Understand a few things - this is a man who belonged to one of the most famous bands in history. It was the U2 of the 1970s - an era of more sex and everything else than the 80s or 90s when U2 went shuffling beyond the coils of mere mortality into the echelons of the greatest groups in human history.
Daltry - cannot by any means be considered a Conservative or prude. This is a guy who probably did more of everything there was to do than most musicians today could ever imagine doing or having.
He would be a definition of leave me alone so I can do ....
And yet, reading about his life is more interesting than for the more prurient points.
Why my wife let me cheat on her: Roger Daltrey on why his attitudes to marriage vows are far from straightforward
By Nicole Lampert
Daily Mail
15th July 2011
Roger Daltrey may be 67 and a grandfather ‘many, many’ times over, but he’s more excitable and fidgety than a toddler. He’s backwards and forwards in his chair, his hands pounding a handkerchief, his legs bouncing up and down as if they are pulsing with energy.
The angry man of rock is as angry as ever, and he doesn’t like being called old. The Who lead singer famously sang ‘I hope I die before I get old’, and says he still believes that.
‘We tend to think of age only in time, but I don’t think it has much to do with time at all; there’s a whole load of other things,’ he says. ‘I’ve met 16-year-olds who are old and 90-year-olds who are young.
‘Every day, I visit a mate of mine who is 85; he’s old in years but has the brain of a teenager. Wonderful. Old puts a slant on things. Yes, I’m a grandfather, but in some ways I feel the same as when I was younger.’
Physically, Roger is in incredible shape with a full head of hair and a physique you wouldn’t mess with. ‘You have to keep fit being a singer — that’s part of the job,’ he says. ‘You can’t do it unless you have incredible stamina.’
He has just finished decorating his house, which is why he is exercising his fingers with a tightly rolled up handkerchief. ‘Building work and guitar playing don’t mix’ he laughs.
Time has, however, taken its toll. Last year Roger had emergency surgery after doctors found a pre-cancerous growth behind his vocal chords.
‘That was a bit of a scare because I didn’t know what it was,’ he recalls. ‘I was finding it difficult to sing, the notes were becoming more difficult and taking up more energy.
‘I got lucky — I found probably the best throat guy in the world and he got me back to a voice that is probably better now that it has been for years.’
His throat still has to be checked twice a year and it could ‘go pop’ at any time. But instead of leading the singer gently into retirement (with a fortune estimated to be £32 million he hardly needs the money) he’s working harder than ever.
‘I have deliberately kept singing because I have to at my age,’ he says. ‘If I stopped for even a year my voice would slowly deteriorate until it’s not there at all. That’s a fact about getting to my age. Rock musicians have never been this age before and so we are in the land of the unknown really. I could never stop. I just love to play. I enjoy singing; being in touch with something that is inside of me.’
But as he tours the country with his Tommy Reborn show, 40 years after he first sang its lyrics, and then moves on to America where The Who have an even bigger following, he is his band’s sole emissary. It’s the first time he has done the show without main songwriter and other surviving bandmate Pete Townshend. And he admits he does not know when they will perform together again.
‘Pete is almost stone deaf,’ he says sadly. ‘He deafened himself in the recording studio, and when we last performed he had to stand right next to the speakers to hear anything. I don’t know what Pete will do. I don’t want to do a tour and have him end up completely deaf.’
The pair have been together for 50 years since meeting at Acton County Grammar School in West London. They are as infamous for their rows as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and Roger says they still fight like ‘cat and dog; it’s creative differences’.
We talk about how the two Rolling Stones have fallen out over Richards’ book; in particular the claims that Mick is not well endowed. ‘If I was Mick I would just say, “Yeah, I’ve got a small ****, who cares? I’ve done all right with it!”’ cackles Roger.
‘I love Pete to bits,’ he says. ‘He’s incredibly complex; bordering on madness. But when he is creative, some of the music he makes is incredible and we’ve been together for 50 years; we’re like brothers.’
He has lost his two other bandmates, Keith Moon and John Entwistle to drugs. He was the only one in the band not to touch the heavy stuff. ‘I wasn’t a goody-goody; I dabbled in the natural,’ says Roger. But I was in a band with three alcoholics and someone had to be straight. They were three lunatics.
‘I also got warned off chemicals very early on by the man who made Purple Haze [LSD]. His name was Owsley Stanley, The Bear. He told me to never touch chemicals and I believed him because he was the man.’
He was famously thrown out of the band for a week for physically attacking Moon, who was providing drugs for the others. He says he only became angry with his bandmates when it started to affect their performances.
‘I don’t think anyone who hasn’t done this job can understand how hard it is; particularly with nerves,’ he says. ‘You are completely naked up there and you will be judged. It’s very tough psychologically.
‘So it’s easy to see why musicians would go for a bit of Dutch courage here, a bit of something else there. Keith used to throw up before every gig. The quality of the playing went down because of the drugs and we were better than that. I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I thought the best way was to get rid of the drugs.’
He says he still remembers his bandmates whenever he plays. ‘Keith and John made their stamp on that music and when we play it, it’s like they are back alive; they still echo in the music and they always will.’
On the domestic front, Roger was also always the most settled, and recently celebrated his ruby wedding — although that is not to say there weren’t plenty of groupies. He had a four-year marriage to model Jackie Rickman, which produced his first son Simon. They were divorced in 1968 shortly after another son, Mathias, was born as a result of an affair with model Elisabeth Aronsson.
When he married American model Heather Taylor in 1971 — she was the inspiration for Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy Lady — it was with the proviso that he was allowed to stray, although he insists he behaves himself now their three children have become parents themselves.
‘It’s not an open marriage, but in the early days of our relationship she never put restrictions on me,’ says Roger. ‘I was in one of the biggest rock bands in the world, going out for four months at a time. At that age do you expect me to come back and say, “Oh yes darling, I was a good boy?”
‘Over years we have developed something a lot deeper than that — she is the most extraordinary woman I know.’
Today Roger, who grew up in a poor West London household and had to make his own guitar, is as well known for his charitable work as his music. His work for the Teenage Cancer Trust has helped create 20 units for teenagers suffering from cancer.
His annual week-long series of gigs at the Albert Hall has made more than £12 million for the charity while he has spearheaded its spread to America (the first unit will open at UCLA in September) and Australia.
We get on to the issue of U2, who recently faced a demonstration at Glastonbury after moving their multimillion-pound company out of Ireland, depriving their suffering country of their tax revenue.
‘I find it very interesting that people who spout socialism don’t want to pay for a socialist state. Weird,’ he says. ‘It doesn’t quite add up.’
When it comes to British politics he has a lot to say. A lifelong Labour voter, he’s disgusted by the last Government. ‘I was appalled at what Labour did to the working class — mass immigration, where people were allowed to come here and undercut our working class,’ says Roger.
‘It’s fine to say everybody can come into your country, but everybody should work towards a standard of living expected by people who live here. Not come here, live 20 to a room, pay no tax, send money home and undercut every builder in London. They slaughtered the working class in this country. I hate them for it because it is always the little man who is hurt badly. It’s terrible. It frustrates me.
‘We have got to stop pandering to people because we won’t be able to afford to keep this going. At the very least, it should be a pre-requisite that people have to learn English.
‘What really made me angry about that period is not that people shouldn’t come here — that’s fine — but you have to make allowances for the strain that is going to put on your social services and they made none.
‘Talk about sticking their head up their a***. The arrogance, the audacity. They don’t realise how hard the average man has to work to get that and to pay those taxes.’
The Tories should not expect Roger to turn to them, however. ‘I’ve become very cynical,’ he says. ‘I don’t see anybody with a pair of balls out of the whole bunch. They are so spineless.’
He is passionate about everything. There is the NHS, which he has seen at first hand: ‘When you look at how it is run you see there is nobody in charge. Everybody’s been digging trenches for 50, 60 years and now those trenches are so deep its going to be really hard to get any sort of movement.’
And at the other end of the spectrum, there is his adoration of the Queen, who presented him with a CBE six years ago. ‘She’s amazing,’ he gushes. ‘She talks with her eyes. She has a twinkle in them — wow — she’s so special. I think she’s so wonderful and we, as a country should be so proud of her. It’s a dreadful position to be in; she can never be free. But her dedication to duty has been amazing.’
He has also been outspoken about his dislike of reality shows — although he reveals he has been in talks for The Voice, the new BBC talent show, which will choose a new singing star.
‘The problem with these shows is I don’t like the people they choose. It’s partly because the public doesn’t understand what great voices are; they tend to choose mediocrity,’ he says.
‘With a singer like Adele you know within 20 seconds it’s her; and she has a quality that they don’t seem to be able to find in these shows. They end up with singers who are technically brilliant but have insignificant voices; they are great backing singers.
‘My agent wheeled me in to see the American Idol people but I didn’t want to do it. I have been talking to The Voice. I quite liked the idea but I will be on tour when they start filming.
‘I’m not sure I would have been any good. I could have listened to 100 voices and said I don’t like any of them. And I would hate to really destroy someone; that’s what I don’t like about those shows. There are people in them who would never win a karaoke competition and it’s public humiliation.
‘With The Voice, I liked the idea you have to choose the voice before seeing the person, but a great voice is one in 5,000; otherwise it’s a mass of mediocrity. Ooops!’ he guffaws. ‘That will get me unemployed for the rest of my life in television.’
Grey, yes, but definitely not old. His energy is certainly undiminished.
‘People ask how I feel about singing the same songs I’ve been singing for 40-odd years but they don’t understand that when I’m singing it that night, it is like I will be singing it for the first time.’
music
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
All Cultures and Beliefs are Equal
Iranian Pastor Sentenced to Death Could Be Executed if He Doesn’t Recant, Says Verdict
By Amy Kellogg
Published July 13, 2011
FoxNews.com
Iran's Supreme Court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.
Christian Solidarity World says Iranian-born Yousef Nadarkhani, who was arrested in 2009 and given the death sentence late last year, could have his sentence suspended on the grounds that he renounce his faith.
Those who know him say he is not likely to do that, for if he were disposed to giving it up, he would have done it long ago.
If Nadarkhani does not recant, his fate is unclear. It’s believed his case would then be remanded to lower courts in Iran.
Recently the U.S. State Department issued the following remarks: “We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Yousef Nadarkhani to recant his faith or face the death penalty for apostasy, a charge based on his religious beliefs. If carried out, it would be the first execution for apostasy in Iran since 1990. He is just one of thousands who face persecution for their religious beliefs in Iran, including the seven leaders of the Baha’i community whose imprisonment was increased to twenty years for practicing their faith and hundreds of Sufis who have been flogged in public because of their beliefs.”
Christian and human rights groups say apostasy isn’t even codified in Iranian law.
“From a human rights perspective, you can’t criminalize someone’s choice of religion, much less execute them for that,” says Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
Nadarkhani, from Rasht, on the Caspian Sea, converted to Christianity as a teenager. He is reportedly an effective pastor, who has converted an unknown number of people from Islam to Christianity.
Some believe he has about 400 people in his church.
Iran has ancient Armenian and Assyrian churches. The Evangelical Church of Iran is relatively new, church officials tell Fox News, a product of the legacy of Anglican missionaries who were in Iran in the last two centuries. Even after the Islamic Revolution, Iran been fairly tolerant of the older Armenian and Assyrian orders, which date back to the early days of Christianity, but has been less accepting of Evangelical conversions.
Firouz Khandjani, a spokesman for the evangelical Church of Iran, lives in exile in Eastern Europe. He fled Iran for Turkey for security reasons, but says even in his new homeland he's not safe, and was informed he could be targeted by Iranian agents in Turkey.
Khandjani says a sort of “soft persecution” began after the Revolution, with Christians generally losing many civil rights, including access to top jobs in the country, but has increased since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005.
Khandjani himself was arrested and released 18 years ago. But he says about 40 people have been arrested, many of them also released, since Ahmadinejad became President.
“I can’t say Ahmadinejad is persecuting us, but the hard-liners around him are. The leadership needs hard-liners to permit them to do what they want. They need their support.”
It is hard to get a number on how many Evangelical Christians there are in Iran. It is not a large number in this country of 70 million, but reportedly, the numbers continue to grow. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran estimates there may be 4,000. Khandjani believes the number to be as high as 200,000. Many of them watch evangelical television stations beamed into Iran from the United States.
Ghaemi says, “Most churches in Iran operate with some degree of secrecy. They operate in homes. People take their batteries out of their cellphones and leave them at the door. They show up at random times so as to avoid the appearance of a crowd filing in. The current government sees them as a threat.”
Ghaemi says there had been a tacit agreement between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Church of Iran, whereby if worshippers were open, and told the Ministry where they were going, the government would leave them alone. The government appears to have broken that “gentlemen’s agreement.”
Firouz Khandjani said the church wanted to be out in the open, and had asked to have physical churches in which to operate under the previous presidential administration.
“It was in the time of Khatami. We believed it was possible. He was more open to minority groups, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the will. We had believed in him.”
A court in Shiraz, Iran, recently released a group of Christians who had been arrested for subversion. The court ultimately ruled that they were just exercising their right to practice their religion. Human rights advocates say the higher courts should follow their example.
Sources say while the Iranian regime doesn’t look fondly upon conversion, it is proselytizing that really rankles them.
Khandjani made a plea to America.
“The U.S., which is fighting for freedom, has to take care of this situation. This is the 21st century. We are not a military group. We want to worship God, according to the Gospel, and being persecuted is not acceptable.”
Iran
By Amy Kellogg
Published July 13, 2011
FoxNews.com
Iran's Supreme Court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.
Christian Solidarity World says Iranian-born Yousef Nadarkhani, who was arrested in 2009 and given the death sentence late last year, could have his sentence suspended on the grounds that he renounce his faith.
Those who know him say he is not likely to do that, for if he were disposed to giving it up, he would have done it long ago.
If Nadarkhani does not recant, his fate is unclear. It’s believed his case would then be remanded to lower courts in Iran.
Recently the U.S. State Department issued the following remarks: “We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Yousef Nadarkhani to recant his faith or face the death penalty for apostasy, a charge based on his religious beliefs. If carried out, it would be the first execution for apostasy in Iran since 1990. He is just one of thousands who face persecution for their religious beliefs in Iran, including the seven leaders of the Baha’i community whose imprisonment was increased to twenty years for practicing their faith and hundreds of Sufis who have been flogged in public because of their beliefs.”
Christian and human rights groups say apostasy isn’t even codified in Iranian law.
“From a human rights perspective, you can’t criminalize someone’s choice of religion, much less execute them for that,” says Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
Nadarkhani, from Rasht, on the Caspian Sea, converted to Christianity as a teenager. He is reportedly an effective pastor, who has converted an unknown number of people from Islam to Christianity.
Some believe he has about 400 people in his church.
Iran has ancient Armenian and Assyrian churches. The Evangelical Church of Iran is relatively new, church officials tell Fox News, a product of the legacy of Anglican missionaries who were in Iran in the last two centuries. Even after the Islamic Revolution, Iran been fairly tolerant of the older Armenian and Assyrian orders, which date back to the early days of Christianity, but has been less accepting of Evangelical conversions.
Firouz Khandjani, a spokesman for the evangelical Church of Iran, lives in exile in Eastern Europe. He fled Iran for Turkey for security reasons, but says even in his new homeland he's not safe, and was informed he could be targeted by Iranian agents in Turkey.
Khandjani says a sort of “soft persecution” began after the Revolution, with Christians generally losing many civil rights, including access to top jobs in the country, but has increased since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005.
Khandjani himself was arrested and released 18 years ago. But he says about 40 people have been arrested, many of them also released, since Ahmadinejad became President.
“I can’t say Ahmadinejad is persecuting us, but the hard-liners around him are. The leadership needs hard-liners to permit them to do what they want. They need their support.”
It is hard to get a number on how many Evangelical Christians there are in Iran. It is not a large number in this country of 70 million, but reportedly, the numbers continue to grow. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran estimates there may be 4,000. Khandjani believes the number to be as high as 200,000. Many of them watch evangelical television stations beamed into Iran from the United States.
Ghaemi says, “Most churches in Iran operate with some degree of secrecy. They operate in homes. People take their batteries out of their cellphones and leave them at the door. They show up at random times so as to avoid the appearance of a crowd filing in. The current government sees them as a threat.”
Ghaemi says there had been a tacit agreement between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Church of Iran, whereby if worshippers were open, and told the Ministry where they were going, the government would leave them alone. The government appears to have broken that “gentlemen’s agreement.”
Firouz Khandjani said the church wanted to be out in the open, and had asked to have physical churches in which to operate under the previous presidential administration.
“It was in the time of Khatami. We believed it was possible. He was more open to minority groups, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the will. We had believed in him.”
A court in Shiraz, Iran, recently released a group of Christians who had been arrested for subversion. The court ultimately ruled that they were just exercising their right to practice their religion. Human rights advocates say the higher courts should follow their example.
Sources say while the Iranian regime doesn’t look fondly upon conversion, it is proselytizing that really rankles them.
Khandjani made a plea to America.
“The U.S., which is fighting for freedom, has to take care of this situation. This is the 21st century. We are not a military group. We want to worship God, according to the Gospel, and being persecuted is not acceptable.”
Iran
Monday, June 20, 2011
Pakistan: Some cultures are simply not worth tolerating
And those who use children as bombs need to be erased from our collective. They are vile and despicable regardless of anything else.
Evil.
Girl, nine, used as human bomb
AP
Independent
Ireland
Monday June 20 2011
A girl of nine has told how she escaped Pakistani terrorists who tried to use her as a human bomb.
Sohana Jawed said she was kidnapped on her way to school in Peshawar, and forced to wear a remotely-controlled suicide jacket. But she escaped her captors as they prepared to send her towards a paramilitary checkpoint.
Sohana, wearing her a blue and white school uniform, recounted her ordeal during a news conference with police in Lower Dir district. Militants in Pakistan have often used young boys to carry out attacks, but the use of young girls is rare.
Sohana said she was going to school on Saturday when she was grabbed by two women and forced into a car carrying two men. One of the kidnappers put a handkerchief on her mouth that knocked her unconscious, she said in an interview with a local TV station.
"This morning, the women and men forced me to put on the heavy jacket and put me in the car again," said Sohana.
The suicide jacket contained nearly 20lbs of explosives and seemed to be designed to be set off remotely, Lower Dir police chief Salim Marwat said.
"Most likely it had to be detonated through a remote control since a minor was wearing it," he said.
The kidnappers took her to a checkpoint run by the paramilitary Frontier Corps about six miles outside Timergarah, the main town in Lower Dir district. When they got out of the car, she sprinted toward the soldiers to show them what she was wearing, said Mr Marwat.
By the time the paramilitary soldiers realised what was happening, the kidnappers had escaped, he said.
[Doubtful they took long realizing - these are the same troops who nebver knew bin Laden was in Pakistan - which means it could have been several hours later]
Pakistan
Evil.
Girl, nine, used as human bomb
AP
Independent
Ireland
Monday June 20 2011
A girl of nine has told how she escaped Pakistani terrorists who tried to use her as a human bomb.
Sohana Jawed said she was kidnapped on her way to school in Peshawar, and forced to wear a remotely-controlled suicide jacket. But she escaped her captors as they prepared to send her towards a paramilitary checkpoint.
Sohana, wearing her a blue and white school uniform, recounted her ordeal during a news conference with police in Lower Dir district. Militants in Pakistan have often used young boys to carry out attacks, but the use of young girls is rare.
Sohana said she was going to school on Saturday when she was grabbed by two women and forced into a car carrying two men. One of the kidnappers put a handkerchief on her mouth that knocked her unconscious, she said in an interview with a local TV station.
"This morning, the women and men forced me to put on the heavy jacket and put me in the car again," said Sohana.
The suicide jacket contained nearly 20lbs of explosives and seemed to be designed to be set off remotely, Lower Dir police chief Salim Marwat said.
"Most likely it had to be detonated through a remote control since a minor was wearing it," he said.
The kidnappers took her to a checkpoint run by the paramilitary Frontier Corps about six miles outside Timergarah, the main town in Lower Dir district. When they got out of the car, she sprinted toward the soldiers to show them what she was wearing, said Mr Marwat.
By the time the paramilitary soldiers realised what was happening, the kidnappers had escaped, he said.
[Doubtful they took long realizing - these are the same troops who nebver knew bin Laden was in Pakistan - which means it could have been several hours later]
Pakistan
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Japan: Honesty before Profit
I want to cry.
Japanese citizens turning in cash found in tsunami zone
By Kyung Lah
CNN
April 10, 2011 9:35 a.m. EDT
Tokyo (CNN) -- A tsunami that followed a massive earthquake last month may have destroyed some of Japan's structures, but police say the honest practice of turning in lost items, especially cash, remains intact.
Residents have turned in lost cash across the tsunami zone at a much higher rate than usual, the Miyagi Prefectural Police Department tells CNN.
A police spokesman, who asked not to be identified, citing department policy, said he could not specify how much cash has been turned in to lost-and-found offices at police stations. But, he said, of the 24 police stations across Miyagi Prefecture, nine of them are on the Pacific coastline.
Between March 12, the day following the earthquake and tsunami, and March 31, those nine police stations collected 10 times the amount of lost cash collected at the other 15 stations combined.
Japanese children, from a young age, are taught to turn in any lost items, including cash, to police stations. The cultural practice of returning lost items and never keeping what belongs to a stranger has meant police departments like Tokyo's Metropolitan have an entire warehouse filled with lost shoes, umbrellas and wallets.
In the tsunami zone, where personal items lie amid miles of rubble, it's meant that lost valuables have often gone directly to police, rather than the pocket of the finder.
The lost cash hasn't been easy to handle, the Miyagi Prefectural Police Department says. Money found along with some identification is being returned, but officers have been able to return only 10% of the cash.
Cash that wasn't in a wallet is left unclaimed at the police station. After three months, the person who turned in the cash is able to collect that lost money. But police say people are already waiving their rights to claim the cash when they turn it in.
Unclaimed cash will eventually be sent to the Miyagi Prefectural Government, though police say they do not know how it will be used.
Also found: Hundreds of safes that can't be opened. If the prefectural government allocates funding for opening the safes, police will start doing so.
Prefectural police believe that these safes could contain not only currency, but bank books, stocks and land deeds, which could give a huge boost to the amount of lost money.
japan
Japanese citizens turning in cash found in tsunami zone
By Kyung Lah
CNN
April 10, 2011 9:35 a.m. EDT
Tokyo (CNN) -- A tsunami that followed a massive earthquake last month may have destroyed some of Japan's structures, but police say the honest practice of turning in lost items, especially cash, remains intact.
Residents have turned in lost cash across the tsunami zone at a much higher rate than usual, the Miyagi Prefectural Police Department tells CNN.
A police spokesman, who asked not to be identified, citing department policy, said he could not specify how much cash has been turned in to lost-and-found offices at police stations. But, he said, of the 24 police stations across Miyagi Prefecture, nine of them are on the Pacific coastline.
Between March 12, the day following the earthquake and tsunami, and March 31, those nine police stations collected 10 times the amount of lost cash collected at the other 15 stations combined.
Japanese children, from a young age, are taught to turn in any lost items, including cash, to police stations. The cultural practice of returning lost items and never keeping what belongs to a stranger has meant police departments like Tokyo's Metropolitan have an entire warehouse filled with lost shoes, umbrellas and wallets.
In the tsunami zone, where personal items lie amid miles of rubble, it's meant that lost valuables have often gone directly to police, rather than the pocket of the finder.
The lost cash hasn't been easy to handle, the Miyagi Prefectural Police Department says. Money found along with some identification is being returned, but officers have been able to return only 10% of the cash.
Cash that wasn't in a wallet is left unclaimed at the police station. After three months, the person who turned in the cash is able to collect that lost money. But police say people are already waiving their rights to claim the cash when they turn it in.
Unclaimed cash will eventually be sent to the Miyagi Prefectural Government, though police say they do not know how it will be used.
Also found: Hundreds of safes that can't be opened. If the prefectural government allocates funding for opening the safes, police will start doing so.
Prefectural police believe that these safes could contain not only currency, but bank books, stocks and land deeds, which could give a huge boost to the amount of lost money.
japan
Sunday, January 23, 2011
India: So far and yet so close
The idea that India is a model to be followed, a leader among nations, is simply foolhardy, mimiked by fools and idiots.
India has far deeper problems than can be explained in a few sentences, but the following is one example of why India will never be a power to follow until they have solved this issue ... but I suppose all cultures are the same, equal, and worthy.
The following is taken from a much longer article in The Guardian, January 22, 2011.
Shobha was the youngest of seven children and was dedicated aged eight. At 12, she was taken out of school and her first paying "partner" was her 35-year-old brother-in-law. "No one asked my consent, money talks. Girls like me grow up in living fear of reaching puberty." She was determined that her own daughter would escape the same fate. "The devadasi system isn't about religion. Its about economics. We're just traded like a commodity. I know the pains as a serving devadasi, how exploitative this practice is. We are the victims. What happened to me shouldn't happen in another's life. I want to stop this and I decided to fight."
Sometimes several generations from the same family are devadasi, like Lalitha, whose mother and grandmother were dedicated before her. Like Hanamavva, however, Lalitha is determined to stop the practice. "I was shocked to find out I have to practice this system because I have been dedicated. I was determined not to become devadasi. In my village there are 100 devadasi. About 20 are between 12 and 18. I try to persuade all my friends not to get into this evil practice but they are vulnerable. Both the parents and the community are pressuring them."
Devadasi remain common in the poorest towns and villages of provinces of the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2006, the National Legal Service Authority in Bangalore launched an awareness programme for police and judges, and said there were 250,000 "devadasi" girls who had been dedicated to Yellamma and Khandoba temples. But the remoteness of many of the villages, and the continuing rise in demand from organised traffickers who pay well for young girls to fill the brothels of India's vast cities, is thwarting efforts to combat the system.
"The social customs combined with economic pressures have pushed girls into the system. The fact that not one of them is married and most of them have children not only leaves them in a traumatised condition but renders their children stigmatised forever," said an authority spokesman.
and from another Guardian article -
Now 26 and diagnosed with Aids, she has returned to her village, Mudhol in southern India, weak and unable to work. "We are a cursed community. Men use us and throw us away," she says. Applying talcum powder to her daughter's face and tying ribbons to her hair, she says: "I am going to die soon and then who will look after her?" The daughter of a devadasi, Parvatamma plans to dedicate her own daughter to Yellamma, a practice that is now outlawed in India.
[...]
Roopa, now 16, has come to buy bangles at the festival. She was dedicated to the goddess seven years ago and was told that Yellamma would protect her. Her virginity was auctioned in the village, and since then she has supported her family by working as a prostitute out of her home in a village close to Saundatti.
"The first time it was hard," she admits. In fact, her vagina was slashed with a razor blade by the man she was supposed to sleep with the first time. Her future, like that of other devadasis, is uncertain. Once they are around 45, at which point they are no longer considered attractive, devadasis try to eke out a living by becoming jogathis or begging near the temple.
[...]
BL Patil, the founder of Vimochana, an organisation working towards the eradication of the devadasi system, says that although the dedication ceremonies are banned, the practice is still prevalent, as families and priests conduct them in secret. The National Commission for Women estimate that there are 48,358 Devadasis currently in India.
"For certain SC communities [Scheduled Caste – a government classification of lower castes] this has become a way of life, sanctioned by tradition," he says. The priests conduct the ceremonies in their own houses because "it is profitable for them".
All cultures are equal, all are the same, all are worthy.
india
India has far deeper problems than can be explained in a few sentences, but the following is one example of why India will never be a power to follow until they have solved this issue ... but I suppose all cultures are the same, equal, and worthy.
The following is taken from a much longer article in The Guardian, January 22, 2011.
Shobha was the youngest of seven children and was dedicated aged eight. At 12, she was taken out of school and her first paying "partner" was her 35-year-old brother-in-law. "No one asked my consent, money talks. Girls like me grow up in living fear of reaching puberty." She was determined that her own daughter would escape the same fate. "The devadasi system isn't about religion. Its about economics. We're just traded like a commodity. I know the pains as a serving devadasi, how exploitative this practice is. We are the victims. What happened to me shouldn't happen in another's life. I want to stop this and I decided to fight."
Sometimes several generations from the same family are devadasi, like Lalitha, whose mother and grandmother were dedicated before her. Like Hanamavva, however, Lalitha is determined to stop the practice. "I was shocked to find out I have to practice this system because I have been dedicated. I was determined not to become devadasi. In my village there are 100 devadasi. About 20 are between 12 and 18. I try to persuade all my friends not to get into this evil practice but they are vulnerable. Both the parents and the community are pressuring them."
Devadasi remain common in the poorest towns and villages of provinces of the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2006, the National Legal Service Authority in Bangalore launched an awareness programme for police and judges, and said there were 250,000 "devadasi" girls who had been dedicated to Yellamma and Khandoba temples. But the remoteness of many of the villages, and the continuing rise in demand from organised traffickers who pay well for young girls to fill the brothels of India's vast cities, is thwarting efforts to combat the system.
"The social customs combined with economic pressures have pushed girls into the system. The fact that not one of them is married and most of them have children not only leaves them in a traumatised condition but renders their children stigmatised forever," said an authority spokesman.
and from another Guardian article -
Now 26 and diagnosed with Aids, she has returned to her village, Mudhol in southern India, weak and unable to work. "We are a cursed community. Men use us and throw us away," she says. Applying talcum powder to her daughter's face and tying ribbons to her hair, she says: "I am going to die soon and then who will look after her?" The daughter of a devadasi, Parvatamma plans to dedicate her own daughter to Yellamma, a practice that is now outlawed in India.
[...]
Roopa, now 16, has come to buy bangles at the festival. She was dedicated to the goddess seven years ago and was told that Yellamma would protect her. Her virginity was auctioned in the village, and since then she has supported her family by working as a prostitute out of her home in a village close to Saundatti.
"The first time it was hard," she admits. In fact, her vagina was slashed with a razor blade by the man she was supposed to sleep with the first time. Her future, like that of other devadasis, is uncertain. Once they are around 45, at which point they are no longer considered attractive, devadasis try to eke out a living by becoming jogathis or begging near the temple.
[...]
BL Patil, the founder of Vimochana, an organisation working towards the eradication of the devadasi system, says that although the dedication ceremonies are banned, the practice is still prevalent, as families and priests conduct them in secret. The National Commission for Women estimate that there are 48,358 Devadasis currently in India.
"For certain SC communities [Scheduled Caste – a government classification of lower castes] this has become a way of life, sanctioned by tradition," he says. The priests conduct the ceremonies in their own houses because "it is profitable for them".
All cultures are equal, all are the same, all are worthy.
india
Monday, December 20, 2010
Words have meaning
Like Obama, whatever, you know what I mean.
According to a Marist poll - all of the above words (except for Obama) made the top of the list of most irritating words for 2010.
Like
Whatever
You know what I mean
and I would add - for a majority of Americans, the name: Obama
I will have to use these words when next I have the chance.
obamsa
According to a Marist poll - all of the above words (except for Obama) made the top of the list of most irritating words for 2010.
Like
Whatever
You know what I mean
and I would add - for a majority of Americans, the name: Obama
I will have to use these words when next I have the chance.
obamsa
Monday, August 23, 2010
Culture: We are all the same, don't judge.
The virtues of other cultures. Naturally every culture is equal.
Albino girl, 11, killed and beheaded in Swaziland ’for witchcraft’
An 11-year-old albino girl from Swaziland was shot dead in front of her friends and then beheaded in what police believe was a ritual murder.
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg
The Telegraph
20 Aug 2010
The child had been washing clothes and bathing at a river with friends and was returning home when she was grabbed by a man wearing a balaclava.
Swaziland
As her friends looked on, the man shot her in the back before dragging her away. Her headless body was found upriver a short time later.
[There are evil men everywhere, so don't pick on Swaziland.]
The murder is the latest in a series of albino killings in Sub-Saharan Africa, where sufferers of the rare skin pigmentation condition are concentrated.
Earlier this year, another 11-year-old albino child was killed close to the same spot in Swaziland and her hand was removed.
Police believe both children may have been targeted because of a belief by witch doctors that the blood and body parts of albinos - who lack pigment in their eyes, hair and skin - can bring good luck and fortune when used in potions.
Their value for black magic practitioners sees them often fall prey to human traffickers, one of whom was jailed for 17 years in Tanzania this week for abducting and attempting to sell a live albino man.
The girl murdered in Swaziland was named locally as Banele Nxumalo. A man identified as her father, Luke Nxumalo, told The Times of Swaziland that his late uncle had also been an albino.
“What happened to my child is very painful. I wonder why albinos are targeted because they are just humans like us and a gift from God,” he said.
Albino girl, 11, killed and beheaded in Swaziland ’for witchcraft’
An 11-year-old albino girl from Swaziland was shot dead in front of her friends and then beheaded in what police believe was a ritual murder.
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg
The Telegraph
20 Aug 2010
The child had been washing clothes and bathing at a river with friends and was returning home when she was grabbed by a man wearing a balaclava.
Swaziland
As her friends looked on, the man shot her in the back before dragging her away. Her headless body was found upriver a short time later.
[There are evil men everywhere, so don't pick on Swaziland.]
The murder is the latest in a series of albino killings in Sub-Saharan Africa, where sufferers of the rare skin pigmentation condition are concentrated.
Earlier this year, another 11-year-old albino child was killed close to the same spot in Swaziland and her hand was removed.
Police believe both children may have been targeted because of a belief by witch doctors that the blood and body parts of albinos - who lack pigment in their eyes, hair and skin - can bring good luck and fortune when used in potions.
Their value for black magic practitioners sees them often fall prey to human traffickers, one of whom was jailed for 17 years in Tanzania this week for abducting and attempting to sell a live albino man.
The girl murdered in Swaziland was named locally as Banele Nxumalo. A man identified as her father, Luke Nxumalo, told The Times of Swaziland that his late uncle had also been an albino.
“What happened to my child is very painful. I wonder why albinos are targeted because they are just humans like us and a gift from God,” he said.
Friday, June 25, 2010
US Couples: Not having children. It's the end of the world and they don't have a clue.
You may wish to peruse PRB and check out the Total Fertility Rate (recognizing that in some countries having 8 children doesn't mean all 8 live, but having less than 1.6 surely is a bad sign when you need 2.1 to perpetuate your culture.
US childlessness is up, but racial gaps narrowing
Hope Yen, Associated Press Writer
June 24, 2010
WASHINGTON – Nearly 1 in 5 American women beyond childbearing years never gave birth as fewer couples, particularly higher-educated whites, view having children as necessary to a good marriage.
An analysis of census data by the Pew Research Center, being released Friday, documents the changes in fertility rates that are driving government projections that U.S. minorities will become the majority by midcentury.
The figures show that among all women ages 40-44, about 18 percent, or 1.9 million, were childless in 2008. That's up from 10 percent, or nearly 580,000 in 1976.
Broken down by race, roughly 20 percent of white women are childless, compared with 17 percent of blacks and of Hispanics and 16 percent of Asians. Still that gap has been narrowing: Since 1994, childlessness for blacks and Hispanics has grown by 30 percent, about three times the rate for whites.
The numbers coincide with broader U.S. trends of delayed marriage and increased opportunities for women, who now outnumber men in the work force and have drawn even with them in advanced degrees. After reaching a high of 3.7 children per woman during the baby boom, the U.S. fertility rate dropped to a historic low of 1.7 during the mid-1970s and stands at about 2.
The findings also come amid a historic demographic shift in which blacks, Hispanics, Asians and multiracial people are growing rapidly in the U.S. population and wielding more influence in politics and society. Minority babies now make up nearly half of all U.S. births.
"Social pressure to bear children appears to have diminished for women and that today, the decision to have a child is seen as an individual choice," according to the report by Pew researchers Gretchen Livingston and D'Vera Cohn. "Improved opportunities and contraceptive methods help create alternatives for women."
While higher-educated women overall are more likely to be childless, that may be slowly changing. In 2008, about 24 percent of women ages 40-44 with a master's, doctoral or professional degree did not have children, a decline from 31 percent in 1994.
In the meantime, childlessness has risen sharply for women with less than a high school diploma — from 9 percent in 1994 to 15 percent in 2008.
Other findings:
_Less than half, or 41 percent, of surveyed Americans said that children were very important for a successful marriage. Still, a rising share of people — about 38 percent in 2009 — say the trend of increased childlessness is bad for society.
_More births are from women who never married. Among never-married women ages 40-44, about 56 percent were childless in 2008 compared with 71 percent in 1994.
_U.S. childless rates were somewhat similar, if not higher, compared with other industrialized nations. About 17 percent of U.S. women were childless at age 40, compared to 22 percent in England, and 17 percent in Italy and Ireland. The rates were between 12 percent and 14 percent for Spain, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Sweden.
Pew, an independent research group, based its findings on 2008 data from the Census Bureau. The report analyzes the population of women who do not have biological children, as opposed to adoptive or stepchildren. Figures for "white" refer to those whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity.
children
US childlessness is up, but racial gaps narrowing
Hope Yen, Associated Press Writer
June 24, 2010
WASHINGTON – Nearly 1 in 5 American women beyond childbearing years never gave birth as fewer couples, particularly higher-educated whites, view having children as necessary to a good marriage.
An analysis of census data by the Pew Research Center, being released Friday, documents the changes in fertility rates that are driving government projections that U.S. minorities will become the majority by midcentury.
The figures show that among all women ages 40-44, about 18 percent, or 1.9 million, were childless in 2008. That's up from 10 percent, or nearly 580,000 in 1976.
Broken down by race, roughly 20 percent of white women are childless, compared with 17 percent of blacks and of Hispanics and 16 percent of Asians. Still that gap has been narrowing: Since 1994, childlessness for blacks and Hispanics has grown by 30 percent, about three times the rate for whites.
The numbers coincide with broader U.S. trends of delayed marriage and increased opportunities for women, who now outnumber men in the work force and have drawn even with them in advanced degrees. After reaching a high of 3.7 children per woman during the baby boom, the U.S. fertility rate dropped to a historic low of 1.7 during the mid-1970s and stands at about 2.
The findings also come amid a historic demographic shift in which blacks, Hispanics, Asians and multiracial people are growing rapidly in the U.S. population and wielding more influence in politics and society. Minority babies now make up nearly half of all U.S. births.
"Social pressure to bear children appears to have diminished for women and that today, the decision to have a child is seen as an individual choice," according to the report by Pew researchers Gretchen Livingston and D'Vera Cohn. "Improved opportunities and contraceptive methods help create alternatives for women."
While higher-educated women overall are more likely to be childless, that may be slowly changing. In 2008, about 24 percent of women ages 40-44 with a master's, doctoral or professional degree did not have children, a decline from 31 percent in 1994.
In the meantime, childlessness has risen sharply for women with less than a high school diploma — from 9 percent in 1994 to 15 percent in 2008.
Other findings:
_Less than half, or 41 percent, of surveyed Americans said that children were very important for a successful marriage. Still, a rising share of people — about 38 percent in 2009 — say the trend of increased childlessness is bad for society.
_More births are from women who never married. Among never-married women ages 40-44, about 56 percent were childless in 2008 compared with 71 percent in 1994.
_U.S. childless rates were somewhat similar, if not higher, compared with other industrialized nations. About 17 percent of U.S. women were childless at age 40, compared to 22 percent in England, and 17 percent in Italy and Ireland. The rates were between 12 percent and 14 percent for Spain, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Sweden.
Pew, an independent research group, based its findings on 2008 data from the Census Bureau. The report analyzes the population of women who do not have biological children, as opposed to adoptive or stepchildren. Figures for "white" refer to those whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity.
children
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Fall of Western Civilization
There are those individuals who wave placards around and chant death to (fill in the blank), who have predicted that one day their flag will fly over 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, and the White House. They are quite adamant in their conviction and will not cease in the pursuit of their goals.
It would be useful if we in the West paid any attention to Islamic history - any number of battles, whether the first battles between the Believers and the pagans, or the later attempts at invading Europe at Vienna or Poitiers. It would behoove the West to pay the slightest of attention to the purpose and conviction the armies of Islam held, and the purpose and conviction of those who stopped the armies of Islam from dominating all of Europe.
The answer is in the question - conviction. Charles Martel (Poitiers) believed in the West, in the values and religion of the West (at this time - Catholicism). When the armies of Islam arrived at Vienna, the people were faced with the option of surrendering or not - and they chose to not surrender and to fight and expel the armies of Islam, in part because their values, culture, and religion were at stake.
Whether in France or in Austria - each European believed their culture and history was profoundly better than the culture and religion that pounded on their gates, and the people resisted. They stood and fought, defeating the invaders, and by the 15th century, expelled them from Western Europe and the continent, altogether.
More than four centuries earlier, a city came under attack by the armies of Saladin. Rather than surrender, the inhabitants fought off the Islamic armies, despite the inevitability of Jerusalem falling to Islam. It was 1187, and the Crusader forces had been destroyed, the city of Jerusalem lay unarmed, and the Patriarch Heraclius and Queen Sibylla convinced Balian of Ibelin, to take charge of the defense of the city.
Balian swore to destroy the city before he would turn it over to Saladin. For nearly two weeks Balian held off Saladin's armies until the forces protecting Jerusalem numbered only a few dozen. Balian negotiated with Saladin and was able to save thousands of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Balian paid for the ransom for many of the poor people within Jerusalem, using his money, and in the end, marched from the city with safe passage to lands held by the Crusaders.
In each case - whether Vienna, Poitiers, or Jerusalem, the resistance stood on belief and principle against an ideology they regarded as evil. They stood against something, believing their values and their culture, and their religion was true.
In 1942, the United States invaded Northern Europe, with the forces of Canada, Britain, and remnants of other militaries, all joined under the command of Dwight Eisenhower and the American military. We invaded Europe, not to to make money, take lands, or grow our power, for we were by 1941, in competition for first place with Germany. We didn't need to grow much, for all the other countries had fallen to the Nazi death machine, and those who had not (Britain - with less than a months’ worth of supplies remaining; Russia - barely hanging on, and even when they turned it around, did so with US assistance) were so weakened as to be peculiarly unable to accomplish much without the American involvement.
We went to Europe to save Europe, to free the millions who had been enslaved by the Nazi death machine, and restore free trade for the millions emancipated by the American forces. We went to stop a force we believed evil, contrary to our values and beliefs - a force no better than the Islamic armies from nearly a century before. Our values were clear and either our beliefs or principles would prevail or Nazism would enslave the world (coupled with its Japanese component).
In each case, the West believed its values were superior to the values of the enemy, whether they be Nazis or Islam. Our values, our culture, our traditions, our religion were worth fighting, and dying for. Each time we stood up and each time we defeated the forces arrayed against us.
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying he was grateful that rough men did what they did in the night to make it possible that he be able to sleep safely. Churchill knew, as do many people - evil exists today, just as it did in 1939, and evil does not go quitely into the night - it takes rough men who sort it out, allowing us to sleep soundly in our beds. Evil exists today in the hearts and minds of men. Men who will do whatever they can to achieve an end, and death is not a threat for these men, for they desire death as much as we desire air. They do not wish to talk or negotiate, although they will, like Hitler did, allowing him the time necessary to prepare his armies for the invasion of Europe. He talked, for time, with never an intention of peace.
We are told that Saladin was kind, and that the Muslims in Europe were only seeking peace. I suppose there would be peace after Saladin held all remaining men, women, and children in Jerusalem as slaves, to be sold off, and taken throughout the Middle East. Peace. Saladin's Peace.
I would have thought we had learned from history, but we haven't.
Barack H. Obama has set us on a course from which we will never recover, and he knows it.
However, his understanding of where we will end up is not the same as mine. He believes we must weaken our military to be stronger. He believes we must decrease our military to provide care for all Americans. He believes evil does not exist, rather bad men who need to have their actions explained to them, and given the right incentive, men will see the error of their ways and will do the right thing. If they don't, you join with others, and together you make their lives so miserable with sanctions and such, that they concede.
Barack H. Obama believes there is no difference between cultures and people. No one is better or greater, we are all the same. No culture or value system is superior - they are all the same. No political or religious system is better or superior to any other - we have what we have due to luck, where we were born, and when, and the United States is so wealthy because we have oppressed the rest of the world. The West is wealthy because we have taken advantage of the 3rd world. The US has abused the hand that was extended to us, we slapped the face of the 3rd World and told them they were worth less than Americans. We treated the world with disrespect and used fear to achieve our national aims - fear of our military, our tanks and planes, our soldiers, and our bombs. Barack H. Obama has decided to level the playing field, repay the 3rd world, and prevent the United States from ever again being in a position to unilaterally invade Iraq or any country. In 1991, the United States amassed over 690,000 troops on the border of Iraq, coupled with another 300,000 from allied forces. Barack H. Obama will ensure that we will never amass that many troops again, for any reason.
At the core of his belief is American force is bad, always or almost always. When the US has done anything good, it was in conjunction with other nations. When our power is checked, we act for the benefit of others. When our power is unchecked, we oppress the masses, followed by escalation by nations in opposition to the US. It is, according to Barack H. Obama, the US that instigates most issues, either directly or indirectly. We impose our values and culture on everyone, when no one wants our cultuire imposed upon them and everyone is quite content with their values and their culture and it is only the wealth and power of the US that allows for the imposition of American values whenever and wherever we choose.
Barack H. Obama does not regard American culture as unique, special, or better - it is simply the same, no different, like all others, and perhaps worse given what we have done to many people around the globe for hundreds of years. Barack H. Obama has decided he will even the score, level the playing field, and ensure the United States never again rises above the global community to wage war.
How will he accomplish this formidable task? He already has, if everything plays out as he hopes. He has disarmed the US nuclear program, ended our space exploration program, and implemented a blackhole called health care. These efforts will weaken the US and bring to fruition all that I have ascribed to him, and his deepest desires. He does this, not with hate for America, but with love for the world, and a desire to see American become the great country he believes it could be, but for a few small issues.
Our nuclear program ends. Not quite yet, we still have thousands of weapons. That isn't it, nor should you fall for that claim - it is that the US will not retaliate against a state that uses nuclear weapons, or against any group within a state, that uses weapons of mass destruction against the US. He carves out Iran and North Korea as exceptions, but if you read what he said carefully, his wording doesn't even make that certain (the exceptions). Al Qaida gets access to Pakistans nuclear weapons, the government of Pakistan falls, and Al Qaida control their nuclear weapons. They launch one against Europe,India, and Japan. The US does nothing. Al Qaida, at the same time that Pakistan falls, sneaks a nuclear device into the US (in a lead lined fridge) and detonate it in a major city. The US does nothing. Iran will then use a nuclear weapon against Israel. This will precipitate a response from Israel - Iran will be bombed. The Muslim world explodes, the US does nothing except condemn the events. It could go differently - the US mainland is attacked and the US does nothing. Several minor groups register the lack of response and begin a series of attacks against US property around the Middle East. In South America, Venezuela sends troops into Colombia - the US protests. China invades Taiwan, and before the US has time to send an aircraft carrier, Taiwan is part of the PRC.
Even without a hit on the US, we are weakened. The blackhole called healthcare will result in trillions in costs, and taxes will not lower the deficit. It will become necessary to cut 10-15% of the 'waste' from our military budget to fill the healthcare gaps. Within ten years, we would need another 20% from the military budget, of course only the waste. We will close bases in Germany and throughout the Middle East, we will retire older ships, stop producing new ones, slim down the number of battalions and shrink the size of our forces to a more manageable size of 250,000 on active duty and an equal number on reserve, nearly 2/3 cut from the size it was in 2000. And Barack will make every action seem reasonable and disconnected from any larger plan. It will be necessary in order to provide every American with great healthcare. Within a decade, our military budget will be half of what it is today, and the US will never again have the ability to line up 600,000 men on a border, or to invade a country as we did in 2003. Those days will be behind us, and Barack will have achieved his goal - weaken the US, strengthen the world through redistribution of our wealth via trade caps and global warming taxes.
Within 20 years, we will be a mirror image of what we are today, and the Left will be thrilled. Barack H. Obama will be happy, and so will all the enemies of peace and freedom, for their time will have come, and the greatest bloodbath in mankind's history will have begun. And there will be no one to stop it.
For the Left, we will work together to stop travesties of justice. We will join with our allies, and stand firm against misbehaving neighbors. This is an allusion, or delusion depending upon your value system.
George H. Bush managed to pull together Arab states against Iraq with greater difficulty than one might have threading the eye of a sewing needle, in total darkness, using wool. Barack H. Obama has destroyed relations - England will pull out of Afghanistan, in part as a response to the US treatment over the past year. Canada will pull out, as will France. They are not walking away from an idea, but from the man - Obama, who has treated them with the greatest of contempt. We will not get India to stand with us, unless they have been themselves attacked. We will not get Poland or the Ukraine to stand with us again as they did in 2003. We will not stand united with anyone, and we will not have the force necessary alone - and consequently, the US will not try to oppose evil - we will negotiate, much like Chamberlain, and the world will lose, and the bloodbath will engulf us all.
obama
It would be useful if we in the West paid any attention to Islamic history - any number of battles, whether the first battles between the Believers and the pagans, or the later attempts at invading Europe at Vienna or Poitiers. It would behoove the West to pay the slightest of attention to the purpose and conviction the armies of Islam held, and the purpose and conviction of those who stopped the armies of Islam from dominating all of Europe.
The answer is in the question - conviction. Charles Martel (Poitiers) believed in the West, in the values and religion of the West (at this time - Catholicism). When the armies of Islam arrived at Vienna, the people were faced with the option of surrendering or not - and they chose to not surrender and to fight and expel the armies of Islam, in part because their values, culture, and religion were at stake.
Whether in France or in Austria - each European believed their culture and history was profoundly better than the culture and religion that pounded on their gates, and the people resisted. They stood and fought, defeating the invaders, and by the 15th century, expelled them from Western Europe and the continent, altogether.
More than four centuries earlier, a city came under attack by the armies of Saladin. Rather than surrender, the inhabitants fought off the Islamic armies, despite the inevitability of Jerusalem falling to Islam. It was 1187, and the Crusader forces had been destroyed, the city of Jerusalem lay unarmed, and the Patriarch Heraclius and Queen Sibylla convinced Balian of Ibelin, to take charge of the defense of the city.
Balian swore to destroy the city before he would turn it over to Saladin. For nearly two weeks Balian held off Saladin's armies until the forces protecting Jerusalem numbered only a few dozen. Balian negotiated with Saladin and was able to save thousands of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Balian paid for the ransom for many of the poor people within Jerusalem, using his money, and in the end, marched from the city with safe passage to lands held by the Crusaders.
In each case - whether Vienna, Poitiers, or Jerusalem, the resistance stood on belief and principle against an ideology they regarded as evil. They stood against something, believing their values and their culture, and their religion was true.
In 1942, the United States invaded Northern Europe, with the forces of Canada, Britain, and remnants of other militaries, all joined under the command of Dwight Eisenhower and the American military. We invaded Europe, not to to make money, take lands, or grow our power, for we were by 1941, in competition for first place with Germany. We didn't need to grow much, for all the other countries had fallen to the Nazi death machine, and those who had not (Britain - with less than a months’ worth of supplies remaining; Russia - barely hanging on, and even when they turned it around, did so with US assistance) were so weakened as to be peculiarly unable to accomplish much without the American involvement.
We went to Europe to save Europe, to free the millions who had been enslaved by the Nazi death machine, and restore free trade for the millions emancipated by the American forces. We went to stop a force we believed evil, contrary to our values and beliefs - a force no better than the Islamic armies from nearly a century before. Our values were clear and either our beliefs or principles would prevail or Nazism would enslave the world (coupled with its Japanese component).
In each case, the West believed its values were superior to the values of the enemy, whether they be Nazis or Islam. Our values, our culture, our traditions, our religion were worth fighting, and dying for. Each time we stood up and each time we defeated the forces arrayed against us.
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying he was grateful that rough men did what they did in the night to make it possible that he be able to sleep safely. Churchill knew, as do many people - evil exists today, just as it did in 1939, and evil does not go quitely into the night - it takes rough men who sort it out, allowing us to sleep soundly in our beds. Evil exists today in the hearts and minds of men. Men who will do whatever they can to achieve an end, and death is not a threat for these men, for they desire death as much as we desire air. They do not wish to talk or negotiate, although they will, like Hitler did, allowing him the time necessary to prepare his armies for the invasion of Europe. He talked, for time, with never an intention of peace.
We are told that Saladin was kind, and that the Muslims in Europe were only seeking peace. I suppose there would be peace after Saladin held all remaining men, women, and children in Jerusalem as slaves, to be sold off, and taken throughout the Middle East. Peace. Saladin's Peace.
I would have thought we had learned from history, but we haven't.
Barack H. Obama has set us on a course from which we will never recover, and he knows it.
However, his understanding of where we will end up is not the same as mine. He believes we must weaken our military to be stronger. He believes we must decrease our military to provide care for all Americans. He believes evil does not exist, rather bad men who need to have their actions explained to them, and given the right incentive, men will see the error of their ways and will do the right thing. If they don't, you join with others, and together you make their lives so miserable with sanctions and such, that they concede.
Barack H. Obama believes there is no difference between cultures and people. No one is better or greater, we are all the same. No culture or value system is superior - they are all the same. No political or religious system is better or superior to any other - we have what we have due to luck, where we were born, and when, and the United States is so wealthy because we have oppressed the rest of the world. The West is wealthy because we have taken advantage of the 3rd world. The US has abused the hand that was extended to us, we slapped the face of the 3rd World and told them they were worth less than Americans. We treated the world with disrespect and used fear to achieve our national aims - fear of our military, our tanks and planes, our soldiers, and our bombs. Barack H. Obama has decided to level the playing field, repay the 3rd world, and prevent the United States from ever again being in a position to unilaterally invade Iraq or any country. In 1991, the United States amassed over 690,000 troops on the border of Iraq, coupled with another 300,000 from allied forces. Barack H. Obama will ensure that we will never amass that many troops again, for any reason.
At the core of his belief is American force is bad, always or almost always. When the US has done anything good, it was in conjunction with other nations. When our power is checked, we act for the benefit of others. When our power is unchecked, we oppress the masses, followed by escalation by nations in opposition to the US. It is, according to Barack H. Obama, the US that instigates most issues, either directly or indirectly. We impose our values and culture on everyone, when no one wants our cultuire imposed upon them and everyone is quite content with their values and their culture and it is only the wealth and power of the US that allows for the imposition of American values whenever and wherever we choose.
Barack H. Obama does not regard American culture as unique, special, or better - it is simply the same, no different, like all others, and perhaps worse given what we have done to many people around the globe for hundreds of years. Barack H. Obama has decided he will even the score, level the playing field, and ensure the United States never again rises above the global community to wage war.
How will he accomplish this formidable task? He already has, if everything plays out as he hopes. He has disarmed the US nuclear program, ended our space exploration program, and implemented a blackhole called health care. These efforts will weaken the US and bring to fruition all that I have ascribed to him, and his deepest desires. He does this, not with hate for America, but with love for the world, and a desire to see American become the great country he believes it could be, but for a few small issues.
Our nuclear program ends. Not quite yet, we still have thousands of weapons. That isn't it, nor should you fall for that claim - it is that the US will not retaliate against a state that uses nuclear weapons, or against any group within a state, that uses weapons of mass destruction against the US. He carves out Iran and North Korea as exceptions, but if you read what he said carefully, his wording doesn't even make that certain (the exceptions). Al Qaida gets access to Pakistans nuclear weapons, the government of Pakistan falls, and Al Qaida control their nuclear weapons. They launch one against Europe,India, and Japan. The US does nothing. Al Qaida, at the same time that Pakistan falls, sneaks a nuclear device into the US (in a lead lined fridge) and detonate it in a major city. The US does nothing. Iran will then use a nuclear weapon against Israel. This will precipitate a response from Israel - Iran will be bombed. The Muslim world explodes, the US does nothing except condemn the events. It could go differently - the US mainland is attacked and the US does nothing. Several minor groups register the lack of response and begin a series of attacks against US property around the Middle East. In South America, Venezuela sends troops into Colombia - the US protests. China invades Taiwan, and before the US has time to send an aircraft carrier, Taiwan is part of the PRC.
Even without a hit on the US, we are weakened. The blackhole called healthcare will result in trillions in costs, and taxes will not lower the deficit. It will become necessary to cut 10-15% of the 'waste' from our military budget to fill the healthcare gaps. Within ten years, we would need another 20% from the military budget, of course only the waste. We will close bases in Germany and throughout the Middle East, we will retire older ships, stop producing new ones, slim down the number of battalions and shrink the size of our forces to a more manageable size of 250,000 on active duty and an equal number on reserve, nearly 2/3 cut from the size it was in 2000. And Barack will make every action seem reasonable and disconnected from any larger plan. It will be necessary in order to provide every American with great healthcare. Within a decade, our military budget will be half of what it is today, and the US will never again have the ability to line up 600,000 men on a border, or to invade a country as we did in 2003. Those days will be behind us, and Barack will have achieved his goal - weaken the US, strengthen the world through redistribution of our wealth via trade caps and global warming taxes.
Within 20 years, we will be a mirror image of what we are today, and the Left will be thrilled. Barack H. Obama will be happy, and so will all the enemies of peace and freedom, for their time will have come, and the greatest bloodbath in mankind's history will have begun. And there will be no one to stop it.
For the Left, we will work together to stop travesties of justice. We will join with our allies, and stand firm against misbehaving neighbors. This is an allusion, or delusion depending upon your value system.
George H. Bush managed to pull together Arab states against Iraq with greater difficulty than one might have threading the eye of a sewing needle, in total darkness, using wool. Barack H. Obama has destroyed relations - England will pull out of Afghanistan, in part as a response to the US treatment over the past year. Canada will pull out, as will France. They are not walking away from an idea, but from the man - Obama, who has treated them with the greatest of contempt. We will not get India to stand with us, unless they have been themselves attacked. We will not get Poland or the Ukraine to stand with us again as they did in 2003. We will not stand united with anyone, and we will not have the force necessary alone - and consequently, the US will not try to oppose evil - we will negotiate, much like Chamberlain, and the world will lose, and the bloodbath will engulf us all.
obama
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Bad Bad People - Everywhere.
The men involved - life in prison. The young males involved - prison and counselling. The sister who sold the younger sister - prison. No leniency. None. Zero.
Bad bad people.
Why can this happen.
Police: NJ teen sold stepsister, 7, for party sex
Mar 31, 2010
By BETH DeFALCO
Associated Press Writer
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A 15-year-old New Jersey girl prostituted herself and her 7-year-old stepsister to have sex with as many as seven men and boys at a weekend party near their home in a crime-plagued neighborhood, police said.
Trenton police Capt. Joseph Juniak said Wednesday that the older girl started by taking money to have sex with several men at the party of a high-rise apartment. The teen then gave some of the money she had collected to the younger girl to let the men start touching her, Juniak said.
"It went from touching to straight out assault and rape," Juniak said. "They threatened to kill her if she screamed or told anyone."
The child later put on her clothes and left the apartment; her sister stayed. Two women found the child crying outside the apartment and walked her home.
The teen is charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes. Her name was not released because of her age. She was being held in a juvenile detention facility in Mercer County, but police did not know whether she had an attorney.
A spokeswoman for the county prosecutor's office, Casey DeBlasio, said prosecutors would seek to have the teen tried as an adult.
Police believe as many as a dozen people were at the party. They are trying to track down the men and boys who attended and are reviewing building surveillance videos and additional arrests are expected.
Police said the girls were outside Sunday afternoon in the neighborhood when the 15-year-old ran into two young men she knew who invited her to a party at the apartment. Rather than leave the 7-year-old behind, the teen took her along.
At the party, the 15-year-old starting having sex with several of the men for money and then gave the younger girl some cash to let a group of men touch her, Juniak said. He would not say how much money was exchanged.
The girls' parents reported them missing late Sunday afternoon. Police had just arrived at the home when the 7-year-old returned, Juniak said, and told her parents what happened.
The child was treated at a hospital, and police said child protective services is working with the family to get her psychological help.
Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer called the crime "sickening" and said it was among the worst he's seen in his 20 years as mayor.
"The police are taking this personal," the mayor said. "I know there's a place in hell for all the people that participated in this and I'm sure they will get there."
"Personally as a father with a 7-year-old daughter, I can't imagine the horror," Palmer added.
The apartment building where the assault took place, Rowan Towers, sits in the shadow of the Statehouse and is well-known to police, who are hired by the building to handle security at night from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Last week alone they responded to a home invasion there and shots fired outside the building.
It's unclear when the girls entered the building and whether any screams or cries were heard by anyone.
Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. said police have been meeting with building management, who recently agreed to have two officers work the night shift so that one could patrol the building's floors and hallway.
Many of the apartments are vacant. The renter of the 13-floor apartment where the party was held had not been home for quite a while, and investigators were trying to find out how the partygoers got in, Juniak said.
Juniak indicated that the 15-year-old previously had contact with child services, but he declined to elaborate or discuss the family's makeup, except to say the girls "considered themselves sisters." The state Department of Children and Families declined to say whether officials had interacted with the family, citing agency policy.
children
Bad bad people.
Why can this happen.
Police: NJ teen sold stepsister, 7, for party sex
Mar 31, 2010
By BETH DeFALCO
Associated Press Writer
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A 15-year-old New Jersey girl prostituted herself and her 7-year-old stepsister to have sex with as many as seven men and boys at a weekend party near their home in a crime-plagued neighborhood, police said.
Trenton police Capt. Joseph Juniak said Wednesday that the older girl started by taking money to have sex with several men at the party of a high-rise apartment. The teen then gave some of the money she had collected to the younger girl to let the men start touching her, Juniak said.
"It went from touching to straight out assault and rape," Juniak said. "They threatened to kill her if she screamed or told anyone."
The child later put on her clothes and left the apartment; her sister stayed. Two women found the child crying outside the apartment and walked her home.
The teen is charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes. Her name was not released because of her age. She was being held in a juvenile detention facility in Mercer County, but police did not know whether she had an attorney.
A spokeswoman for the county prosecutor's office, Casey DeBlasio, said prosecutors would seek to have the teen tried as an adult.
Police believe as many as a dozen people were at the party. They are trying to track down the men and boys who attended and are reviewing building surveillance videos and additional arrests are expected.
Police said the girls were outside Sunday afternoon in the neighborhood when the 15-year-old ran into two young men she knew who invited her to a party at the apartment. Rather than leave the 7-year-old behind, the teen took her along.
At the party, the 15-year-old starting having sex with several of the men for money and then gave the younger girl some cash to let a group of men touch her, Juniak said. He would not say how much money was exchanged.
The girls' parents reported them missing late Sunday afternoon. Police had just arrived at the home when the 7-year-old returned, Juniak said, and told her parents what happened.
The child was treated at a hospital, and police said child protective services is working with the family to get her psychological help.
Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer called the crime "sickening" and said it was among the worst he's seen in his 20 years as mayor.
"The police are taking this personal," the mayor said. "I know there's a place in hell for all the people that participated in this and I'm sure they will get there."
"Personally as a father with a 7-year-old daughter, I can't imagine the horror," Palmer added.
The apartment building where the assault took place, Rowan Towers, sits in the shadow of the Statehouse and is well-known to police, who are hired by the building to handle security at night from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Last week alone they responded to a home invasion there and shots fired outside the building.
It's unclear when the girls entered the building and whether any screams or cries were heard by anyone.
Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. said police have been meeting with building management, who recently agreed to have two officers work the night shift so that one could patrol the building's floors and hallway.
Many of the apartments are vacant. The renter of the 13-floor apartment where the party was held had not been home for quite a while, and investigators were trying to find out how the partygoers got in, Juniak said.
Juniak indicated that the 15-year-old previously had contact with child services, but he declined to elaborate or discuss the family's makeup, except to say the girls "considered themselves sisters." The state Department of Children and Families declined to say whether officials had interacted with the family, citing agency policy.
children
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Turkey: Culture of Peace, Horizons of Ignorance.
honor
Turkish girl buried alive by father and grandfather for talking to boys
By Tom Pettifor
6/02/2010
Mirror.co.uk
A terrified girl of 16 was buried alive by her father and grandfather - as a punishment for talking to boys.
The body of Medine Memi was found in a sitting position with her hands tied in a 6ft hole beneath a chicken coop.
A postmortem showed she had been conscious when she was covered with dirt.
One forensic investigator said: "What we found is blood-curdling.
"She had no bruises on her body and no sign of narcotics or poison in her blood - she was alive and fully conscious when she was placed into the pit."
The medical examination revealed a large amount of soil in Medine's lungs and stomach - indicating she had suffocated during a slow and agonising death.
The teenager's remains were discovered outside her family's house in the town of Kahta in south-eastern Turkey.
She had been missing for 40 days and the hole had been cemented over.
A coroner was told how desperate Medine repeatedly tried to get help from local police in the weeks leading up to her horrific death. Her father and grandfather are accused of killing her because her friendship with boys "brought dishonour on the family".
*****************************************
There are other sources:
BBC - which includes the following tidbit: A local organisation that campaigns against honour killings said the victim, one of 10 children, had gone three times to the police to complain that she was being beaten, but she was sent back to her family each time.
and even more insight into the people of peace, we are told we must accomodate ...
...the practice is linked more to the customs of this region of Turkey, than to religious belief.
When girls or women are deemed to have stained the family honour, by behaviour as innocent as simply talking to boys, there is strong peer pressure from the community on the male members of the family to restore their honour, say groups working on the issue in the south-east.
The only way allowed by their code is to kill the girl or woman - usually a young man is given the task after a family council meeting, and the method and location of the killing are discussed in detail.
Afterwards, the family will try to pretend she never existed.
or visit
Turkish Daily News, English
Now - some will tsk tsk and exclaim that all this proves is Americans have no shame. We dishonor our fathers, mothers, families, and think nothing of it. True, to a degree. Many Americans value the life of innocents, and the rights of individuals over groups - or, we place an emphasis on individual liberties versus group liberties. I understand the conundrum we end up in when we go to extremes, but we do not participate in barbaric actions that were sanctioned in pre-Islamic times, condoned in many parts of the Islamic world, and tolerated in several other parts. Of course you could reference abortion - and that would be the best you could do, a response that does not have a snappy response. The best is - a majority of Americans oppose abortion. It is kept alive as an issue by a minority. In any case, the barbarism and evil acts of a father upon a daughter, are unconscionable.
evil
Turkish girl buried alive by father and grandfather for talking to boys
By Tom Pettifor
6/02/2010
Mirror.co.uk
A terrified girl of 16 was buried alive by her father and grandfather - as a punishment for talking to boys.
The body of Medine Memi was found in a sitting position with her hands tied in a 6ft hole beneath a chicken coop.
A postmortem showed she had been conscious when she was covered with dirt.
One forensic investigator said: "What we found is blood-curdling.
"She had no bruises on her body and no sign of narcotics or poison in her blood - she was alive and fully conscious when she was placed into the pit."
The medical examination revealed a large amount of soil in Medine's lungs and stomach - indicating she had suffocated during a slow and agonising death.
The teenager's remains were discovered outside her family's house in the town of Kahta in south-eastern Turkey.
She had been missing for 40 days and the hole had been cemented over.
A coroner was told how desperate Medine repeatedly tried to get help from local police in the weeks leading up to her horrific death. Her father and grandfather are accused of killing her because her friendship with boys "brought dishonour on the family".
*****************************************
There are other sources:
BBC - which includes the following tidbit: A local organisation that campaigns against honour killings said the victim, one of 10 children, had gone three times to the police to complain that she was being beaten, but she was sent back to her family each time.
and even more insight into the people of peace, we are told we must accomodate ...
...the practice is linked more to the customs of this region of Turkey, than to religious belief.
When girls or women are deemed to have stained the family honour, by behaviour as innocent as simply talking to boys, there is strong peer pressure from the community on the male members of the family to restore their honour, say groups working on the issue in the south-east.
The only way allowed by their code is to kill the girl or woman - usually a young man is given the task after a family council meeting, and the method and location of the killing are discussed in detail.
Afterwards, the family will try to pretend she never existed.
or visit
Turkish Daily News, English
Now - some will tsk tsk and exclaim that all this proves is Americans have no shame. We dishonor our fathers, mothers, families, and think nothing of it. True, to a degree. Many Americans value the life of innocents, and the rights of individuals over groups - or, we place an emphasis on individual liberties versus group liberties. I understand the conundrum we end up in when we go to extremes, but we do not participate in barbaric actions that were sanctioned in pre-Islamic times, condoned in many parts of the Islamic world, and tolerated in several other parts. Of course you could reference abortion - and that would be the best you could do, a response that does not have a snappy response. The best is - a majority of Americans oppose abortion. It is kept alive as an issue by a minority. In any case, the barbarism and evil acts of a father upon a daughter, are unconscionable.
evil
Monday, August 24, 2009
Europe v US: Work Ethic
European attitude toward work:
Europe is a class-based system, whether in practice today or historically. Like anyone burdened by traumatic events (in this case a classed society - aristocracy and nobility versus peasants), they live under that past and have never escaped from its allure. Who doesn't want to be nobility - to not work, to lazy around all day and eat grapes. Marx believed we should all become poets. For Europeans, work is a bad thing, it is something you do in order to do something you prefer doing. Work is a bad thing - a place you go for punishment. The ideal for Europeans is to not work, to be like the aristocrats - to be free of work.
In America, we value work - we value the entrepreneur, we value the ideal of freedom achieved through work. We do not seek to become aristocratic, we seek to be free.
Europeans seek to be equal to the best - to sit on the chaise and gobble down grapes.
Two different value systems.
I prefer ours in terms of where I would want to live and raise children.
I prefer theirs in terms of a place to go for vacations.
European
Europe is a class-based system, whether in practice today or historically. Like anyone burdened by traumatic events (in this case a classed society - aristocracy and nobility versus peasants), they live under that past and have never escaped from its allure. Who doesn't want to be nobility - to not work, to lazy around all day and eat grapes. Marx believed we should all become poets. For Europeans, work is a bad thing, it is something you do in order to do something you prefer doing. Work is a bad thing - a place you go for punishment. The ideal for Europeans is to not work, to be like the aristocrats - to be free of work.
In America, we value work - we value the entrepreneur, we value the ideal of freedom achieved through work. We do not seek to become aristocratic, we seek to be free.
Europeans seek to be equal to the best - to sit on the chaise and gobble down grapes.
Two different value systems.
I prefer ours in terms of where I would want to live and raise children.
I prefer theirs in terms of a place to go for vacations.
European
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Liberia or the US
To be honest, I understand - no one likes anything thrown in their face every time they turn around. However, to be fair - our country, and the future is worth a little more than any one being annoyed that they get something thrown in their faces over and over.
We were told, regularly are told how we should bend to the will of the world - you know, bend over, and hug our neighbors, let them kick us in the face and walk all over us, because we are after all, no better than they are.
We all know what happens to women in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and the subjugation and oppression of women in Egypt and any number of other countries. We know how the minority homosexual community is treated - in nearly every Arab or Muslim state they are executed. We know how India treats the dalits. We know how China treats baby girls. We know how several Asian countries treat foreigners and dogs. We know how the Japanese have their own version of dalits in Japan, regularly discriminated against.
We know all this. We know how the Muslims in Sudan are trying hard to exterminate anyone who is not Muslim. We know this.
Yet some very simple, naive, and irresponsible people persist in the view that the US must oblige itself to all countries, bow down and beg forgiveness for eight years of Bush (even though Obama has actually doen more to damage relations than the US ever did under Bush).
We must all get along, that is true - we must work together when possible, but when not possible, we must move on our own. We must recognize that American culture and Western Civilization has provided the greatest opportunity for the freeing of man's mind and soul than any culture, civilization in the history of mankind.
Oldest boy in assault of girl to be tried as adult
by Amanda Lee Myers - Jul. 23, 2009
Associated Press
Prosecutors filed sexual assault charges against four boys ages 9 to 14, officials said Thursday, alleging they brutally attacked an 8-year-old girl after luring her to a shed with chewing gum.
Police said the girl's parents criticized her after the violence, blaming her for bringing shame on the family. All five children are refugees from the West African nation of Liberia.
The boys held the girl down while they took turns assaulting her, police said.
“She was brutally sexually assaulted for a period of about 10 to 15 minutes,” police Sgt. Andy Hill said, calling it one of the worst cases the department has investigated.
The 14-year-old boy was charged Wednesday as an adult with two counts of sexual assault and kidnapping, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said. He's being held without bond.
The other boys — ages 9, 10, and 13 — were charged as juveniles with sexual assault. The 10- and 13-year-old boys also were charged with kidnapping, the office said Thursday.
Authorities said the victim was in the care of Child Protective Services after her parents blamed her for the rapes and bringing shame to the family.
“The father told the case worker and an officer in her presence that he didn't want her back. He said Take her, I don't want her,'” Hill said.
Hill cited the family's background as the reason the family shunned the girl.
In many parts of Africa, women often are blamed for being raped for “enticing” men or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Girls who are raped often are shunned by their families.
In recent years, Liberia has made efforts to combat rape under the leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has sought to dispel the stigma associated with sexual assault by publicly acknowledging that she was herself the victim of attempted rape during the country's civil war.
Phoenix investigators said the boys lured the girl to an empty shed July 16 under the pretense of offering her chewing gum.
Officers responding to an emergency call reporting hysterical screams found the girl partially clothed and the boys running from the scene.
The boys were being held in a juvenile corrections facility.
“This is a deeply disturbing case that has gripped our community,” Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said in a news release Thursday. “Our office will seek justice for the young victim in this heartrending situation.”
The girl's healing process will be particularly difficult, said Paul Penzone of Childhelp, which aids young victims of crime.
“These four boys used what was a ploy to entice her to a place where they could take advantage of her almost like a pack of wolves,” he said.
“And what's so disturbing beyond the initial crime is the fact that a child needs to have somewhere to feel safe, and you would think that would be in a home with her own family,” not in state custody, Penzone said.
There are no words for this little girl, who one day ran to her father and laughed with him, talked to him about growing up, and now - has no family. Worse, she will be utterly destroyed by the state child system which chews up children and spit out alcoholics and drug addicts. Yet we are told that we should respect their culture and place it on an equal pedestal to our own.
Please.
Are you an inbred retard.
culture
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments