The World – Page 5 – Shortwoman.com

Old Time Religion

Today, a bunch of men in another part of the world were so threatened by the very idea that a woman might learn something that they shot a 14 year old girl as she rode home from school in a bus. What a bunch of big, manly men that they had to go shoot a teenager for daring to engage in radical activities like reading a freaking book. They tried to assassinate her for “want[ing] an access to the world of knowledge.” Oh no, she was a liberal and an infidel. The shooters wanted to make sure they had the right girl. After all, it served their purposes to leave the rest of them scared to go back to school; let them grow up to be ignorant and easily subjugated wives.

Damn right there’s “outcry” and “revulsion.”

Don’t pretend that this is about religion. This is about a bunch of scared little baby-men who fear that if women know about the world, they will demand the rights accorded to human beings and will stop allowing themselves to be treated like property.

Feminism at its most basic — at the level that anyone who isn’t a caveman, a member of Taliban, or perhaps a modern Republican should agree with — says that women have the same unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that men do. On this basis and this basis alone, I am a feminist. However, modern feminism has too much baggage. My partner will read this and argue that I’m not a feminist at all, but rather I believe in equal rights. I don’t think I’m any better than men. I don’t hate men. I don’t hate other women that disagree with me. I believe that a lot of my life is none of your business. I believe that the “patriarchy” is actually an over-hyped and under-effective tool of the oligarchy.

These ass-hats who think guns can enforce their opinion on morality should take their old time religion with them straight to whatever passes for hell.

In Closing: fragile infrastructure has real costs; cool boat; hedge fund pirates; fine print; yoga; Natalie reminds us that “not tested on animals” is a fraud; heh; explanation of the Washington bubble; on unemployment and payrolls; and I see his point.

A City of Tradition

Why yes, Chicago is a city of tradition. They turn the river green for St. Patrick’s day — and I don’t mean for organic fishing. They have arcane fire codes because of an ancient fire which destroyed most of the city (and freed up the coastal areas for redevelopment as parkland). Foods like pizza and hot dogs have their own Chicago traditions. There’s so much tradition that according to legend, the dead vote.

And there’s also a fine tradition of Chicago’s police department pre-acting and over-reacting.

Sure, they are expecting protests of the NATO summit. Sure, abandoned luggage has to be investigated these days instead of being taken to the lost and found. And sure, there are lots of targets, although I fail to see what bombing the mayor’s place would have proved (and even if it would have accomplished something, any idiot terrorist should have expected more security this week than next week).

Was it really necessary to arrest people for something that they might have been thinking about doing? How do you prove you weren’t thinking something? And really, to describe a Malotov as a “primitive bomb” means that all those IEDs in Iraq are sophisticated devices. Anybody with gasoline, an empty glass bottle, and an old rag can make one. Of course, the “bomb making” equipment may well turn out to be “beer making” equipment. I understand the confusion; both start with B.

And if they were going to take 30 hours to come up with a warrant, couldn’t they at least have found a judge to sign the damn thing? Were these unarmed people really so dangerous they had to be shackled to a bench for 18 hours? Really? Did they get their phone call? Did they have to dial with their noses?

All snark aside, CPD could learn a lot from Vegas Casino security.

In closing: Hawaii tells Arizona where to get off; is a short middle-aged white guy in a hoodie a thug too?; he knew what the job paid when he spent millions of dollars trying to get it; bananas > Gatorade; apparently some people think preventing rape of prisoners is a luxury; 44% of Facebook users never click on ads.

Coincidence

Does anybody else think it’s odd that not that long after a demonstration of how a Bad Guy could get stuff through one of those nudie-scanners, the CIA foils an airplane bomb plot using a “non metallic” bomb carried by a double agent?

Yeah, sounds like “more hyperbole… than reality” to me too.

Gotta hand it to the CIA for learning from the FBI playbook.

In Closing: but they’re organic blobs of sugar and wax!; Microbial Armageddon; be one of the lucky 10000 outside, please; more job killing in the name of free trade; warmest year on record; I wonder how long until the first death by “non-lethal” weapon; get rid of pink slime, and all of a sudden we’re whining about lost jobs. Maybe if they weren’t making something disgusting?

R.I.P. MCA

Today we have the sad news that Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch — also known as MCA* — has passed away. Although it is widely known that he was battling cancer, there is no word yet on whether he in fact died of cancer.

Since he was a Buddhist, it is perhaps more appropriate to say that I hope he made it to enlightenment this time around. Peace.

Not to hijack this event, but I would like to point out that this was a man who could afford the best treatment for his illnesses. If his insurance company said “you can’t do that,” he could say “Visa/MasterCard is my secondary insurance and they will cover it!”

Seriously, do everything you can to make sure you have cancer screenings.

In Closing: a judge uses common sense; free online yoga classes; there’s jobs in Walker County; Vogue bans “too skinny” models — well, underage too skinny models (wake me when size 8 is normal).

* Make a note, you are unlikely to see me link TMZ again any time soon. Tell you children about this day! Ok, maybe not.

Is that a Biblical name?

Here’s a story that made me happy and sad all at once: this week 285 girls in India were granted new names, replacing names that mean “unwanted.” Now, I can’t imagine naming my child something like that, and I can’t even imagine allowing my relatives to name a child that. But apparently it’s common enough in India that a big ceremony was put together for these 285 girls to legally change their names. And I am glad they have that opportunity.

Unfortunately, there is precedent in the Bible. You know those kids were well adjusted too….

In Closing: many parents go online before calling a doctor; we got a really big shoe for you tonight (kinda cool, if you have room); too big to fail?; a whole bunch of stuff about OWS; “The flat tax is a fraud“; why does anybody let Santorum have a microphone?; trade-in; privatized regulation is a joke; “In other words, the growth in the amount that individuals are consuming is lower, but individuals are paying more for what they are consuming” (most of us would call that “inflation”); and a Viking boat burial.

Be aware that I’ve had a huge spam problem lately. If the spam hose continues, I will have no choice but to close to comments in a matter of days.

Life Imitates Monty Python

First, it was the news that Scotsmen were “universally unhealthy” and indeed “living dangerously” when it came to their lifestyles. Sadly, the first thing that popped into mind was that they were universally bad at tennis as well:

Punchline here, if you are unfortunate enough not to remember this.

Then mere hours later, I stumbled upon an item about bearded women taking on the “good old boy” network in France. Please forgive me for automatically thinking of this:

Makes it hard to take the world seriously.

In Closing: proposed stupid laws (LIEberman really thinks there’s an internet “off” switch someplace that the President could pull??); smart judge; gee, what could possibly make somebody nervous in an airport?; Desai pleads not guilty; bank closure 82; earlier school day == more teen car crashes (can we hope that the insurance companies actually do something good for us and pressure school districts?); and for Japanfilter, the Ikaros Solar Sail. Don’t fly too close to the sun, guys.

The Man is Right. Oops, I meant Correct.

Over the past few days, a Robert Reich piece has been making the rounds, and appeared today in the Christian Science Monitor. It’s called “Five reasons Obama should put BP under receivership.”

Now, just for review. Oil has been spewing into the gulf at roughly 3-5 times the rate BP says it has for over a month. Coverup and obfuscation from officials continue. Oil has hit multiple states. BP’s half-hearted attempts to stop the flow (and save themselves billions of dollars) are officially over, and they hope that relief wells will stop the problem when they are done — in August! The fact that it is still described as a “hope” does not instill confidence. In the meantime, hurricane season is upon us. While the problem is many feet underwater, the humans dealing with it must contend with weather on the surface. That doesn’t even address the issue of high winds and waves as a “dispersant.” It should be obvious to everyone who isn’t hopelessly addicted to wingnut commentators that there is an environmental disaster that is quickly becoming an economic disaster for the people whose livelihood depends on the Gulf of Mexico.

The CSM asks what kind of “reforms” this will trigger. If it’s anything like our health insurance “reforms” and our financial “reforms,” expect nothing and suffer no disappointment should we receive it in abundance.

Back to Mr. Reich. He’s one of the Clinton Era fixtures that wasn’t returned to the White House when Mr. Obama arrived. All things considered, I suspect it’s because he’s too “L word” and I don’t mean “Lesbian.” (as an aside, where did this idea come from??) Anyway, Mr. Reich has 5 key reasons that BP needs to be temporarily taken over by the Feds. And unfortunately they are good reasons. They’ve been lying to us. We have no idea if they really are doing enough to stop this thing. They want to go ahead with risky strategies to (maybe) stop it, and the Feds currently have no way to stop them from making matters worse. For that matter we have little authority to do much of anything. Many on the Right want to blame Mr. Obama, but he’s not in charge and can’t be unless he’s willing to nationalize BP (a very Left position), in essence making their property forfeit due to bad management.

Liberal rock, meet conservative hard spot. That oily bit in between is what’s left of the libertarian position.

Only the Federal government is big enough to stop the environmental destruction that will eventually circle the world, and they can only do that if they are willing to seize the day — and the company.

In Closing: What morons thought this was a good idea and more importantly have they been fired yet?; Bank of America doesn’t care that she owns it free and clear, they’re foreclosing anyway (why exactly do I pay my mortgage?); Congrats to the many college grads, who are unfortunately both drowning in student loan debt and unprepared for the workforce; U.S. insists that Afghan peace plan must preserve women’s rights (which means there will be no peace); Dalian, China may look like this today, but to me it will always look more like this (turns out there is a Dalian Power Plant!); We just can’t afford to continue spending 155% of our average after tax income, at least not without serious debt and destroying the worth of our assets; bank failures continue; European unemployment is as bad as ours; Brad DeLong wonders if Washington really cares about the problem of unemployment (they will when the “unemployed” turn into the “angry mob”); solve the childhood obesity problem, the reputation of cops, and the made up problem of stranger danger in one brilliant move; it’s not 1967 anymore; basic economics at work (some would argue it’s a less dangerous crop than corn); and how to put on a yukata.

Requiescat in pacem

I hate to ask stupid questions, but if the President, a bunch of senior ministers, a lot of elder statesmen, the head of the banking system, and the head of every branch of Poland’s military were all killed in one plane crash, who exactly is in charge there now? Think for a minute if the President, several cabinet secretaries (including the Secretary of State and her former President husband), a few top Congressmen/Senators, all the top generals/admirals, the head of the FOMC, USDA, and [choose a dozen other random officials] all died at once. Here in the states I know that the Vice President would be immediately inaugurated — assuming he is not among the dead. But I haven’t the foggiest clue what Poland’s succession plan is, and even the best plan would be sorely taxed by such a massive scale of loss.

Thoughts of peace for Poland.

In Closing: how to be fair about employee salaries; on credit checks for prospective employees; and welcome to the plutocracy.

CrimeChurch

As the Christian Holy Week progresses (and Passover ends), it becomes harder to ignore the fact that not all Men of God are in fact Holy.

Exhibit one is, of course the problem of pedophile priests in the Catholic Church. While this was initially thought to be “a few bad apples,” it has become clear that this scandal is continuing to bloom and spread its scope like wildflower blossoms in springtime. Lately, you can’t go a week without learning of some new problem. Nor can we even safely say the problem is isolated to one country. As things stand, there is every indication that child molestation is epidemic if not endemic! The nice folks at Crooks and Liars helpfully sum it up as “Holy Crap.”

And what has the Church done about it? Have any Bishops said “Say 200 rosaries and turn yourself in to the police while I apologize to your congregation or school”? No! They’ve covered it up! The “infallible” Pope himself has dirty hands, and he would do well to remember what Jesus said about hurting little children. Because if he even half-way believes what he preaches, it’s coming. It’s coming for him, and all the molesters he enabled.

At what point should the entire thing be considered a criminal enterprise?

The apparent answer: when a “church” starts threatening to shoot people.

Oh, the media is careful not to call the Hutaree a church! If they did that, people would start to draw parallels between this and the Branch Davidians — Is your church approved by the BATF? They allegedly threatened police officers, and while nobody sane wishes any harm to our police (or other citizens), they had not actually done anything. Yet. Nevertheless, let us not forget two things: first, we aren’t calling them terrorists nor even terrorist sympathizers (they are white Christians, not brown Muslims); second, they are only accused of plotting murder, whereas the priests have actually harmed little children.

As wonderful as it is to prevent a tragedy, it is more fitting for our justice system to right wrongs that have actually occurred.

In Closing: Due process for detainees is not a pretty business; about time the President followed the Chief Justice’s hint and got some recess appointments in place; too big to put in jail? I bet Bernie Madoff could use company!; school lunches are a lifeline for many families (and it’s hard to pay attention to math and reading when your stomach grumbles), but there’s not really enough money to do the job right and some places don’t even seem to want it done right; the treaty that has to go; Wallstrington; because clearly a 15 year old girl is “confused” about how important it is to graduate high school?; killing bibliophiles; at least the government is set to make a profit somewhere; put some fear into the banks, enforce the law; “Welcome to the club of states who don’t turn their back on the sick and the poor“; state of financial emergency; and yes, let’s talk about ballot initiatives! Vote NO!

No Russian

Some of you may recognize that as the title of a controversial level of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, in which a group of Russian ultra-nationalist terrorists shoot up unarmed civilians in an airport terminal while pretending to be Americans in a bid to start a war. I thought about calling this post “No Terrorism” but decided that the meta-reference was a bit too obscure.

see more Epic Fails

A lot of people talk about stopping terror attacks no matter how rare they may be, preventing terrorists from having access to things with which they could hurt innocent people, and whatnot. What we do not have the stomach to talk about is preventing people from thinking terrorism is a good idea. In short, we don’t look at what causes terrorism.

Consider a place where there has been a catastrophe. It doesn’t matter right now what caused the catastrophe, only that the people are in dire conditions which continue to deteriorate for a whole year. Only 3% of factories still function, which means that unemployment is over 40%. A large portion of the residents have no electricity and no running water. The sewage plant doesn’t work. People have resorted to building homes — such as they are — with mud. International donors from all over the world have pledged thousands of millions of dollars to help rebuild the region, and sent such diverse supplies as building materials, medicines, textbooks for destroyed schools, and even food for the people who live there.

However, due to political problems, very little of this aid is reaching the people who need it. Nor is the problem related to bribes, kickbacks, or some other form of corruption as is common in so many parts of the world; unfortunately there is every indication that the intent is to prevent the region from rebuilding, by “imposing Kafkaesque rules that bar entry to vital reconstruction materials and items as bizarre as glass, most schoolbooks, honey and family-sized tubs of margarine.”

The troubled region I describe is Gaza. And the oppressive regime preventing a rebuilding effort is the United States’ staunch ally, Israel. It should be obvious to anybody with a functioning brain cell that, in the words of a UN official, “Palestinians are becoming more desperate and more extreme.” I challenge anyone to avoid becoming more desperate and extreme under such circumstances. Such things are the root cause of terrorism; when there is no non-violent way to change things, violent ways invariably arise. Just ask the Iranians about that.

There are those who will disagree with me, including all those who feel Israel can do no wrong, and those who consider the Bible infallible. If the Israelis are trying to finish the genocide laid out in Deuteronomy 20, let them be honest about it.

In Closing: Reproductive rights are human rights (and not incidentally, the most effective way to fight poverty world wide); two programs that teach kids to read and read well; obligatory health insurance reform items; a word about why your city is scaling back services; corporate control of food; “Centrist” Democrats eying retirement?; a practical joke for the FPS player in your life; JurassikPork gets even more cynical (and we love him for it); the role of innumeracy in our banking and foreclosure crises; the decade in food, and the decade in buzzwords.