Hat tip: Instapundit. Edited for brevity.
The New York Times apparently copied an erroneous Wikipedia entry into its news pages today. From the NYT's article on the Marburg Haemorragic Fever outbreak in Angola:
There is no cure or vaccine for the highly contagious virus. Victims suffer a high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and severe bleeding from bodily orifices and usually die within a week.
The Wikipedia entry on the virus:
There is no cure or vaccine for the highly contagious virus. Victims suffer a high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and severe bleeding from bodily orifices and usually die within a week.
Wikipedia mischaracterized how contagious Marburg is, and the NYT apparently copied the mistake. Consulting more authoritative sources would have avoided the problem. From the CDC:
Clinicians should consider the diagnosis of Marburg VHF among febrile patients who, within 10 days before onset of fever, have either 1) traveled in northern Angola; 2) had direct contact with blood, other body fluids, secretions, or excretions of a person or animal suspected of having VHF; or 3) worked in a laboratory or animal facility that handles hemorrhagic fever viruses (3). The likelihood of acquiring VHF is considered extremely low in persons who do not meet any of these criteria. The cause of fever in persons who have traveled to areas where VHF is endemic is more likely to be a different infectious disease.
The article goes on to state that perhaps Wikipedia copied from the NYT instead. In any case, they are both wrong on Marburg.
Posted by: Dar ||
04/10/2005 2:01:01 PM ||
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The two giant pandas at the city's zoo retired to their favorite spot under a few bushes and mated over the past two days - the only successful natural insemination of a panda this year in the United States, officials said Saturday. "⊠and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes."
-Bai Yun's Soliloquy
It was the second mating for Bai Yun and Gao Gao at the San Diego Zoo, which closed its panda exhibit to visitors and pointed its Internet "panda cam" elsewhere for the occasion. Bai Yun gave birth in 2003 to Mei Sheng and did not mate last year because she was nursing the cub. A little privacy, if you please...
Bai Yun will likely give birth to her third cub in about 4 1/2 months, said Don Lindburg, the zoo's giant panda conservation team leader. I'm so proud!
Lindburg said Bai Yun had displayed signs of being receptive to mating in recent days, including yipping and raising her tail, walking through water and scraping pine tree bark onto her head and face. I've had girlfriends do things like this. Makes ya hot, y'know?
"It's getting her perfume on for the date," Lindburg said. You go, girl.
Zoo officials then lifted the gate that separates the two for much of the year on Friday to let the mating begin. The pandas, both 13 years old, spent about 15 minutes mating in the same spot on Gao Gao's side of the exhibit where they mated in 2003. Creatures of habit, gravitating back to those lusty days of yore to recapture the magic...
Then, Lindburg said, "They pretty much ate and slept. They were pretty content to sleep most of the day, and try it again this morning." Being lusty takes a lot out of a panda, y'know.
The pandas mated for about a half-hour on Saturday. Researchers detected live sperm in Bai Yun's urine and determined that she had been successfully inseminated. It was the Oysters Rockefeller, I'll bet.
Female pandas are in heat for only a day or two a year. Natural mating attempts in recent weeks were unsuccessful at zoos in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Both females were then artifically inseminated, but it is too soon to tell whether they are pregnant. Nature's Way is best.
The recent amorous tendencies of the pair in San Diego are a relief for zoo officials who tried unsuccessfully from 1996 to 2002 to get Bai Yun to mate with Shi Shi, the zoo's first male. Bad chemistry can't be overcome by mere humans.
Artificial insemination resulted in the 1999 birth of Hua Mei, the first giant panda to survive more than four days in the U.S. Persistence pays.
About 1,600 giant pandas live in the wild in their native China and another 200 live in captivity there. Less than two dozen pandas live in captivity outside China. Rare as hen's teeth, they are. Naturally impregnated pandas, even moreso. Perhaps Chinese humans need some shyness gene therapy.
Under the loan agreement with China, all pandas born at zoos outside the country must be returned to China after the animals mature. I'll bet we could start a war with 'em, before they're ready, by refusing to return the offspring. You know how it's the little things, like others breathing and lands so close to their borders, that get them so upset. Worth a try, heh. Does that qualify this article for W0T Background?
Posted by: .com ||
04/10/2005 7:02:19 AM ||
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A Russian man born with genitals so small that he was unable to have sex has been given the chance to lead a normal love life after a new penis was "grown" on his arm during pioneering surgery. In an 11-hour operation, plastic surgeons in Moscow removed the 28-year-old's undersized penis and stitched it on to his left forearm, where they grafted on additional flesh and tissue taken from his inner arm. The newly enlarged organ, which had grown from less than 2ins to nearly 7ins, was then reattached to his groin. Details of the procedure at the link.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
04/10/2005 4:13:24 AM ||
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#3
This is a rather unique situation - allowing size to be determined, although the author of the article and phil_b seem to be in dispute. In the real world, when a claim is made, the question is always, "Measuring from where, pray tell?"
#8
Wow, Glenmore, even I don't French-bash that much!
Posted by: Tom ||
04/10/2005 11:02 Comments ||
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I bet 'Bob' is pissed!
(For you non-Amaericans 'Bob' is a guy in a TV ad for some 'Male enhancement' pill (sorry... didn't need to write the name down...). He always appears with a smile on his face (and a silly grin on his wife's too...).
#10
"Enzyte" - IIUC, watch for it to be pulled from ads for fraud, like most of those "miracle dong" pills - it's just vitamins and herbs
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2005 11:10 Comments ||
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CrazyFool: "Bob" is J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, of the Church of the SubGenius. And I've no idea if he and the Enzyte guy are related. Otherwise, I've heard it said that they should have xplanted the penis to the man's forehead, which would be much more convenient except when chewing tobacco or eating soup.
#12
For the uninitiated, the Good Rev Dobbs' picture is here. Note that he is an icon harkening back to a simpler time - not a real person. He is the High Epopt and Living Slack Master.
Everybody's just looking for a little Slack.
The website is seriously unserious. Have a peek - and laugh your ass off, they do.
A POWERFUL earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island early today, just hours after an earlier tremor in the same area had sparked fears of a repeat of the tsunami disaster.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The latest quake, at 3.30am (AEST), measured 6.0 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was estimated to be off the coast about 100km southwest of the Sumatran town of Padang, the Hong Kong observatory said.
An earlier quake hit last night near Siberut Island, 109km southwest of Painan, a neighbouring town to Padang, causing panic among residents fearful of another tsunami.
A reporter in Padang saw many frightened people leave their houses and seek higher ground after that tremor, which measured 6.8.
"There are reports of damage in Pariaman and Lubuk Basung," a Jakarta-based meteorological analyst said in the wake of the first quake.
"Some houses are flattened."
He said there were major problems with telephone communication into the affected areas, but electricity had been restored in Padang after an interruption of about an hour.
The tremors came two weeks after a massive 8.7 earthquake centred on the same Indian Ocean geological faultline killed more than 600 people as scores of concrete buildings collapsed on the Indonesian island of Nias.
A deadly earthquake last December generated a massive tidal wake that killed some 273,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/10/2005 5:50:26 PM ||
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An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 rattled parts of Indonesia on Sunday, sending people in this city on Sumatra island rushing out of their homes and heading toward high ground in fear of a possible tsunami.
An official said there were reports of houses flattened elsewhere on Sumatra, but as of three hours after the quake hit there were no reports of any casualties.
Jakarta-based meteorological analyst Wijayanto also told Reuters "there are no tsunami reports, so residents can return home, but they must still be careful of aftershocks."
Indonesia has experienced a series of quakes and aftershocks since a massive temblor on Dec. 26 triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed more than 180,000 people. Nearly 50,000 more are still unaccounted for from that disaster.
Another quake off Sumatra on March 28 is estimated to have killed up to 2,000. Full details on casualties are often slow in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,000 islands where communications infrastructure is sometimes minimal and transportation primitive.
According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, no tsunami warning has been issued as a result of Sunday's quake, but it also said there are no tsunami detection devices in the immediate area of the quake.
The latest quake was felt in Indonesia's neighbor Singapore as well. ...more...
If a child was kidnapped from a Saudi and whisked out of the country, there would be national outrage and shock over a horrible crime. But when the kidnapper is a Saudi parent and the child is whisked into the Kingdom, the foreign mother learns it is a matter for civil courts.
Perhaps Hiroe's story and her Saudi ex-husband's are typical of any couple from different countries who separate and one of whom has to endure living away from their children. But it is still a story worth mentioning because no matter what the variations in details and background, in the end there is a father and a mother fighting over custody and a child suffering the consequences. There must be a better, more civilized and definitely a morally and religiously acceptable way of handling these issues.
In Hiroe's case, some people might consider her lucky that she is at least able to see her son regularly, but that arrangement did not come easily. For her, spending two weeks in Jeddah with her son every three months is neither enough nor is it practical to travel back and forth to Japan.
They met in 1990 when Wasef came to Japan to attend an international meeting on the marine environment and kept in contact until they married in Japan in mid-1995 and she converted to Islam. He joined her in Japan at the end of 1995 after getting his master's degree from the United Kingdom and applied for a scholarship to get his PhD in Japan.
In Osaka, she gave birth to their son, Faisal, in March 1997 while Wasef studied Japanese to enter the university. Unfortunately, his scholarship specified a different university in a different city. So, from 1998 to 2001, Wasef worked on his PhD while visiting Hiroe and Faisal every few months for a couple of days in Osaka where she worked and supported herself, her son and Wasef as the scholarship money was not enough for his expenses.
In early 2001, Hiroe was transferred to the company's Tokyo head office. Meanwhile Wasef quit his studies because he had problems with his supervisor and was unable to continue and returned to Saudi Arabia in April 2001 to find a job. Hiroe stayed in Japan with her son until Wasef was settled and then visited him in the summer but returned to Japan with the understanding that she would live with him in Jeddah once he got a regular job.
In December 2001, he invited Hiroe to Saudi Arabia for a vacation in Bahrain. A day after arriving in Bahrain, he left Hiroe in the hotel and took Faisal for an outing and never came back. Worried sick about her son and asking around about him in a strange country with no one to help her, she finally got a call from him at midnight telling her that he is in Saudi Arabia with Faisal and ordering her to return to Japan and not to call him until after three months or she would never see her son.
"He kidnapped him, and I didn't know what to do," she told Arab News. He left her passport and a one-way airline ticket to Japan for her in a safety deposit box at the hotel, and without a guarantor (kafeel) to re-enter Saudi Arabia or iqama and family ID card, which he took with him, she had no choice but to return to Japan. She followed his instructions and when she called him, he refused to discuss any solutions for their problem and kept postponing any meetings while threatening her if she caused him any trouble. "I was crying every day, and despite the problems we had in our marriage I really hoped we could work it out," she said.
After a year and a half, Hiroe finally realized that he had no intention of getting back with her even though he did not say he wanted a divorce. "In fact, he took advantage of the situation by asking me for help in establishing his business while keeping my son hostage," she said.
Hiroe finally began seeking help from a lawyer, the Saudi Embassy in Japan and the Japanese Consulate General in Saudi Arabia.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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" Nasser Al-Dandani, the Saudi lawyer who represents the Indonesian Embassy in this case"
This is the equivalant Al Franken defending Bill O' Reilly in a slander suit.
"confirmed the reports of the torture of Suniati but refused to divulge details of the case.....Soddy Lawyer sez: âI donât want to influence the investigation currently being carried out"
In other words, I have too many cases coming at me all at once. I will address all these types of cases, at a undisclosed time, with a lump sum payment to the Indonesian govt. to make it go away.
A normally quiet seaside town is awash with rumours of a vampire on the loose. Affluent Lytham St Anne's, near Blackpool in Lancashire, has been the centre of two vampire-like attacks in recent weeks — with the Dracula in question fluent in French. Police have launched an investigation after two women had their necks bitten by what appears to be the same man, the Sun reports. The first victim was a 38-year-old owner of a French delicatessen, who had been chatting in French to a man in his 30s or 40s when he trapped her and sunk his teeth into her neck. And fears grew even further when another woman was attacked in a bar on the seafront, by a man who fitted the same description.
A man was questioned by police but they are continuing their investigation. Local councillor Richard Fulford-Brown told the newspaper: "Lytham has been rife with talk about vampire-style attacks. "In the pubs and clubs they were calling him Dracula or Le Fang because he speaks French to women. He must be the only Frenchman who's allergic to garlic." The man behind the bloodsucking attacks is described as well dressed and 5ft 8in tall with very dark, short hair.
#2
Just keep him away from the Werewolves of London--teamed up they'd be unstoppable!
Posted by: Dar ||
04/10/2005 13:51 Comments ||
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"He must be the only Frenchman whoâs allergic to garlic."
ROFLMAO! :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/10/2005 14:21 Comments ||
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Reminds me of the tale of the 'Monkey of Hartlepool'. Another case of a Northern English coastal town panicking over a rogue 'Frenchman'. Only that time, it wasn't a vampire - the 'Frenchman' was a monkey (don't ask - we were at war at the time). The local francophobes weren't at all merciful towards the little hairy 'spy', so Monsieur le Vampire would be well advised to go for a bite somewhere else, sharpish.
China and India should work together to dominate the world's tech industry, bringing together Chinese hardware with Indian software, China's prime minister said Sunday.
On a visit to India's southern technology hub of Bangalore, Premier Wen Jiabao said the two nations should put aside their historic rivalries for the venture and welcome a new "Asian century."
"Cooperation is just like two pagodas (temples), one hardware and one software," Wen said. "Combined, we can take the leadership position in the world," he said.
"When the particular day comes, it will signify the coming of the Asian century of the IT industry," he said in an address to information technology professionals in Bangalore. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
04/10/2005 4:18:20 PM ||
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"never mind Tibet, Or regional superpower hegemony over oil... why quibble over crumbs when there's a meal to share?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2005 18:25 Comments ||
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Lin is 68, and a grandmother, but she does not look or behave like one.
She is fashionable and well-groomed, enjoys spending her money on clothes and make-up, and is a picture of health and vitality.
And every Monday morning, Jin and a group of her friends meet in a park in Beijing to practise their favourite activity - break-dancing. Her friends call her "Auntie Cool".
She is the kind of role model Chinese authorities were trying to find when they put on the first national beauty contest for the elderly.
Grey strain
The Silver-Aged Beauty Contest is part of a Chinese drive to deal with the issues facing a rapidly aging population.
The UN predicts that by 2030, China will have 236m over-65s - and that by 2050, senior citizens will make up a quarter of the entire population.
These changing demographics are largely a result of China's strict one-child policy and are already placing a strain on the working population.
Keeping an active, healthy and spiritually satisfied older population means better prospects for the country and economy
Jin
A growing number of single young people find themselves faced with the daunting prospect of caring for both their parents and grandparents - a phenomenon known as the 4-2-1 family.
Without further action being taken, experts say the burden of caring for a greying population could begin to have a major impact on the speed of China's development.
In her youth, Jin would have been persecuted and ostracised for wearing colourful clothes and pursuing cultural interests from the West - including break-dancing to hip-hop music.
Expressing individuality, or having outspoken political views which were not in line with the philosophy of the Party often met with punishment or even imprisonment.
Jin's ex-husband was persecuted for his political views in 1957. He was taken away from home to be re-educated through hard labour.
Jin says she had no idea what her husband did wrong but that in those days it was better not to ask questions.
When her husband did eventually return, it wasn't long before he died of cancer.
But now Jin and her friends are enjoying a comfortable retirement. Jin re-married four years ago to Guo, a retired general in the Chinese military, and they live together in Beijing.
Traditionally, older people in China live with their children who take care of them, but today over 23% of the elderly live alone.
Despite suffering from diabetes, Jin is at the forefront of a new cultural revolution in China that has been sweeping through her generation in recent years.
A retired factory worker, she has forged a new career in her golden years as a dance teacher and elderly fashion model.
Tough competition
"If elderly Chinese do their bit to look good, it will help our country to be civilised and developed," she said.
"Keeping an active, healthy and spiritually satisfied older population means better prospects for the country and economy."
But the competition is tough.
The Silver-Aged Beauty Contest has captured the imagination of elderly citizens across the country. Six thousand older Chinese have battled through regional contests to win the honour of travelling to the capital for the final - some contestants travelling from as far as Inner Mongolia.
But Jin is in winning form, taking home the title of Image Ambassador for the Chinese Elderly and the Most Trendy award.
"I think you can say that I am trendy. That's why so many young people call me 'Auntie Cool'," says Jin.
Posted by: tipper ||
04/10/2005 11:17:29 AM ||
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I tried posting this as just a link but i got some mysql error...
link to an online petition calling for the release of Schapelle Corby can be found at :
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/corby
Some Info About Schapelle Corby:
Schapelle Corby is a 27 year old trainee beauty therapist from the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia. Corby was arrested on October 8, 2004 for allegedly trying to smuggle 4.1 kg of marijuana from Australia to Bali, Indonesia. Indonesian customs officials at Denpasar Airport searched her boogie board bag and located the marijuana.
Corby, who has maintained her innocence throughout, is currently being tried in a Bali Court. If found guilty Corby may be sentenced to death by firing squad.
John Patrick Ford, a remand prisoner in Victoria, Australia, has given evidence in Corby's defence. Following communication from Corby's legal team and the Australian government, the Indonesia government made a request under the Mutual Assistance Treaty for Ford to be transported to Indonesia to give evidence.
Ford stated that he overheard a conversation within a prison between two men and alleges one of the men planted the marijuana in Corby's boogie board bag in Brisbane with the intent of having another person remove it in Sydney. Ford went on to state that a simple mix up resulted in the marijuana not being removed and subsequently being transported to Indonesia, all without Corby's knowledge. Once in Indonesia the marijuana was quickly located by Indonesian customs officials.
Ford stated that the drugs were owned by Ron Vigenser who had been a prisoner at the same jail as Ford (but was recently released) but has refused to name the man who he states planted the drugs for fear that he, and possibly Corby, would be killed if he did so. Vigenser has strenuously denied any connection with the drugs in the Australian media and has reportedly given a statement to the Australian Federal Police.
A Gold Coast business man, Ron Bakir, is funding a significant part of Corby's defence out of his own pocket. Bakir has no relationship to Corby other than being from the same city. Bakir reportedly decided to assist in funding Corby's defence due to his belief that a miscarriage of justice could occur if she was not properly represented.
Many commentators in the media have raised concerns relating to the slow speed in which the Australian government responded to requests for assistance from Corby's legal team. The Australian government has responded by stating that support was given rapidly and that it was the legal team that has at times been slow to act.
The possibility that marijuana is being regularly smuggled between Australian cities in the baggage of innocent people has raised concerns relating to security at Australian airports. Some commentators have pointed out that a bomb could be hidden in a piece of luggage as easily as a package of marijuana.
Belief in Corby's innocence is reportedly widespread in the Australian population. Media interest in the case is widespread.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/10/2005 8:37:32 PM ||
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RUSSIAN mobsters are reportedly moving in on Sydney's criminal underworld, with up to 50 mafia figures identified by state and federal police as operating in the city's eastern beaches.
NSW police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are concerned about the expanding influence of Russian organised crime in Sydney.
According to a confidential AFP intelligence report, Russian crime figures were involved in heroin supply, fraud, murder, extortion, false passports, prostitution, internet child pornography and money laundering in Australia.
Up to $60 million was reported to have been laundered, while KGB-linked groups had attempted to extort thousands of dollars from private business and government agencies with the threat of computer viruses.
The "coalition of people of Eastern European descent" run criminal activities from Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.
The Russian mob has made a fortune trafficking in drugs and girls/women in the Baltic and Scandanavian countries, using them as an entry into the EU. Now they're trying for Australia, where there's a decent sized ex-pat community. I hope our Aussie friends can repel this invasion ....
Posted by: tipper ||
04/10/2005 11:10:27 AM ||
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We won't be able to repel them. Our cops are hopeless. All they're good for is harassing ordinary Aussies with speeding tickets and parking fines.
At least the russian mafia are white so they won't be called racist every time they arrest.
if only we could get rid of the Islamist tide that's risen here.
Italy became the first major EU country to ratify the European Constitution following a parliamentary vote on Wednesday.
A vote by the upper house saw 217 vote in favour and 16 against the new EU charter - the lower house had voted in favour in January.
The European Commission welcomed the news saying it was "pleased about this ratification" and noted that Italy is the first of the six founding members of the EU to ratify.
This brings the number of countries that have ratified the document to four. Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia also gave the green light to the EU charter via their parliaments while Spanish citizens voted on it in a referendum in February - but the parliament is also expected to rubberstamp it.
Germany, as the biggest member of the EU, will put the question before its lower house (Bundestag) on 12 May.
However, difficult referendums are still to come.
France is to vote on the Constitution on 29 May, but a yes vote remains far from certain as the debate has become embroiled in several other diverse issues - including Turkish membership of the European Union; an unpopular EU proposal to open the market in services and the general unpopularity of the government.
A no from France would throw the EU into chaos and would probably have a direct effect on the referendums to follow. The Dutch government is already looking into emergency scenarios to cancel its own poll if the French vote no, according to Dutch press agency reports.
The Dutch are due to vote three days later on 1 June. Other polls where it is predicted that it will be a difficult fight to win a yes include Denmark's in September and the UK's next year.
All member states have to ratify the Constitution for it to come into place. If a country does say no, the political solution is set to depend on a series of factors including whether it is a founding member of the EU; how big the country is and whether it is considered to be generally EU-positive or not.
The EU Constitution was signed in Rome on 29 October last year. The final document came of over two years of negotiation - firstly in a convention and then among member states.
BRITAIN'S Conservative Party leader Michael Howard has launched his Australian-style immigration policy, which a former Tory minister has described as unworkable.
With Australian Prime Minister John Howard's former adviser Lynton Crosby directing the Conservative campaign for the May 5 election, the Tories have adopted a tough stance on immigration and asylum similar to Canberra's.
Michael Howard has accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of being soft on immigration and frightened to tackle the issue head on.
"It's not racist to talk about immigration. It's not racist to criticise the system," Mr Howard told a Conservatives rally in Telford in England's midlands today.
"It's not racist to want to limit the numbers. It's just plain common sense."
Howard said a Conservative government would introduce an annual limit on migration, a border control police force and 24-hour security at ports.
"We would also introduce an Australian-style points system for work permits to attract the people with the skills to contribute to Britain," he said.
Mr Blair last year raised the prospect of also adopting Australia's points system, but still insists on no upper limit to immigration.
"Well, Mr Blair, I've got news for you. A points system without a limit is quite literally pointless," Mr Howard said.
But former Tory immigration minister Charles Wardle has slammed his old party's policy.
"Mr Howard's policies are, at least some of the main ones, patently unworkable," Mr Wardle told journalists.
Mr Wardle said Mr Crosby was one immigrant who should be subjected to his own policies and sent back to Australia.
"I am not aware of anyone who has called him racist," Mr Wardle said.
"This is just his attempt to try to stir the issue rather than deal with it.
"Instead of hiring an Australian spin doctor to tell him what to say, Howard should hire some serious people who could actually work up a serious policy.
"Mr Crosby is one arrival who should be sent back to where he belongs."
Wardle served under Michael Howard when he was Home Secretary in the John Major government, but left the Conservative Party in 2001.
He believes the party's immigration policies were likely to make immigration and asylum problems worse rather than better.
"It almost defies belief that Mr Howard is standing before people and presenting this as a policy proposal," he said.
"It is the most half-baked, incoherent package imaginable. It shows he is utterly unsuited for the position of Prime Minister."
Immigration was ranked in a survey last week as one of the top three issues worrying the UK electorate as it decides whether to give Blair a third term.
It is one of the few areas of the campaign in which the Conservatives are ahead of Labour in the polls.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/10/2005 5:53:44 PM ||
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Article: Wardle served under Michael Howard when he was Home Secretary in the John Major government, but left the Conservative Party in 2001.
From the sounds of it, the guy was a Labor mole in the Conservative Party.
Spanish men will have to learn to change nappies and don washing-up gloves under the terms of a new law designed to strike a blow at centuries of Latin machismo.
The law, due to be passed this month, is likely to provoke a revolution in family affairs in a country where 40% of men reportedly do no housework at all. It will oblige men to "share domestic responsibilities and the care and attention" of children and elderly family members, according to the draft approved by the Spanish parliament's justice commission.
This will become part of the marriage contract at civil wedding ceremonies later this year.
"The idea of equality within marriage always stumbles over the problem of work in the house and caring for dependent people," said Margarita UrÃa, of the Basque Nationalist party, who was behind what is an amendment to a new divorce law.
"This will be a good way of reminding people what their duties are. It is something feminists have been wanting for a long time."
Failure to meet the obligations will be taken into consideration by judges when determining the terms of divorces. Men who refuse to do their part may be given less frequent contact with their children.
Spanish women spend five times longer on housework than their husbands. Even where both have jobs outside the home, Spanish women still do three times as much work in the house.
"It is not just about housework, though. Women also end up doing most of the caring for the elderly," said Ms UrÃa.
A study five years ago by Spain's Centre for Sociological Investigation concluded that fathers spent an average of 13 minutes each day looking after their children.
Only 19% of Spanish men thought it was right for mothers of school age children to have a full-time job. More than a third thought mothers should not work outside the home at all.
The change to the Spanish legal code will see domestic obligations added to a list of marital duties that currently includes fidelity, living together and helping one another.
The initiative has received the backing of all Spain's political parties, including those of a conservative or traditionally Catholic bent.
Ms UrÃa said that the Socialists, who run Spain's minority government and voted against the clause when the draft went through the commission, had told her that they, too, were now in favour of it.
That should guarantee that, when the law - which will also make divorce proceedings faster and easier - is voted on in parliament in the next few weeks, the obligation to share domestic chores will be added to the statute books.
Posted by: tipper ||
04/10/2005 11:22:46 AM ||
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(excerpt) Marica / Maricon / Loca / Pato / Joto / Mariposa (among other terms)
 Derogatory terms used derisively to describe a man who is or appears to be homosexual. Terms vary depending of national background and not all carry the same meaning from one Latin American country to another (for example, "Pato" is used derogatorily in Puerto Rico but in Mexico and Colombia it just means "duck". "Joto" is a little more 'butch' than a "maricon", and more butch than a flaming "mariposa".
#2
And how on earth do you enforce such a provision? Do you put a camera in every kitchen, or wait to install one until somebody complains? "As you can see, officer, I'm doing the dishes all by myself."
Or maybe just take one spouse's word for it: "I wanna divorce her because she never helped me take out the garbage."
Posted by: James ||
04/10/2005 12:20 Comments ||
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#5
"And how on earth do you enforce such a provision?"
Arbitrarily and capriciously, as with all other such leftist "equality" laws.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/10/2005 16:44 Comments ||
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#6
Do the Spanish have no fault divorce? If not, this is grounds. If so, it will be part of the determination of alimony, etc. Ask anyone who's been divorced. It's too late, like getting a wreckless driving citation after an accident, but it's enforcement.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/10/2005 17:09 Comments ||
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#7
How sad that something that should have been done all along by Spanish husbands has now to be enforced by the government. The government control aspect bothers me-personal relationships are no place for governmental intervention. The "equalization of the burdens of life" part, however, is very appealing. I'll bet an unexpected (from the husbands' points of view) side effect of this will be wives who nag less, want sex more and show their husbands genuine respect and appreciation. Time will tell.
#9
If it strengthens the family in Spain, it's a good thing. In Spain Al Qaeda is winning through force of demographics what it can't win through force of arms.
Spain is rapidly on its way to having the lowest birthrate in the world, which means that in another generation the Spanish will, unless they increase their birthrate, have to de facto revert to a new Al Andalus just to pay the pensions of the one-third of the population that's retired.
#10
In my household, if I don't do it it doesn't get done. My ex-wife seems uncooperative about doing my housework :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2005 18:27 Comments ||
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#11
LOL, Frank.
I can't imagine why.... :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/10/2005 19:21 Comments ||
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#12
I can't either! Where's the love?
Oh, wait.....damn..I got it
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2005 19:37 Comments ||
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#13
Frank, I don't want to brag... but my x is doing some chores in my household. She is under impression that I have no clue how to use vacuum cleaner, and considers my dish washing simply abyssmal! Not mentioning items like cleaning windows or such, I just pretend congenial ineptitude. She loves cleaning and I don't see why I should stand in the way of her expressiveness. ;-)
Many voters in last year's presidential election were denied access to the polls through trickery and intimidation, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters' group Sunday.
"Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said at an event sponsored by the state League of Women Voters.
"There is no magic wand. No one person is going to stand up and suddenly say it's going to change tomorrow. You have to do that," he said.
Kerry supporters have charged that voting irregularities in largely Democratic areas made it difficult for voters to cast ballots in the November election. A lawsuit in Ohio cited long lines and a shortage of voting machines in predominantly minority neighborhoods, but the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the suit.
Kerry also cited examples Sunday of how people were duped into not voting.
"Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.
Kerry has never disputed the outcome of election, saying voting irregularities did not involve enough votes to change the result. Bush won the pivotal state of Ohio by 118,000 votes, giving him enough electoral votes to win re-election.
The Republican National Committee dismissed Kerry's comments Sunday.
"While President Bush and members of Congress are working to move our country forward, it's disappointing that some Democrats are focused on rehashing baseless allegations more than five months after the election," RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said.
Earlier this year, Kerry joined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in filing voting reform legislation. The Count Every Vote Act would create a federal holiday for voting, require paper receipts for votes and authorize $500 million to help states upgrade voting systems and equipment.
Congress' investigative agency, the Government Accountability Office, has also begun looking into the handling of provisional ballots and malfunctions of voting machines. The study could lead to changes in the election process.
Kerry, using crutches as he recovers from knee surgery, suggested the United States should spend as much time promoting democracy at home as it does abroad in countries like Iraq.
"We need to go about the business of making our own democracy in America work better," he said.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/10/2005 23:52 Comments ||
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#2
It's true! Why in Ohio many voters had to travel several miles to get to the polls. In some cases the roadways leading to the polls contained many obstacles placed by the state government such as "STOP" signs and traffic lights. I'm sure this deterred many voters who otherwise would have voted for Kerry.
The death toll in Angola from the world's deadliest outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus has inched towards the 200 mark with nine more deaths, according to the health ministry and the UN World Health Organisation.
"As of noon, the total number of cases nationwide is 218 and 193 people have died," a joint statement said, adding that 360 others were under surveillance in the southern African country where the outbreak was first detected in October.
The last toll based on figures compiled up to Friday was 184.
The communique said there were 173 fatalities and 189 cases in the northern province of Uige, the epicentre of the outbreak, followed by six deaths each in the Kwanza Sul and Zaire regions, four in Luanda province, two in Mananje and one each in Cabinda and Kwanza Norte.
"The bishop of Uige spread a special awareness message about Marburg while taking mass today," the statement said.
The Marburg virus, whose exact origin is unknown, spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, excrement, vomit, saliva, sweat and tears, but can be contained with relatively simple health precautions, according to experts.
The outbreak in Angola has overtaken an earlier outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the largest ever recorded of the virus, first detected in 1967 when German laboratory workers in the town of Marburg were infected by monkeys from Uganda.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/10/2005 5:40:56 PM ||
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The Vatican is preparing to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan as part of an historic fence-mending exercise with Beijing that could allow Chinese Roman Catholics to practise freely for the first time in 50 years. The deal, discussed by a senior cardinal as Pope John Paul II was on his deathbed, would pave the way for an estimated eight million Roman Catholics to resume official ties with the Vatican and hold services without fear of persecution.
Just hours after the Pope died last week, the outcome of the delicate negotiations was revealed by Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun from Hong Kong, who is considered the Vatican's leading adviser on Chinese issues. Bishop Zen said: "The Holy See has been thinking of giving up Taiwan. This is a difficult [decision], but it has decided to do it. If the Holy See does not establish [diplomatic] ties with China, Catholics there will not have real freedom." His comments came days after a visit to Beijing by the influential Belgian cardinal, Godfried Danneels, who is considered a potential successor to John Paul II.
[T]he Vatican is hopeful of ushering in an era of improved relations. "If the Chinese government is willing to grant real freedom to the Church in mainland China, the Vatican would reluctantly be willing to give up its diplomatic relations with Taiwan," Bishop Zen said. China's Roman Catholic population frequently complains of being harassed and jailed by the authorities. Although there is also an official state-backed Catholic church, with about five million followers, it rejects any Vatican role in appointing its bishops or priests. Beijing is insisting, however, that the Vatican cuts ties with Taiwan, where about 300,000 of its 23 million people are Catholics, before any further official discussions are held. Taiwan has diplomatic relations with 25 countries, mostly developing nations in Africa and Latin America. Taiwan insisted that its relations with the Vatican would endure. "Relations between the Holy See and Taiwan will remain unchanged," a foreign ministry spokesman said in Taipei. "The foreign ministry will continue to push for mutual visits by the Vatican and Taiwanese leaders to strengthen bilateral understanding and consolidate relations." Bishop Zen said that the Vatican's desire to resume appointing bishops in China would not constitute interference with the country's domestic affairs. "The Pope appoints bishops everywhere and nobody is offended," he said. "We hope the Chinese government can understand this. The Holy See just wants religious peace for its people. It has no political ambitions whatsoever."
Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, reacted with scepticism, claiming that the country's state-approved Catholics "had chosen to run their church independently amid a struggle against colonialism, imperialism and slavery". He said that China's constitution banned religious groups and affairs from being controlled by foreign forces. It is thought that a compromise may be found in which Chinese and Vatican officials have a say in running the Catholic church.
Mr Gang said that the Taiwanese president travelled to Rome simply to promote his country's ambitions for further recognition as a sovereign state. "His real intention is to take this opportunity to engage in secessionist activity and create two Chinas, or one China and one Taiwan, which is what we are opposed to," he said.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
04/10/2005 4:05:46 AM ||
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#1
Just hours after the Pope died last week...
Given his history, I can't imagine Karol Wojtyla sucking up to the ChiComs like this. Such a modern triumph of Marketing over Morality! Poor old John Paul must be spinning in his grave already.
#2
Time to focus on Phase II: China's getting more aggressive by the week, and in our own backyard as well as theirs. 100,000 Chinese advisers now in Cuba. Creating strategic relations with Chavez. Ramping up trade across latin America.
How long before we see an Al Qaeda-Chavez-China united front?
#4
As if Diplomatic recognition will allow the Catholics in China free to worship? I call bullshit
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2005 10:58 Comments ||
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#5
Right On Frank G! The "Chicoms" will accept the Taiwan 'Divorce of the Church', and then turn right around to later condemn The Vatican for meddling in it's internal affairs. I guess the Church is already eyeing the moment when it will have to pull it's progress out of Hong Kong!!
#6
Doubt it, but I will say this - the Church and its next Pope is gonna need the international skills and repertoire of JP2 since the WOT is about KIND of GLOBAL GOVT, KIND OF EMPIRE, and KIND OF GLOBAL SOCIALISM/NWO, etc.... -ism's in general, where either America rules or the Commies ["regulators/empiricists"]do. IOW, an independent Vatican and God-State, etc. vs, Party/State-controlled, Secular-centric, minimalist "Churches" and other alleged "religious" orgs., ON A GLOBAL ORDER, NO LONGER REGIONAL OR EVEN TRANSNATIONAL!? ONCE THE VATICAN EST KAPUT, WORLD RELIGION OF ANY FAITH IS NEXT ON THE LEFTIST CHOPPING BLOCK - and now you know, boyz and girls, what NOSTRADAMUS meant when he described, "The HIDEOUS BEAST seen near Orgon", aka SATAN/LUCIFER [OMNI-GODZILLA-incarnate] rampaging across the world! 9-11 and the Commie Clintons is asmuch a Divine event, as it is human-centric treason and conspiracy, unleashing forces they only think they planned, and more importantly, they only think they control!!!
#8
The Vatican kissing up to the Chicoms and abandoning Taiwan will be another step in its losing of its moral authority. If they do this they will lose both the PRC and Taiwan.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/10/2005 21:41 Comments ||
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#9
This talk about abandoning Taiwan is jsut that: talk.
Its about as relevant as most of the trash you are reading from the MSM regarding how the Church needs a "liberal" Pope.
Basically, Soldano, a vatican insider, may have made some approaches, and the press got hold of it and is running with it. Problem for them is that Soldano, Et Al are going to be replaced when the new Pope is seated.
The ONLY position that is acceptable is that the Catholic Church be given free and full exercise wherever it is to preach the truth, evangelize the Gospel, and minister to the faithful.
If anything, the closest the Holy See will do is probably adopt the US position: Recognize Mainland China, but refuse to sever relationship with the Church (and government) in Taiwan.
The problem with mainland China is that they have been imprisoning and killing Catholics who refuse to swear fealty to the Government, and put their obedience to the Church secondary to obedience to the Chinese state.
#10
This talk about abandoning Taiwan is jsut that: talk.
Its about as relevant as most of the trash you are reading from the MSM regarding how the Church needs a "liberal" Pope.
Basically, Soldano, a vatican insider, may have made some approaches, and the press got hold of it and is running with it. Problem for them is that Soldano, Et Al are going to be replaced when the new Pope is seated.
The ONLY position that is acceptable is that the Catholic Church be given free and full exercise wherever it is to preach the truth, evangelize the Gospel, and minister to the faithful.
If anything, the closest the Holy See will do is probably adopt the US position: Recognize Mainland China, but refuse to sever relationship with the Church (and government) in Taiwan.
The problem with mainland China is that they have been imprisoning and killing Catholics who refuse to swear fealty to the Government, and put their obedience to the Church secondary to obedience to the Chinese state.
#11
This talk about abandoning Taiwan is jsut that: talk.
Its about as relevant as most of the trash you are reading from the MSM regarding how the Church needs a "liberal" Pope.
Basically, Soldano, a vatican insider, may have made some approaches, and the press got hold of it and is running with it. Problem for them is that Soldano, Et Al are going to be replaced when the new Pope is seated.
The ONLY position that is acceptable is that the Catholic Church be given free and full exercise wherever it is to preach the truth, evangelize the Gospel, and minister to the faithful.
If anything, the closest the Holy See will do is probably adopt the US position: Recognize Mainland China, but refuse to sever relationship with the Church (and government) in Taiwan.
The problem with mainland China is that they have been imprisoning and killing Catholics who refuse to swear fealty to the Government, and put their obedience to the Church secondary to obedience to the Chinese state.
An international medical charity battling a hemorrhagic fever that so far has killed 181 Angolans has urged the government to close the regional hospital here, at the center of the outbreak, saying the medical center itself is a source of the deadly infection. Doctors Without Borders, the global relief organization that runs an isolation ward at the hospital for victims of the deadly fever, Marburg virus, told Angolan officials on Friday that the hospital should be closed if the rapidly spreading epidemic was to be contained.
Two other hospitals within 60 miles of Uige may also have to be shut down, said Monica de Castellarnau, the organization's emergency coordinator in Uige, the provincial capital, where the outbreak was first reported.
That possibility raises the prospect of a second health care crisis, one in which hundreds of thousands of people already facing a disease that is almost always fatal may suddenly have no access to hospital care. But in an interview in the streets of Uige, where an intensive effort is under way to find and isolate new cases of the virus, Other reports say efforts to find cases have almost stopped completely several days ago after workers were attacked. Ms. Castellarnau said there might be no alternative.
"The hospital has been the main source of infection," she said. "We have to break that chain somehow. It is a massive public health decision, and it must be taken by the government." The breakdown of the healthcare system is a sign the epidemic is out of control. There are likely many thousands of people on the move trying to get away from the outbreak and some of those are likely infected. We may be two or three weeks away from entire countries being isolated.
Posted by: phil_b ||
04/10/2005 3:41:12 AM ||
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#1
I've read that the Ebola-type viruses kill such a high percentage of their victims that outbreaks tend to "burn out" fairly quickly. So what's going on here?
Posted by: Matt ||
04/10/2005 10:51 Comments ||
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#2
Matt-
I don't know myself, but I am shuddering at the possibility that Ebola may have mutated.
Can you say 'Andromeda Strain'?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/10/2005 11:24 Comments ||
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#3
There's a cheery book written about ten years ago by a lady named Laurie Garrett titled "The Coming Plague." It's the nonfiction equivalent of the Andromeda Strain.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/10/2005 11:46 Comments ||
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#4
I don't trust WHO on this. In part becuase the outbreak may have gotten started through reuse of needles in a WHO childhood vaccination program.
In answer to Matt's question. Viruses 'mutate' (in the loose sense of changing their genetic makeup) much faster than other organisms. We are used to thinking of organisms evolving over long periods. Viruses can do the same over days/weeks/months. All they need is sufficient opportunity i.e. enough infections.
#5
If Marburg has mutated to become less virulent and thus less lethal to its host this presents a _MAJOR_ world health problem.
Marburg, in its earlier incarnations, killed its hosts so fast it didn't have time to spread. That's one reason why the German outbreak (and the one in Washington, DC as reported in The Coming Plague) was snuffed out and hushed up so quickly.
Right now, people are thinking "Ebola" and "It's that not so serious African thingie that breaks out every now and then over there - nothing for us to worry about" when the reality is that this is a _MAJOR_ world health crisis for evryone if it breaks loose in a more heavily populated area.
It kills health workers first as they're most directly effected by those infected - just like Ebola, but, as I recall, somewhat faster (at least in the old version).
Disrupt medical and health care facilities and you disrupt medical treatment and isolation capabilities.
This could explode right in our faces if folks at the CDC aren;t watching carefully.
#6
This outbreak of Marburg is clearly a lot more lethal than previous outbreaks. Fatality rate is close to 100%. And right now we have no idea why it is spreading much faster than previous outbreaks. It could be spreading due to a particular (local) combination of factors, e.g. I've read that a local practice is for close relatives of the deceased to wash the body and drink the water afterwards. Maybe the MSF person is right and the hospital is the main source of infection. The alternative is that the virus has become more lethal and better at transmission.
'Receiving IV fluids, nourishment,' says nephew who credits WND, bloggers, 'Terri's friends'
Mae Magouirk, the 81-year-old Georgia widow over whose medical care a family tug-of-war reminiscent of the Terri Schiavo case has been raging, has been transported from the hospice in LaGrange, Ga., to the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center, according to her nephew, where "she is receiving food, fluids, cardiac care and neurological help."
This morning, Magourik's nephew Ken Mullinax, who had been fighting to have his aunt removed from Hospice-LaGrange in LaGrange, Ga., where, he said, she had not been properly fed or hydrated, contacted WorldNetDaily with this phone message:
Because of your articles and all of the friends of Terri, my Aunt Mae Magouirk is now in the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center and is receiving food, fluids, cardiac care and neurological help. We are overjoyed.
Praise be the name of the Lord, praise be all of the friends of Terri Schindler [Schiavo]. We could never have mobilized public sentiment and pressure on these people in LaGrange, Ga. — at Hospice, the LaGrange, Ga., doctors or the probate judge — unless the friends of Terri and the wonderful media of WorldNetDaily.com had become involved. Thank you all.
Under the terms of an April 4 court order, Magouirk's medical treatment was to be decided by three cardiologists tasked with deciding what treatment would be best and where it should take place.
Pending that decision, Mullinax, 45, has contended that his aunt had been without substantial food or hydration for 10 days at the hospice.
As WND reported, Magouirk was not terminally ill, comatose, nor in a persistent vegetative state, when Hospice-LaGrange accepted her as a patient upon the request of her granddaughter, Elizabeth ("Beth") Gaddy, 36, of Hoganville, Ga. Also upon Gaddy's request, the hospice began withholding food and water from the patient.
When she learned of this, Magouirk's sister Lonnie Ruth Mullinax, 74, of Birmingham, and her brother, A.B. McLeod, 64, of Anniston, Ala., protested and attempted to have their sister removed from the hospice and transported to UAB Medical Center for treatment. However, Gaddy and her brother, Michael Shane Magouirk, obtained an emergency injunction from Troup County Probate Judge Donald Boyd to prevent the planned air transport.
In her petition Gaddy argued that "irreparable harm" would occur to Magouirk if she were removed from Hospice.
In his order, Probate Judge Douglas Boyd permitted Gaddy to continue as Magouirk's temporary guardian, but in a formal letter attached to the order stated that her powers were limited. One of the conditions of her guardianship is "To see that the ward [Magouirk] is adequately fed, clothed, sheltered and cared for, and receives all necessary medical attention, including placement in a nursing home, if appropriate."
Today, saying he "just got the call from Dr. Raed Aquel, the University of Alabama-Birmingham cardiologist," Mullinax said Aquel "told me she had been air-transported."
Asked to confirm that Magourik had indeed been admitted to the UAB Medical Center, hospital spokesman Bob Shepard, citing federal HIPA privacy regulations, told WND he "could neither confirm nor deny" it.
WorldNetDaily has attempted numerous times to reach Beth Gaddy, but she reportedly has changed her telephone to a non-listed number. Yesterday, WND received an e-mail from a reader named Janet Caraway, who wrote: "Mrs. Gaddy is not only my child's teacher but also a friend. You could not ask for a more sweet and kind and devoted person as well as a devout Christian."
Noting that Gaddy "has lovingly cared for her Grandmother for years," Caraway added: "She is nothing at all like Michael Schiavo and this situation has no resemblance to that case."
Ahm, ahm... no matter how I turn it around, she looks like a copy cat, at the least... precedent set so why not get rid of granny? Vewwy sweet and kind... Not!
Danny Daniel of LaGrange, the attorney for Gaddy and another grandchild, Michael Shane Magourik, said doctors made the decision to admit Magourik into hospice, according to a story in the local paper, the LaGrange News. He noted that Gaddy has been taking care of her grandmother for 10 years.
"They're following the doctors' recommendations and they want to do what's in the best interests of their grandmother," Daniel said, adding that hospice was providing "excellent care" for Magourik, the paper reported.
The LaGrange paper also quoted local attorney Jack Kirby, representing Magourik's brother and sister, as saying: "I think all of Mrs. Magouirk's family has her genuine best interests at heart, but unfortunately they disagree on what they believe would be best for her."
Posted by: Sobiesky ||
04/10/2005 12:22:45 AM ||
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A conservative group is blasting the ACLU for recommending that school officials in New Orleans be "fined or jailed" for failing to stop prayer before a high school baseball game in March.
The Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion for criminal contempt against the Tangipahoa Parish School Board for defying a court order banning official prayer at athletic events. According to the ACLU, this was the second contempt motion filed against the school board within two weeks for violating court orders.
"This assault on religious freedom is yet another example of the ACLU's crusade to eradicate any public recognition of America's spiritual heritage. I applaud the students, parents, and school board for standing firm in the face of the ACLU's intimidation and threats," said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.
The incident in question took place on March 24 when an adult identified as Shane Tycer used the public address system to lead a prayer before the start of a baseball game between Loranger High School and Sumner High School, according to the ACLU.
The school board voluntarily signed a court judgment on Aug. 27, 2004 banning official prayer, the Louisiana ACLU said. The civil liberties group filed three lawsuits on behalf of "offended parents with children in the Tangipahoa Parish school district" over a ten-year period.
The first was a challenge to the "promotion of the biblical faith-based story of creation as opposed to the scientific theory of evolution." The second was the "presence of a 'pizza preacher' proselytizing via a free lunch." And the third was "school-sponsored prayer."
"The school board and its superintendent cannot get away with a shell game that mocks the judiciary and its role of interpreting and upholding the rule of law," said Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana ACLU.
"It is time to put out the welcome mat to believers and non-believers alike at all public school functions across the state and the nation. Children and parents whose beliefs are different from the majority must not be made to feel like outsiders in their own schools," said Cook.
"Public schools should be kept inclusive and secular in keeping with our Founders' ideas for religious liberty for all," said Cook. "Because public schools are part of the government, official school-organized or school-sponsored devotional exercises are inconsistent with the principle of religious freedom.
"How, when, where and to whom children should pray is a decision that should be made by families in the home and chosen places of worship, not forced or coerced by government officials," he added.
According to Perkins, the Louisiana ACLU asked Judge Ginger Berrigan to hold the school board in contempt last month for allowing an elementary school student to recite the Lord's Prayer before its meeting. The ruling was denounced by Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, but it is being appealed.
"While our high school campuses have become virtual battle grounds, the ACLU has fixed its sights not on the perpetrators of violence but on those who would allow prayer," said Perkins.
"When the latest school shooting took place yesterday in Texas the students and dazed administrators didn't turn to the ACLU or the courts to be consoled but to local ministers who were summoned to the school to pray and counsel with the students," added Perkins.
"If the ACLU and the courts would stop attacking students who are praying, we might very well have fewer violent criminals preying upon their classmates," he concluded.
Posted by: Sobiesky ||
04/10/2005 4:24:32 AM ||
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#1
Sorry, there is a difference between freedom to practice your religion, and license to jam your religion down someone else's throat. And it is often those who just can't resist trying to proseletize who object loudest when others don't want to be assailed, or have their children assailed, much like a mugger who believes he has a right to mug. Granted schools sometimes go to the opposite extreme, trying to prohibit passive expressions of religion; but most of the time, schools, teachers and administrators, some parents and their children want to convert others to their particular religious sect. And it is usually just one or two religious sects with which the problem lies--other religions don't push their members or children to try and vigorously convert others. So when this debate comes up, remember it is not necessarily a "church vs. state" argument, but an "everybody else vs. the obnoxious loudmouths" argument.
#2
This problem is also solved by getting rid of government schools. If we had vouchers, you want to send your kids to a religious school, you do, you don't, you don't.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/10/2005 12:43 Comments ||
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#3
I wonder... A thought experiment...
What would ACLU say if the event was greeted by a muezzin yodel... would they be so adamant in opposing "promotion of the koranic faith-based story of creation as opposed to the scientific theory of evolution."
#4
Everybody thinks of the ACLU when stuff like this happens, which is a darn shame. Conservatives should have an equally large organization that also pursues similar ends--bereft of those individuals who use conservatism to further their own agendas. Conservatives, such as the Founding Fathers, who sought neither to elevate religion over the state nor supress it, in theirs, a state "of, by and for the people", whose rules are written by men, not in heaven. A simple ethos, of "live and let live"; more bluntly stated that "your rights end where my nose begins."
#5
Of all the reasons to not send your kids to public school in New Orleans, I'm sure that possibly being exposed to a before-game prayer is at the bottom of the list.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
04/10/2005 13:56 Comments ||
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South African President Thabo Mbeki has rebuked Zimbabwe's critics for making an "extraordinary" noise about that country while ignoring bigger African crises like the war in Congo.
"What's the big deal? So Bob's horrible! Lotsa people are horrible!"
"You get reports that something like three million people have died in the Congo over the last few years because of the wars that are going on," Mbeki told a meeting of the South African Communist Party, an ally of his ruling African National Congress. "But the amount of noise that you will hear about Zimbabwe, and no noise about the Congo, must surely raise questions as to why," he said at the meeting in Durban on Saturday.
I'd say that just means more people should be hollering about the pygmy-eaters in the Congo, but maybe that's just me...
Mbeki contrasted Zimbabwe's situation with instability killing 1000 people every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo, mostly from hunger and disease, on top of the 3.8 million people who have died since the war began in 1998. "Why is it so easy to ignore the death of 3 million people and make extraordinary volumes of noise about another country where only a few people have died. There is something not right about it," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
thks Thabo - sealing your legacy among the "underachieving"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2005 0:11 Comments ||
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#2
Yea right as you preside over South Africa turing into a 3rd world crap hole.
#3
Lets not forget the decline under Mugabe is from the levels achieved under the almost universally villified white regime that was placed under the most severe international sactions ever used.
#4
Note the MSM silence on post-apartheid So Africa's miserable record:
-- 40% unemployment
-- most dangerous peacetime capital city on the planet
-- nearly one-third of the adult female population has been raped
-- 20% of the population has AIDS
And these jokers have the nerve to call post-Saddam Iraq "chaotic"?
#6
"Why is it so easy to ignore the death of 3 million people and make extraordinary volumes of noise drowning out my brilliant very, very quiet diplomacy about another country where only a few stooges for white people have died."
I don't know Thabo, why is it so easy to ignore anti-AIDS measures while millions become infected?
#7
When will those critics of the Iraq War and the descent into post-Saddam "chaos" turn their attention to the utter devastation that is today's South Africa and tell us what a mistake it was to end apartheid there?
#11
It'd be pretty hard to make a case that ending apartheid was a bad thing. And it was an astoundingly peaceful regime change, and the Truth and Reconciliation hearings were quite an interesting and effective innovation. It's a pity nothing much else in the new regime was any good.
Posted by: James ||
04/10/2005 12:13 Comments ||
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#12
In this case, the warmup act was better than the headliner.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A normally quiet seaside town is awash with rumours of a vampire on the loose. Affluent Lytham St Anne's, near Blackpool in Lancashire, has been the centre of two vampire-like attacks in recent weeks — with the Dracula in question fluent in French. Police have launched an investigation after two women had their necks bitten by what appears to be the same man, the Sun reports. The first victim was a 38-year-old owner of a French delicatessen, who had been chatting in French to a man in his 30s or 40s when he trapped her and sunk his teeth into her neck. And fears grew even further when another woman was attacked in a bar on the seafront, by a man who fitted the same description.
South African President 
