and loss of sensation would be counter-productive to “recreating sexual excitement.”
3 Comments
September 1, 2007 at 8:54 pm (Children, George W. Bush, Health, Politics)
Tags: jonathan swift, s-chip
In 1729, Jonathan Swift wrote A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public.
I wish I could believe that President Bush was being satirical when he vowed to veto the renewal of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Damn those kids and their “I wouldn’t call it a plot, just a strategy” to get health care.
Why bother providing health care for them when “a child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter.”
BTW, Bush also claimed that “[S-CHIP] came in when I was the governor of Texas; I supported that.” But it seems that’s not the whole truth, according to the editors of The New Republic, who claim “Bush fought efforts to create an expansive S-CHIP program in Texas.”
1 Comment
