Remember tolerance? We have been accused of intolerance for opposing the mosque in NY. Islamaphobia, hate.
Inciting hate.
Muslim cleric calls for beheading of Dutch politician
By Ben Berkowitz
Fri Sep 3, 5:03 am ET
.AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A well-known Australian Muslim cleric has called for the beheading of Dutch anti-Islamic politician Geert Wilders, a newspaper said on Friday.
Wilders' Freedom Party scored the biggest gains in June 9 polls and is currently negotiating to form a new minority government with the Liberals and Christian Democrats. Polls show Wilders would win a new election if one were called now.
Wilders demanded to know why he had learnt about the threat from the newspaper and not from Dutch authorities who are guarding him after a film and remarks he made angered Muslims around the world.
De Telegraaf, the Netherlands' largest newspaper, led its front page on Friday with a story on the speech by Feiz Muhammad.
The Sydney-born Muhammad has gained notoriety for, among other things, calling on young children to be radicalized and blaming rape victims for their own attacks.
[Reuters could have been a little more honest and open than a simple phrase of limited purpose - bleming rape victims for their own attacks. Feiz compared women to meat left out on hooks, and men to cats and dogs. What should happen but a natural response to hanging meat - the cats and dogs would jump at the meat. It is not the cats fault, it is the woman's response, as she was not dressed modestly. See the story about the Afghanistan dancing boys for just how modest they should dress.]
The paper posted an English-language audio clip in which he refers to Wilders as "this Satan, this devil, this politician in Holland" and explains that anyone who talks about Islam like Wilders does should be executed by beheading.
De Telegraaf did not say when the speech was given but said it and the Dutch secret service both had copies. According to his website, Muhammad is based in Malaysia.
Wilders told Reuters it was "really terrible news" and that he was taking it seriously.
"I will ask for clarification from the Dutch minister of interior/justice why the secret service and anti-terrorism unit NCTb have not informed me before and what the consequences will be for me," he said in an email.
A spokesman for the Dutch secret service referred inquiries on the threat to the NCTb. A spokeswoman for the NCTb was not available to comment.
Wilders is currently on trial in the Netherlands for inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims.
The Freedom Party leader made a film in 2008 which accused the Koran of inciting violence and mixed images of terrorist attacks with quotations from the Islamic holy book.
Wilders was also charged because of outspoken remarks in the media, such as an opinion piece in a Dutch daily in which he compared Islam to fascism and the Koran to Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf."
Of late he has been in the news for plans to speak out against a planned mosque in New York City on September 11, the ninth anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
But his views have also made him extremely popular with a segment of the country uneasy about the Netherlands' commitment to multiculturalism.
Islam
Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label violence. Show all posts
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Mexico, Drugs, and Arizona Laws
This number will cover those areas along the border where drugs or drug violence may occur. It will not count drug deaths in Southern Mexico where a teenager kills someone for their watch or robs someone and is killed in the process, or is driving while on drugs. These numbers are small, but add up when you start with 22,000. Much more likely the number is closer to 25,000 at the very lowest and maybe 30,000. Then you have to add all the deaths from murder, robbery, driving ... that have nothing to do with drugs, to get a better picture of the total murders in Mexico and once you get to 30,000, you are now exceeding the total numbers for all the US, with a much smaller population.
Sidebar:
There have been many American families who have written to the Canadian government, over the many years this has been happening, arguing and even demanding that they cease and desist with the seal culls every April. One Canadian Senator wrote back to the American family who had written to her, and informed them that what bothered her (the Senator from Canada) was the US government distributing handguns to the world and destabilizing the world, imprisoning blacks and executing them unjustly ... Is one thing related to the other? No. However, the Senator is able to hold opinions on all those issues AND on the seal hunt. The Canadian Senator has a right to criticize actions by the US government, anytime she would like to - but she cannot conflate the issues and be intellectually honest.
End of Sidebar:
The Mexican government has been critical of a measure that has passed the Arizona legislature and is awaiting the signature of the Governor taht would make it illegal to be in Arizona without proper documentation. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said in a statement relayed through Mexico's U.S. embassy that it viewed the measure with great concern and said it "could have potentially serious effects on the civil rights" of Mexican nationals. "Mexico views with concern the possible negative effects the measure could have, if approved, on the development of the ties of friendship, culture, commerce and tourism that have characterized Mexico's relations with Arizona for generations," according to the statement. Mexico also said the bill "opens the door to the inappropriate use of racial profiling."
Don't you think you should be concentrating on 22,000 dead people and not trying to rationalize illegal acts by citizens of Mexico.
MEXICO UNDER SIEGE
Mexico death toll in drug war higher than previously reported
More than 22,000 have died since President Felipe Calderon launched his crackdown on drug trafficking gangs, according to news reports citing confidential government figures.
By Ken Ellingwood
April 14, 2010
The Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Mexico City
The death toll from the Mexican government's three-year war on drug cartels is far higher than previously reported -- more than 22,000, according to news reports published Tuesday that cited confidential government figures.
The figure is significantly higher than tallies assembled by Mexican media. They estimate that more than 18,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against drug-trafficking groups after taking office in December 2006.
The unofficial media tallies have often been cited by foreign news outlets, including The Times.
The government has seldom released official counts of those killed in the skyrocketing violence, which stems largely from fighting between rival drug-trafficking groups.
The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that it was preparing to make its count public, but it had not issued its report by the evening.
The daily Reforma newspaper first published the toll number, which it said was contained in a confidential file that top security officials gave federal senators during a hearing Monday. The Associated Press, which said it had gained access to the report, said the total given was 22,700.
The figures present a starker picture than previously known of the violence that has buffeted the country, especially along the U.S. border and in drug-smuggling corridors.
Last year was the deadliest since the Calderon anti-crime offensive began, with 8,928people killed, according to Reforma. So far this year, 2,904people have died, the newspaper said. The AP said the report put the toll at 9,635 last year and 3,365 in January through March this year. It was unclear why there were discrepancies in the report's figures.
Calderon has dispatched more than 48,000 soldiers and several thousand federal police officers along the U.S. border and in other drug-smuggling hot spots across the country.
The clampdown has brought down some leading drug figures, including suspected kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva, killed during a raid in the city of Cuernavaca in December. A succession struggle for control of his cartel has sparked violence recently in the central state of Morelos, where six bodies were found Tuesday under a highway overpass.
But critics say the army-led strategy has failed to reduce violence in cities such as Ciudad Juarez, the nation's deadliest. Juarez is part of Chihuahua, the state with the most killings. Next on the list are the states of Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California and Michoacan, according to Reforma.
mexico
Sidebar:
There have been many American families who have written to the Canadian government, over the many years this has been happening, arguing and even demanding that they cease and desist with the seal culls every April. One Canadian Senator wrote back to the American family who had written to her, and informed them that what bothered her (the Senator from Canada) was the US government distributing handguns to the world and destabilizing the world, imprisoning blacks and executing them unjustly ... Is one thing related to the other? No. However, the Senator is able to hold opinions on all those issues AND on the seal hunt. The Canadian Senator has a right to criticize actions by the US government, anytime she would like to - but she cannot conflate the issues and be intellectually honest.
End of Sidebar:
The Mexican government has been critical of a measure that has passed the Arizona legislature and is awaiting the signature of the Governor taht would make it illegal to be in Arizona without proper documentation. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said in a statement relayed through Mexico's U.S. embassy that it viewed the measure with great concern and said it "could have potentially serious effects on the civil rights" of Mexican nationals. "Mexico views with concern the possible negative effects the measure could have, if approved, on the development of the ties of friendship, culture, commerce and tourism that have characterized Mexico's relations with Arizona for generations," according to the statement. Mexico also said the bill "opens the door to the inappropriate use of racial profiling."
Don't you think you should be concentrating on 22,000 dead people and not trying to rationalize illegal acts by citizens of Mexico.
MEXICO UNDER SIEGE
Mexico death toll in drug war higher than previously reported
More than 22,000 have died since President Felipe Calderon launched his crackdown on drug trafficking gangs, according to news reports citing confidential government figures.
By Ken Ellingwood
April 14, 2010
The Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Mexico City
The death toll from the Mexican government's three-year war on drug cartels is far higher than previously reported -- more than 22,000, according to news reports published Tuesday that cited confidential government figures.
The figure is significantly higher than tallies assembled by Mexican media. They estimate that more than 18,000 people have died since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against drug-trafficking groups after taking office in December 2006.
The unofficial media tallies have often been cited by foreign news outlets, including The Times.
The government has seldom released official counts of those killed in the skyrocketing violence, which stems largely from fighting between rival drug-trafficking groups.
The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that it was preparing to make its count public, but it had not issued its report by the evening.
The daily Reforma newspaper first published the toll number, which it said was contained in a confidential file that top security officials gave federal senators during a hearing Monday. The Associated Press, which said it had gained access to the report, said the total given was 22,700.
The figures present a starker picture than previously known of the violence that has buffeted the country, especially along the U.S. border and in drug-smuggling corridors.
Last year was the deadliest since the Calderon anti-crime offensive began, with 8,928people killed, according to Reforma. So far this year, 2,904people have died, the newspaper said. The AP said the report put the toll at 9,635 last year and 3,365 in January through March this year. It was unclear why there were discrepancies in the report's figures.
Calderon has dispatched more than 48,000 soldiers and several thousand federal police officers along the U.S. border and in other drug-smuggling hot spots across the country.
The clampdown has brought down some leading drug figures, including suspected kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva, killed during a raid in the city of Cuernavaca in December. A succession struggle for control of his cartel has sparked violence recently in the central state of Morelos, where six bodies were found Tuesday under a highway overpass.
But critics say the army-led strategy has failed to reduce violence in cities such as Ciudad Juarez, the nation's deadliest. Juarez is part of Chihuahua, the state with the most killings. Next on the list are the states of Sinaloa, Guerrero, Baja California and Michoacan, according to Reforma.
mexico
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
What is going on - 50 mercenaries storm a hotel, seize 6 (who cares if it is 6 or 7, don't quibble over 1 additional person, it is the fact they stormed a hotel and took people hostage. Who and why?? We need to know immediately, and the Mexican government needs to dwell on this issue and not on condemning Arizona for rounding up illegals.
These 50 mercenaries pistol whipped a guard. They did not take the guard. They went to the hotel with the express purpose of taking these people.
Who are they?
latimes.com
By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times
5:17 PM PDT, April 21, 2010
Reporting from Mexico City
Monterrey hotel attacked in Mexico kidnappings
The hotel assault was reportedly mounted by up to 50 gunmen who seized cars to block streets, slowing the police. At least three people were kidnapped in the attack bearing hallmarks of drug violence.
In a bold predawn attack, gunmen stormed a hotel Wednesday in the heart of the northern city of Monterrey and kidnapped at least three people, officials said.
Mexican media said up to 50 hooded gunmen arrived in a convoy and burst into the downtown Holiday Inn, seizing guests and employees.
Law enforcement officials, offering only scant details by late afternoon, said it was not immediately clear whether a fourth person was seized or how many gunmen took part in the 3 a.m. attack. Authorities offered no motive for the kidnappings, but the attack bore the hallmarks of Mexico's drug gang violence.
Monterrey's mayor, Fernando Larrazabal, said police had trouble reaching the scene because the attackers commandeered cars and used them to block surrounding streets. Larrazabal told a radio interviewer that the kidnappers had disappeared in less than 20 minutes.
Authorities dismissed news reports that the kidnappers had seized another person from a hotel across the street. Initial news accounts here said seven people had been kidnapped.
Violence related to drug gangs has spiked in recent months in northeastern Mexico, including around Monterrey, a business hub that is Mexico's third-largest metropolitan area. Hit men have slain police officers and members of rival groups.
A shootout in Monterrey between gunmen and Mexican soldiers last month killed two university students outside their school, Monterrey Tech.
Much of the recent mayhem across the state of Nuevo Leon, of which Monterrey is the capital, and the nearby state of Tamaulipas stems from fighting between the Gulf cartel and former allies, known as the Zetas. That feud has drawn in other trafficking groups, spreading chaos along the U.S. border near the Gulf of Mexico.
The Holiday Inn, with 390 rooms, sits in a downtown zone with numerous high-rise hotels.
The website of the daily Reforma newspaper quoted an unidentified witness as saying the hotel erupted in shouts and the sound of people being beaten. It said gunmen fired when a captive tried to escape, but that it was not clear if the person was hit.
A security guard was reportedly pistol-whipped.
Calls to the hotel were not answered.
Mexico
These 50 mercenaries pistol whipped a guard. They did not take the guard. They went to the hotel with the express purpose of taking these people.
Who are they?
latimes.com
By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times
5:17 PM PDT, April 21, 2010
Reporting from Mexico City
Monterrey hotel attacked in Mexico kidnappings
The hotel assault was reportedly mounted by up to 50 gunmen who seized cars to block streets, slowing the police. At least three people were kidnapped in the attack bearing hallmarks of drug violence.
In a bold predawn attack, gunmen stormed a hotel Wednesday in the heart of the northern city of Monterrey and kidnapped at least three people, officials said.
Mexican media said up to 50 hooded gunmen arrived in a convoy and burst into the downtown Holiday Inn, seizing guests and employees.
Law enforcement officials, offering only scant details by late afternoon, said it was not immediately clear whether a fourth person was seized or how many gunmen took part in the 3 a.m. attack. Authorities offered no motive for the kidnappings, but the attack bore the hallmarks of Mexico's drug gang violence.
Monterrey's mayor, Fernando Larrazabal, said police had trouble reaching the scene because the attackers commandeered cars and used them to block surrounding streets. Larrazabal told a radio interviewer that the kidnappers had disappeared in less than 20 minutes.
Authorities dismissed news reports that the kidnappers had seized another person from a hotel across the street. Initial news accounts here said seven people had been kidnapped.
Violence related to drug gangs has spiked in recent months in northeastern Mexico, including around Monterrey, a business hub that is Mexico's third-largest metropolitan area. Hit men have slain police officers and members of rival groups.
A shootout in Monterrey between gunmen and Mexican soldiers last month killed two university students outside their school, Monterrey Tech.
Much of the recent mayhem across the state of Nuevo Leon, of which Monterrey is the capital, and the nearby state of Tamaulipas stems from fighting between the Gulf cartel and former allies, known as the Zetas. That feud has drawn in other trafficking groups, spreading chaos along the U.S. border near the Gulf of Mexico.
The Holiday Inn, with 390 rooms, sits in a downtown zone with numerous high-rise hotels.
The website of the daily Reforma newspaper quoted an unidentified witness as saying the hotel erupted in shouts and the sound of people being beaten. It said gunmen fired when a captive tried to escape, but that it was not clear if the person was hit.
A security guard was reportedly pistol-whipped.
Calls to the hotel were not answered.
Mexico
Saturday, February 27, 2010
UK: Murder or Manslaughter. All depends, but you get 5 years for manslaughter
Kill a person in the US, manslaughter or not and you get a little more than 5 years!
A-level teen jailed for killing
By STAFF REPORTER
26 Feb 2010
A SIXTH-FORMER who fatally stabbed her boyfriend in the heart hours after collecting her A-level results was jailed for five years today for his manslaughter.
Pretty Katherine McGrath, 19, plunged a steak knife into the heart of Alyn Thomas, 22, during an argument after a night out drinking with friends.
McGrath, of Brackla, Bridgend, South Wales, was cleared of murder following a trial earlier this month but found guilty of manslaughter.
Sentencing her at Cardiff Crown Court to five years in a young offenders' institution, Mr Justice Griffith Williams said: "Only you know what actually happened in the kitchen of your home but of this I am sure: the jury did not hear the whole truth."
The judge added: "Clearly you and Alyn Thomas rowed. Whatever the trigger or the cause of that row, my view is that he was not the only one to act aggressively.
"I accept that you did not intend to kill or cause him really serious injury and I am prepared to accept that you were provoked in the non-legal sense."
Overreaction
He told McGrath that arming herself with a knife was an overreaction and said: "You took the life of a young man.
"You deprived his parents, his family and his friends of their part in his life and of the chance to share in his future."
Mr Thomas, of Cymmer, near Neath, died in hospital after being stabbed in the kitchen of McGrath's detached family home in the early hours of August 21 last year.
In an impact statement read out in court, Stephen Thomas, the victim's father, said: "It is a parent's worst fear - receiving a phone call in the early hours of the morning saying that your child has been admitted to hospital, but then to be told that your child has been stabbed, it turns into a living nightmare.
"I shall never forget walking into the relative room at Bridgend Hospital and having Lynne (Mr Thomas's mother) greeting me by screaming 'He's dead' and then breaking down in floods of tears."
He said the loss of their son had devastated his family and added: "I could not imagine the pain I had to experience when I was having to choose flowers and hymns for a funeral service and having to choose clothes to dress Alyn in his coffin rather than having the honour of taking him shopping for a suit for his wedding."
During the trial the jury heard McGrath's 999 call in which she told the operator: "He's my boyfriend and he, like, came and attacked me and I didn't know what to do."
She also told the operator he pushed her to the floor and spat at her and tried to hit her.
John Charles Rees QC, defending, said McGrath produced the knife to scare off Mr Thomas when he became aggressive and she had not meant to hurt him.
At the sentencing today he said it was "self-defence gone too far".
laws
A-level teen jailed for killing
By STAFF REPORTER
26 Feb 2010
A SIXTH-FORMER who fatally stabbed her boyfriend in the heart hours after collecting her A-level results was jailed for five years today for his manslaughter.
Pretty Katherine McGrath, 19, plunged a steak knife into the heart of Alyn Thomas, 22, during an argument after a night out drinking with friends.
McGrath, of Brackla, Bridgend, South Wales, was cleared of murder following a trial earlier this month but found guilty of manslaughter.
Sentencing her at Cardiff Crown Court to five years in a young offenders' institution, Mr Justice Griffith Williams said: "Only you know what actually happened in the kitchen of your home but of this I am sure: the jury did not hear the whole truth."
The judge added: "Clearly you and Alyn Thomas rowed. Whatever the trigger or the cause of that row, my view is that he was not the only one to act aggressively.
"I accept that you did not intend to kill or cause him really serious injury and I am prepared to accept that you were provoked in the non-legal sense."
Overreaction
He told McGrath that arming herself with a knife was an overreaction and said: "You took the life of a young man.
"You deprived his parents, his family and his friends of their part in his life and of the chance to share in his future."
Mr Thomas, of Cymmer, near Neath, died in hospital after being stabbed in the kitchen of McGrath's detached family home in the early hours of August 21 last year.
In an impact statement read out in court, Stephen Thomas, the victim's father, said: "It is a parent's worst fear - receiving a phone call in the early hours of the morning saying that your child has been admitted to hospital, but then to be told that your child has been stabbed, it turns into a living nightmare.
"I shall never forget walking into the relative room at Bridgend Hospital and having Lynne (Mr Thomas's mother) greeting me by screaming 'He's dead' and then breaking down in floods of tears."
He said the loss of their son had devastated his family and added: "I could not imagine the pain I had to experience when I was having to choose flowers and hymns for a funeral service and having to choose clothes to dress Alyn in his coffin rather than having the honour of taking him shopping for a suit for his wedding."
During the trial the jury heard McGrath's 999 call in which she told the operator: "He's my boyfriend and he, like, came and attacked me and I didn't know what to do."
She also told the operator he pushed her to the floor and spat at her and tried to hit her.
John Charles Rees QC, defending, said McGrath produced the knife to scare off Mr Thomas when he became aggressive and she had not meant to hurt him.
At the sentencing today he said it was "self-defence gone too far".
laws
Friday, February 26, 2010
Brasilian Walls
We will have to get Sheila Jackson Lee, Roseanne Barr, and others to get in boats and sail down to free the people. Perhaps protests, divest investments from Brasilian businesses ... why haven't we heard the hue and cry from the left in the last year? Where is the outrage?
The Times
May 26, 2009
Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Fury at ‘ghettoisation’ as Rio slums are to be sealed off by 10ft walls
Walls are going up around the hillside slums of Rio de Janeiro, further dividing a city already separated between rich and poor.
Beneath the gaze of the statue of Christ the Redeemer, work is nearing completion on one of 19 walls to be built around the city’s sprawling favelas — the informal and often crime-ridden shantytowns that are home to more than a million people.
Critics say that the concrete barriers, up to 3m high, will seal the favelas as ghettos, segregating the inhabitants by sealing them off from the richer areas.
“We had the Berlin Wall, we have the walls of Palestine, now the walls of Rio,” José Saramago, the author and Nobel laureate, said.
Sérgio Cabral, the Governor of Rio, has plans to surround 13 favelas in the south almost completely in a project that he says is designed to stop their sprawl destroying the last of the city’s forested peaks. In a city riven by violence, mistrust and social inequality, few believe him.
“The Government does not have access to the favelas, so they are going to encircle them,” says Rossino de Castro Diniz, the president of the Association of Rio Favelas.
About a fifth of Rio’s six million inhabitants live in its 946 favelas, which have grown rapidly in the past decade. Many are controlled by drug traffickers, armed police can enter only in force and every week people die in pitched gun battles.
In the Rocinha favela, home to an estimated 160,000 residents and the largest slum in South America, rubbish is piled up, sewers overflow and there is a huge rat infestation.
“I am totally against the wall,” says Antonio Ferreira de Mello, known locally as Shaolin, who is the president of the residents’ association. “It’s an offence to human dignity.”
He says that the association, despite struggling to cope with the rapid expansion of the favela, has banned further building on new land so the Government’s ecological argument is redundant. Instead, expansion in Rocinha is vertical — one storey on top of another.
At the highest reaches of Rocinha, among the trees on a vertiginous slope, a wall is also under way. Far below is the city and above there is nothing but trees. It is a wild place.
“There are a lot of animals here,” says Waldir Domingo da Silva, who lives in one of the wooden shacks in one of the highest reaches. “Snakes. Scorpions. It’s a forest.”
The authorities say that the walls are designed to keep it that way. Icaro Moreno Junior, the president of Emop, the Rio state public works department, says that if nothing is done the green space will be gone in ten years. “We are protecting the forest,” he says. “We’re not dividing people . . . It’s crazy to compare it to the wall of Berlin or the wall of the Gaza Strip.”
In Dona Marta, on the slopes of Corcovado below the statue of Christ and once one of Rio’s most dangerous favelas, a new wall is almost finished. Its building has been carefully co-ordinated with other public works and the project has more widespread support.
Joel Miguel Rondon, 52, is one of the many residents working on it. “It’s a good idea,” he says. “Protect the environment.”
Since the police took control of Dona Marta in November and installed a base there, it has also become more secure and state money has been spent on a crèche, new housing and a network of secure concrete walkways instead of the usual treacherous paths. A free tram that opened in May last year climbs the favela’s steep gradient, lifting passengers to its dizzy heights.
“It got better with the wall,” says José Raimundo Brito do Santa, 26. He says that his sister’s house has increased in value from £2,500 to £4,600 since the tram arrived in May 2008.
Joseli Sebastião, 51, is hanging out washing. She welcomes the changes in the favela that have accompanied the wall. “I want peace,” she says. “I want to live.”
Even tourists are seen in Dona Marta, says Marlene dos Santos, 56, smiling as she sells cold drinks from her tiny house. “Everything that’s coming here really helps.”
For Rubem César Fernandes, the director of Viva Rio, an NGO that works to reduce violence in the favelas, the walls are an aggressive symbol of deeper divisions within the city.
“A wall satisfies public opinion,” he says. “Symbolically it is control. It is a bad solution to a real problem.”
walls
The Times
May 26, 2009
Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Fury at ‘ghettoisation’ as Rio slums are to be sealed off by 10ft walls
Walls are going up around the hillside slums of Rio de Janeiro, further dividing a city already separated between rich and poor.
Beneath the gaze of the statue of Christ the Redeemer, work is nearing completion on one of 19 walls to be built around the city’s sprawling favelas — the informal and often crime-ridden shantytowns that are home to more than a million people.
Critics say that the concrete barriers, up to 3m high, will seal the favelas as ghettos, segregating the inhabitants by sealing them off from the richer areas.
“We had the Berlin Wall, we have the walls of Palestine, now the walls of Rio,” José Saramago, the author and Nobel laureate, said.
Sérgio Cabral, the Governor of Rio, has plans to surround 13 favelas in the south almost completely in a project that he says is designed to stop their sprawl destroying the last of the city’s forested peaks. In a city riven by violence, mistrust and social inequality, few believe him.
“The Government does not have access to the favelas, so they are going to encircle them,” says Rossino de Castro Diniz, the president of the Association of Rio Favelas.
About a fifth of Rio’s six million inhabitants live in its 946 favelas, which have grown rapidly in the past decade. Many are controlled by drug traffickers, armed police can enter only in force and every week people die in pitched gun battles.
In the Rocinha favela, home to an estimated 160,000 residents and the largest slum in South America, rubbish is piled up, sewers overflow and there is a huge rat infestation.
“I am totally against the wall,” says Antonio Ferreira de Mello, known locally as Shaolin, who is the president of the residents’ association. “It’s an offence to human dignity.”
He says that the association, despite struggling to cope with the rapid expansion of the favela, has banned further building on new land so the Government’s ecological argument is redundant. Instead, expansion in Rocinha is vertical — one storey on top of another.
At the highest reaches of Rocinha, among the trees on a vertiginous slope, a wall is also under way. Far below is the city and above there is nothing but trees. It is a wild place.
“There are a lot of animals here,” says Waldir Domingo da Silva, who lives in one of the wooden shacks in one of the highest reaches. “Snakes. Scorpions. It’s a forest.”
The authorities say that the walls are designed to keep it that way. Icaro Moreno Junior, the president of Emop, the Rio state public works department, says that if nothing is done the green space will be gone in ten years. “We are protecting the forest,” he says. “We’re not dividing people . . . It’s crazy to compare it to the wall of Berlin or the wall of the Gaza Strip.”
In Dona Marta, on the slopes of Corcovado below the statue of Christ and once one of Rio’s most dangerous favelas, a new wall is almost finished. Its building has been carefully co-ordinated with other public works and the project has more widespread support.
Joel Miguel Rondon, 52, is one of the many residents working on it. “It’s a good idea,” he says. “Protect the environment.”
Since the police took control of Dona Marta in November and installed a base there, it has also become more secure and state money has been spent on a crèche, new housing and a network of secure concrete walkways instead of the usual treacherous paths. A free tram that opened in May last year climbs the favela’s steep gradient, lifting passengers to its dizzy heights.
“It got better with the wall,” says José Raimundo Brito do Santa, 26. He says that his sister’s house has increased in value from £2,500 to £4,600 since the tram arrived in May 2008.
Joseli Sebastião, 51, is hanging out washing. She welcomes the changes in the favela that have accompanied the wall. “I want peace,” she says. “I want to live.”
Even tourists are seen in Dona Marta, says Marlene dos Santos, 56, smiling as she sells cold drinks from her tiny house. “Everything that’s coming here really helps.”
For Rubem César Fernandes, the director of Viva Rio, an NGO that works to reduce violence in the favelas, the walls are an aggressive symbol of deeper divisions within the city.
“A wall satisfies public opinion,” he says. “Symbolically it is control. It is a bad solution to a real problem.”
walls
Brazilian Palestine
What we could hear if we attended the Olympics in Brasil -
"Welcome Olympians. Welcome visitors of the world, to Brasil. Please stow your wallets, cameras, rings, watches, hats, purses, chains, pendants, and anything more valuable than a postage stamp, ensure your kevlar vest is properly fastened, and your helmet is in place before you enter the queue. Ensure you have the paperwork signed before you get to the signing stations. Form A is your life insurance papers, Form B is your statement of authorization transfering funds from your bank in the event you are kidnapped for ransom, and Form C authorizes us to inject you with a GPS tracking device in order that we are better able to protect you. Have a nice time at the Olympics."
The Times
February 27, 2010
The gun-toting boys from Brazil who rule Rio’s ‘Corner of Fear’
Dom Phillips in São Paulo
A boy steps boldly into the night traffic and waves a gun to bring the cars to a halt, clearing a path for a motorcycle which screeches into the intersection. Riding pillion is another boy, brandishing a machinegun.
Later two teenagers, also riding pillion on motorbikes, flash their guns at other motorists; nearby, a boy can be seen taking aim with a rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. Other youths wander the street smoking crack.
For residents, the junction between the busy Dom Helder Câmara and dos Democráticos, in North Rio de Janeiro, has become known as the Corner of Fear — and video footage of daily life there has shocked a nation already familiar with guns and violence.
The latest images, captured by undercover journalists from the Rio tabloid Extra, have exposed the city’s criminal youth culture in a manner that echoes the journalistic investigation featured in the film City of God.
The age of the criminals — one pistol-toting boy is 12 — is obvious cause for alarm, but so is the seeming impunity with which they act.
The video footage has provided a glimpse into the city’s underworld that hardly touches Rio’s wealthier citizens.
Local newspapers rarely show at first hand the violence that permeates the city’s slums (favelas). Since the brutal torture and murder of the journalist Tim Lopes — who was caught filming secretly in the Vila Cruzeiro favela in 2002 — Brazilian reporters have been reluctant to take their cameras into slum areas. Any reports that are filed tend to come from correspondents talking from inside armoured cars, or are images showing the aftermath of a shooting.
“What is shocking is this parallel power, the fact that they are very young,” said André Cabral De Almeida Cardoso, 41, a teacher. “They are so brazen about it.”
Valera dos Santos, 34, a maid who lives in a favela in São Paulo, said: “My God, I’ve never seen pictures like this. It’s absurd, they’re just boys.”
The journalists who captured the images were also taken aback. “Even knowing the reality of what could happen, you are still shocked by the glamour that these weapons represent in the arms of minors,” said Fernando Torres, 27, one of a team of three who spent four nights undercover at the Corner of Fear.
“These images are desolate,” said Lucy Petroucic, 56, a translator. “These boys have become little Taleban who think they have nothing to lose.”
Within hours, police arrested one of a group of bandits shown in the video and promised that changes were on the way. Luiz Fernando Pezão, Rio’s Deputy Governor, told reporters that a new police base would open nearby in May.
Brazil
"Welcome Olympians. Welcome visitors of the world, to Brasil. Please stow your wallets, cameras, rings, watches, hats, purses, chains, pendants, and anything more valuable than a postage stamp, ensure your kevlar vest is properly fastened, and your helmet is in place before you enter the queue. Ensure you have the paperwork signed before you get to the signing stations. Form A is your life insurance papers, Form B is your statement of authorization transfering funds from your bank in the event you are kidnapped for ransom, and Form C authorizes us to inject you with a GPS tracking device in order that we are better able to protect you. Have a nice time at the Olympics."
The Times
February 27, 2010
The gun-toting boys from Brazil who rule Rio’s ‘Corner of Fear’
Dom Phillips in São Paulo
A boy steps boldly into the night traffic and waves a gun to bring the cars to a halt, clearing a path for a motorcycle which screeches into the intersection. Riding pillion is another boy, brandishing a machinegun.
Later two teenagers, also riding pillion on motorbikes, flash their guns at other motorists; nearby, a boy can be seen taking aim with a rifle equipped with a telescopic sight. Other youths wander the street smoking crack.
For residents, the junction between the busy Dom Helder Câmara and dos Democráticos, in North Rio de Janeiro, has become known as the Corner of Fear — and video footage of daily life there has shocked a nation already familiar with guns and violence.
The latest images, captured by undercover journalists from the Rio tabloid Extra, have exposed the city’s criminal youth culture in a manner that echoes the journalistic investigation featured in the film City of God.
The age of the criminals — one pistol-toting boy is 12 — is obvious cause for alarm, but so is the seeming impunity with which they act.
The video footage has provided a glimpse into the city’s underworld that hardly touches Rio’s wealthier citizens.
Local newspapers rarely show at first hand the violence that permeates the city’s slums (favelas). Since the brutal torture and murder of the journalist Tim Lopes — who was caught filming secretly in the Vila Cruzeiro favela in 2002 — Brazilian reporters have been reluctant to take their cameras into slum areas. Any reports that are filed tend to come from correspondents talking from inside armoured cars, or are images showing the aftermath of a shooting.
“What is shocking is this parallel power, the fact that they are very young,” said André Cabral De Almeida Cardoso, 41, a teacher. “They are so brazen about it.”
Valera dos Santos, 34, a maid who lives in a favela in São Paulo, said: “My God, I’ve never seen pictures like this. It’s absurd, they’re just boys.”
The journalists who captured the images were also taken aback. “Even knowing the reality of what could happen, you are still shocked by the glamour that these weapons represent in the arms of minors,” said Fernando Torres, 27, one of a team of three who spent four nights undercover at the Corner of Fear.
“These images are desolate,” said Lucy Petroucic, 56, a translator. “These boys have become little Taleban who think they have nothing to lose.”
Within hours, police arrested one of a group of bandits shown in the video and promised that changes were on the way. Luiz Fernando Pezão, Rio’s Deputy Governor, told reporters that a new police base would open nearby in May.
Brazil
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Brazil: Carneval, Crime, Corruption, and the Coming Olympics
Dutch tourist shot in Carnival mugging in Rio: police
Feb 13, 2010
05:53 PM US/Eastern
Agence France Presse
A 37-year-old Dutch tourist was in hospital in Rio de Janeiro Saturday after being shot twice by a mugger who attacked him and his wife during Carnival festivities, police told AFP.
"This is the worst crime we have had against a foreign tourist this year and we are worried about it," the head of the special tourist police unit handling the assault, Gilbert Stivanello, said.
The Dutchman, identified as Alexander Kors Johannes Vervoort, was shot in the stomach and arm during the assault late Friday. He remained in intensive care, though was conscious.
The crime occurred as Vervoort and his wife, Ella Vervoort Ferwerda, were walking alone to the summit of a hill where Rio's landmark giant Christ the Redeemer statue is located. The popular tourist spot attracts 1.8 million visitors a year.
The wife, also 37, was beaten about the head with a pistol but was not badly hurt.
The single mugger, described as a very young and small man, ran from the scene, leaving behind the camera, wallet, backpack and handbag he had been trying to steal.
Police were hunting him.
The police chief said the man also risked being murdered by the drug gang which runs the slum where he lives, near the Christ statue, for bringing officers into their lawless neighborhood.
Stivenello corrected an initial Brazilian news report by the O Globo newspaper that said two muggers were involved, and which gave incomplete names for the victims.
The police chief said the attack was the most serious against a foreigner so far during Carnival.
"Usually, there are fewer assaults but more thefts," including pickpocketing, reported during the festivities, which began Friday and continue well into next week.
Stivanello said he did not yet have statistics on tourist crimes reported to his unit for the first two days of Carnival.
A dozen other tourists, mostly young British backpackers, were at the reception of the tourist police office when AFP visited. All were there to file reports that they, too, had been mugged, though none had been hurt.
"I was mugged twice the same night," said one, Ed Grissell, 18.
He explained that two thugs had yanked away his digital camera he had been using. Minutes later, a larger group returned to also grab at knifepoint a friend's digital camera he was holding.
Sarah Fellows, 22, said she and a friend were seized by two men in a dark street as they were walking back to their lodging after a night in the same area, Lapa, a downtown area filled with bars and nightclubs.
"They cornered us. They made me give my handbag, which had my camera and 50 reais (30 dollars) in it," she said.
She said she pleaded with the muggers to leave her make-up, which they did.
Brazilian officials warn victims of assaults not to put up any resistance or speak back during assaults because many assailants are armed and have no hesitation in using their weapons.
Rio, which is to host the 2016 Olympic Games, has endemic street crime.
The state of Rio de Janeiro had 5,794 murders last year, a rise of 1.3 percent, while the number of muggings increased by two percent.
We need to keep it all in perspective though. One bad story doesn't a trend make nor is it any more alarming than the US crime rates. In 2007, there were over 11,376,000 crimes committed in the US reported to the police. 11 million. That is a bit inclusive - every crime from burglary to assult, rape, to murder, fraud to car theft. There were, the same year, over 1,424,000 serious crimes committed in the US (rape, murder, robbery, aggravated assult). Narrowing the window a bit more, there were approximately 18,300 murders in the US in 2007. By 2008, the number was 16,470 give or take - a drop from the year before, and an ongoing decrease since 2001.
Therefore, compare the 5,794 murders in the state of Rio with the 16,470 murders in the United States. That would be a better comparison than considering the overall crime rate.
Oh, wait ... the 5,794 murders were in one state. Brazil has more than 25 states, although I am quite sure they are not all as bad as Rio. After all, Brazil only has 193,000,000 people - it should certain ly have a much lower murder rate. It is nearly half the size of the US population.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. According to two different sources "Uma vitória sobre o crime". Revista Epoca. http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,EDG81450-6009-507,00-UMA+VITORIA+SOBRE+O+CRIME.html and "Mapa da violência Brasil 2008" (in Portuguese) (PDF). Organização dos estados Ibero-Amricanos para a educação, Ciência e cultura.. http://www.ritla.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2314&Itemid=147, there are approximately 48,000 murders in Brazil (2008), and that would be the ones we know about.
On a positive note - the Olympics will the defining moment for Brazil. An opportunity to showcase the country and the people.
Concerns like this in Brazil, or in Mexico, are usually dismissed by frequent travellers to those countries. I suppose it is very much like the Wildebeest. They travel in groups as small as 25-30, and herds as large as several thousand. You would figure, given their range and habitat - from Botswana to South Africa, the Tanzanian Serengeti equatorial plain, and throughout Zambia - that they would be easy pickings for every predator on the Serengeti ... and they are, except they travel in herds and even when the lions take one out for lunch, the others flee and among a herd of several thousand, you never notice the loss of one. That, unfortunately, is the attitude some people have toward crimes in Brazil or Mexico. They gamble.
The wildebeest, meanwhile, is lunch and dinner for the pride, and the remains become snacks for whatever other lesser predators may be about, waiting and watching for an opportunity to jump in and grab some meat.
brazil
Feb 13, 2010
05:53 PM US/Eastern
Agence France Presse
A 37-year-old Dutch tourist was in hospital in Rio de Janeiro Saturday after being shot twice by a mugger who attacked him and his wife during Carnival festivities, police told AFP.
"This is the worst crime we have had against a foreign tourist this year and we are worried about it," the head of the special tourist police unit handling the assault, Gilbert Stivanello, said.
The Dutchman, identified as Alexander Kors Johannes Vervoort, was shot in the stomach and arm during the assault late Friday. He remained in intensive care, though was conscious.
The crime occurred as Vervoort and his wife, Ella Vervoort Ferwerda, were walking alone to the summit of a hill where Rio's landmark giant Christ the Redeemer statue is located. The popular tourist spot attracts 1.8 million visitors a year.
The wife, also 37, was beaten about the head with a pistol but was not badly hurt.
The single mugger, described as a very young and small man, ran from the scene, leaving behind the camera, wallet, backpack and handbag he had been trying to steal.
Police were hunting him.
The police chief said the man also risked being murdered by the drug gang which runs the slum where he lives, near the Christ statue, for bringing officers into their lawless neighborhood.
Stivenello corrected an initial Brazilian news report by the O Globo newspaper that said two muggers were involved, and which gave incomplete names for the victims.
The police chief said the attack was the most serious against a foreigner so far during Carnival.
"Usually, there are fewer assaults but more thefts," including pickpocketing, reported during the festivities, which began Friday and continue well into next week.
Stivanello said he did not yet have statistics on tourist crimes reported to his unit for the first two days of Carnival.
A dozen other tourists, mostly young British backpackers, were at the reception of the tourist police office when AFP visited. All were there to file reports that they, too, had been mugged, though none had been hurt.
"I was mugged twice the same night," said one, Ed Grissell, 18.
He explained that two thugs had yanked away his digital camera he had been using. Minutes later, a larger group returned to also grab at knifepoint a friend's digital camera he was holding.
Sarah Fellows, 22, said she and a friend were seized by two men in a dark street as they were walking back to their lodging after a night in the same area, Lapa, a downtown area filled with bars and nightclubs.
"They cornered us. They made me give my handbag, which had my camera and 50 reais (30 dollars) in it," she said.
She said she pleaded with the muggers to leave her make-up, which they did.
Brazilian officials warn victims of assaults not to put up any resistance or speak back during assaults because many assailants are armed and have no hesitation in using their weapons.
Rio, which is to host the 2016 Olympic Games, has endemic street crime.
The state of Rio de Janeiro had 5,794 murders last year, a rise of 1.3 percent, while the number of muggings increased by two percent.
We need to keep it all in perspective though. One bad story doesn't a trend make nor is it any more alarming than the US crime rates. In 2007, there were over 11,376,000 crimes committed in the US reported to the police. 11 million. That is a bit inclusive - every crime from burglary to assult, rape, to murder, fraud to car theft. There were, the same year, over 1,424,000 serious crimes committed in the US (rape, murder, robbery, aggravated assult). Narrowing the window a bit more, there were approximately 18,300 murders in the US in 2007. By 2008, the number was 16,470 give or take - a drop from the year before, and an ongoing decrease since 2001.
Therefore, compare the 5,794 murders in the state of Rio with the 16,470 murders in the United States. That would be a better comparison than considering the overall crime rate.
Oh, wait ... the 5,794 murders were in one state. Brazil has more than 25 states, although I am quite sure they are not all as bad as Rio. After all, Brazil only has 193,000,000 people - it should certain ly have a much lower murder rate. It is nearly half the size of the US population.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. According to two different sources "Uma vitória sobre o crime". Revista Epoca. http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Revista/Epoca/0,EDG81450-6009-507,00-UMA+VITORIA+SOBRE+O+CRIME.html and "Mapa da violência Brasil 2008" (in Portuguese) (PDF). Organização dos estados Ibero-Amricanos para a educação, Ciência e cultura.. http://www.ritla.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2314&Itemid=147, there are approximately 48,000 murders in Brazil (2008), and that would be the ones we know about.
On a positive note - the Olympics will the defining moment for Brazil. An opportunity to showcase the country and the people.
Concerns like this in Brazil, or in Mexico, are usually dismissed by frequent travellers to those countries. I suppose it is very much like the Wildebeest. They travel in groups as small as 25-30, and herds as large as several thousand. You would figure, given their range and habitat - from Botswana to South Africa, the Tanzanian Serengeti equatorial plain, and throughout Zambia - that they would be easy pickings for every predator on the Serengeti ... and they are, except they travel in herds and even when the lions take one out for lunch, the others flee and among a herd of several thousand, you never notice the loss of one. That, unfortunately, is the attitude some people have toward crimes in Brazil or Mexico. They gamble.
The wildebeest, meanwhile, is lunch and dinner for the pride, and the remains become snacks for whatever other lesser predators may be about, waiting and watching for an opportunity to jump in and grab some meat.
brazil
Thursday, April 16, 2009
India: Election Time means Killing Time
17 killed as India's elections get underway
By Mark Magnier
April 17, 2009
Los Angeles Times
Reporting from New Delhi -- India's first day of voting in a monthlong election got off to a rocky start Thursday as militants attacked polling efforts in four states, killing at least 17 people.
India's multiphase general election, as ambitious and complex as the nation itself, is a massive undertaking involving 714 million eligible voters using 1.3 million voting booths in more than 823,000 polling sites.
Although India is no stranger to violence between rival political groups, the sheer scope of the balloting effort also makes elections a tempting target for groups fighting the government, seeking autonomy or keen on building publicity for their cause, analysts said.
[To read the rest of the article, click on the title link]
India
By Mark Magnier
April 17, 2009
Los Angeles Times
Reporting from New Delhi -- India's first day of voting in a monthlong election got off to a rocky start Thursday as militants attacked polling efforts in four states, killing at least 17 people.
India's multiphase general election, as ambitious and complex as the nation itself, is a massive undertaking involving 714 million eligible voters using 1.3 million voting booths in more than 823,000 polling sites.
Although India is no stranger to violence between rival political groups, the sheer scope of the balloting effort also makes elections a tempting target for groups fighting the government, seeking autonomy or keen on building publicity for their cause, analysts said.
[To read the rest of the article, click on the title link]
India
Monday, November 24, 2008
24 - Redemption and Fools
The following bit is copied from a website and pasted here. I will not credit the website foir the mindless tripe, nor must I use them as an example of moronic behavior - but they made this tripe available on their website and I am simply appropriating the comments to make several points. The writer/moron is the best reason to keep abortion legal - morons and idiots should not be forced to endure a painful life, nor shouold the rest of us.
'24'
The ratings are not in dispute - I could care less. Rather, the brainless ignorance is. I have made several comments on how utterly stupid many people are who voted for Obama. This fool tops the list, which is hard to do. Are there fools who voted for McCain - yes, for sure. The difference - those fools are so because they believed Obama something he was not or bought in to the rhetoric of how threatening Obama would be. Not to set the issue of inexperience and the threat it will play in short time, but it is qualitatively different than that which is written below.
'24' did so well, in Season 1-2-3-4-5-6 because of the writing, acting, directing, and production of the program. '24' lost viewers because of its idiotic showtime schedule. You CANNOT leave a program for eight to ten months and NOT lose viewers. We find other things to do, invest our time in other projects, and lose interest. Maybe 2-5% of the viewers disappeared.
This is especially true when terrorist after terrorist chooses Los Angeles in the program. Even in the real world, they choose other cities - New York, London, Baghdad, and New Delhi are but four. Yet '24' producers/writers kept them coming back time and again to Los Angeles. Consequently, 2-5% of the viewers left.
The writers created further mayhem when they created a show for season five that began with Arabs and ended with a president implicated, only made worse in season six by a maniacal vice president jockeying for power, doing illegal acts, implicated in an attempt on a president or other illegal activities - became too much for the '24' die-hard viewer, and they took a powder - maybe 2-5%.
The writers were yet again the villain with their strike. While Kiefer thinks they did the right thing holding it off a year, you for sure lost 5%, probably 10% of your viewers. This insane act on the part of the writers in Hollywood, created a huge hole, and when viewers are given other options that are easier and more accessible, they took it.
The general drag on any series after six seasons - you always lose viewers. X-Files did and it didn't have one scene of torture to offend the sensibilities of a debilitated tosser. Maybe 2-5% drop off.
The final issue is publicity. I admit I do not watch TV and had someone not told me, I would never have watched it. Other things to do. 2-5%.
Together we have 15% minimum drop up to a possible 30 or 35% drop.
If you are really one of those anal retentive types, you could check the numbers and see how I fare with my guesstimates. I think you find find them VERY close.
The fool who wrote the pasted bit, attributes it to torture. Laughable if the fool did not believe it, and if that naive view was not part of their world-view.
To the fool - very simply - 'torture' as defined by you and other nit-wits is going on this very second, will go on next week, and in January, February, March, and April, in 2010, 2011, 2013 ... and every year thereafter. If someone stopped watching a program because the behavior was unacceptable - well, you would find every Christian not watching a majority of shows because they show drug use, promiscuity, sex acts or references to sex acts ... and you, with your warped and naive view of a world, however 'icky icky poo poo' it may be, demonstrate why academics do not think much of the rest of the world. You truly represent the most infantile among us, even if I do not appreciate their elitism, I sure as heck understand why they believe as they do and on this specific issue - we both agree.
You would mock the Christian right for their abhorrence at sex or drugs on television, yet you become disturbed by 'torture'.
First - the sex and drugs are aimed at an entire age group, or even, more largely, at the population in general. Go for it, enjoy, do it, have fun. The 'torture' was aimed at one person, one group - it was aimed at whoever it was Jack Bauer was trying to get information from - including details on a nuclear threat. It is so often the soft-ended liberals who scream about the violations of human rights and ... I doubt more than 1-2% of Americans or for that matter any population on earth, would disagree with the proposition that: Torture is acceptable if an imminent threat exists in which a large number (hundreds up to hundreds of thousands) of American/other lives would be lost. On '24' it was always a certainty, it was never just for fun, just as it was never just for fun with the Bush administration.
Secondly, how you define torture - highly subjective and overly simplistic. The fool who wrote the pasted bit above would probably argue that the UN has already developed a reasonable understanding, accepted by the civilized world, as to what torture is. The fool would be only partially correct, having never read it for them self (possibly unable to understand really big words compromised of more than one syllable). So the fool is aware - making someone listen to rock music is considered torture. Assume someone is in a home and will not come out. Assume you have surrounded the home and blast rock music at them 24 hours a day. Torture by UN standards. The civilized world does not like that.
The people Jack was fighting, and the people we fight, will kill you in your sleep, awake, anywhere, anytime - and will kill you even more painfully when you explain to them you are a liberal shirtlifter who just wants to get along. You survive, not by the laws you believe Jack broke, or the Bush administration violated, but by the actions Jack took and those taken by intelligence and military services around the world. Only as a result of their actions, do we have the luxury of writing stupid posts about '24' losing viewers because the American public is tired of torture.
I agree - the American public is tired of hearing about torture. Do it to save us, do it when the knowledge as to a threat exists - and do it to save lives. The hue and cry from the soft-bellied liberals if no actions were taken to secure the information - AFTER an attack on a massive scale would be worse than sitting with a dentists drill on, and in your mouth everyday for a month.
Are there abuses? Certainly, but Jack didn't violate laws, nor did the Bush administration, nor will the Obama administration that will follow suit (although it will be kept much quieter).
Suffering fools is not easy.
fools
'24'
The ratings are not in dispute - I could care less. Rather, the brainless ignorance is. I have made several comments on how utterly stupid many people are who voted for Obama. This fool tops the list, which is hard to do. Are there fools who voted for McCain - yes, for sure. The difference - those fools are so because they believed Obama something he was not or bought in to the rhetoric of how threatening Obama would be. Not to set the issue of inexperience and the threat it will play in short time, but it is qualitatively different than that which is written below.
The show 24 debuted their special made-for-tv movie event on Sunday, to a pleasant increase in ratings.
According to Nielsen estimates, the show's prequel special - 24: Redemption - averaged 12.1 million viewers, better than the spring finale at 10.3 million, but still not as good as the sixth season's debut in 2007 at 15.8 million.
Ratings began to fall alongside Bush's ratings, as the show prominently featured scenes of torture, which has become passe since the election campaign came and went.
As a result, critics called the new prequel a "kinder, gentler" version of the action series.
A reflection of the times, let's hope!
'24' did so well, in Season 1-2-3-4-5-6 because of the writing, acting, directing, and production of the program. '24' lost viewers because of its idiotic showtime schedule. You CANNOT leave a program for eight to ten months and NOT lose viewers. We find other things to do, invest our time in other projects, and lose interest. Maybe 2-5% of the viewers disappeared.
This is especially true when terrorist after terrorist chooses Los Angeles in the program. Even in the real world, they choose other cities - New York, London, Baghdad, and New Delhi are but four. Yet '24' producers/writers kept them coming back time and again to Los Angeles. Consequently, 2-5% of the viewers left.
The writers created further mayhem when they created a show for season five that began with Arabs and ended with a president implicated, only made worse in season six by a maniacal vice president jockeying for power, doing illegal acts, implicated in an attempt on a president or other illegal activities - became too much for the '24' die-hard viewer, and they took a powder - maybe 2-5%.
The writers were yet again the villain with their strike. While Kiefer thinks they did the right thing holding it off a year, you for sure lost 5%, probably 10% of your viewers. This insane act on the part of the writers in Hollywood, created a huge hole, and when viewers are given other options that are easier and more accessible, they took it.
The general drag on any series after six seasons - you always lose viewers. X-Files did and it didn't have one scene of torture to offend the sensibilities of a debilitated tosser. Maybe 2-5% drop off.
The final issue is publicity. I admit I do not watch TV and had someone not told me, I would never have watched it. Other things to do. 2-5%.
Together we have 15% minimum drop up to a possible 30 or 35% drop.
If you are really one of those anal retentive types, you could check the numbers and see how I fare with my guesstimates. I think you find find them VERY close.
The fool who wrote the pasted bit, attributes it to torture. Laughable if the fool did not believe it, and if that naive view was not part of their world-view.
To the fool - very simply - 'torture' as defined by you and other nit-wits is going on this very second, will go on next week, and in January, February, March, and April, in 2010, 2011, 2013 ... and every year thereafter. If someone stopped watching a program because the behavior was unacceptable - well, you would find every Christian not watching a majority of shows because they show drug use, promiscuity, sex acts or references to sex acts ... and you, with your warped and naive view of a world, however 'icky icky poo poo' it may be, demonstrate why academics do not think much of the rest of the world. You truly represent the most infantile among us, even if I do not appreciate their elitism, I sure as heck understand why they believe as they do and on this specific issue - we both agree.
You would mock the Christian right for their abhorrence at sex or drugs on television, yet you become disturbed by 'torture'.
First - the sex and drugs are aimed at an entire age group, or even, more largely, at the population in general. Go for it, enjoy, do it, have fun. The 'torture' was aimed at one person, one group - it was aimed at whoever it was Jack Bauer was trying to get information from - including details on a nuclear threat. It is so often the soft-ended liberals who scream about the violations of human rights and ... I doubt more than 1-2% of Americans or for that matter any population on earth, would disagree with the proposition that: Torture is acceptable if an imminent threat exists in which a large number (hundreds up to hundreds of thousands) of American/other lives would be lost. On '24' it was always a certainty, it was never just for fun, just as it was never just for fun with the Bush administration.
Secondly, how you define torture - highly subjective and overly simplistic. The fool who wrote the pasted bit above would probably argue that the UN has already developed a reasonable understanding, accepted by the civilized world, as to what torture is. The fool would be only partially correct, having never read it for them self (possibly unable to understand really big words compromised of more than one syllable). So the fool is aware - making someone listen to rock music is considered torture. Assume someone is in a home and will not come out. Assume you have surrounded the home and blast rock music at them 24 hours a day. Torture by UN standards. The civilized world does not like that.
The people Jack was fighting, and the people we fight, will kill you in your sleep, awake, anywhere, anytime - and will kill you even more painfully when you explain to them you are a liberal shirtlifter who just wants to get along. You survive, not by the laws you believe Jack broke, or the Bush administration violated, but by the actions Jack took and those taken by intelligence and military services around the world. Only as a result of their actions, do we have the luxury of writing stupid posts about '24' losing viewers because the American public is tired of torture.
I agree - the American public is tired of hearing about torture. Do it to save us, do it when the knowledge as to a threat exists - and do it to save lives. The hue and cry from the soft-bellied liberals if no actions were taken to secure the information - AFTER an attack on a massive scale would be worse than sitting with a dentists drill on, and in your mouth everyday for a month.
Are there abuses? Certainly, but Jack didn't violate laws, nor did the Bush administration, nor will the Obama administration that will follow suit (although it will be kept much quieter).
Suffering fools is not easy.
fools
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Obama and McCain: Where do we Find Hate and Violence - Real Cases, not Imaginary
Obama Supporter Beats a McCain Supporter (who happens to be a little old lady)
October 17, 2008 - by Oleg Atbashian
While the Democrat-leaning media continues to scare undecided voters with bedtime stories about some mythical angry McCain supporter whom nobody has seen (in large part because NO ONE SAW and no one but one media person heard this imaginary person the US Secret Service do not believe exists), here is a real district attorney’s complaint documenting an unprovoked assault by an enraged Democrat against a McCain volunteer in midtown Manhattan: “Defendant grabbed the sign [informant] was holding, broke the wood stick that was attached to it, and then struck informant in informant’s face thereby causing informant to sustain redness, swelling, and bruising to informant’s face and further causing informant to sustain substantial pain.”
The overly formal document doesn’t mention this important detail: the victim was a small, quiet, middle-aged woman wearing glasses, and the attacker was a loud, angry man who went into orbit at the mere sight of McCain campaign signs.
On a Monday afternoon, September 15, 2008, three McCain volunteers were holding campaign signs and distributing leaflets on a busy corner of 51st Street and Lexington Avenue. As they were peacefully talking to each other, they were approached by a man who, in the words of the victim, provided the impression of “a rather benign, doughy-looking guy — not a person I would have expected to assault me.”
He rushed towards them, grabbed a McCain sign off a volunteer’s hands, and tore it apart. That didn’t seem enough.
I said, “What are you doing? You can’t do that!” And he was red in the face screaming, “You people are ridiculous!” And I said, “Yeah, whatever, but you can’t do that.”
So I reached for the sign that he ripped up, and he grabbed another sign, broke it, and ripped it to shreds. And when I said, “You can’t do that,” he took the stick from the sign and started beating me on the head with it. He broke the skin on my head, he scratched my wrist, and almost broke my glasses, and then he left.
I followed him down the stairs to the subway until I could get the police and I said, “You’re not going to get away with it.” And as soon as he saw the police he immediately went calm. He still had the stick in his hand, and you could see the injury on my face, and he admitted it. He was arrested. He actually said, “I don’t know why I did this. It’s just those signs, and this election, it has me so upset.”
Some people are losing control, and it’s not the people on the right. Never have I seen that behavior with any of the people on my side of the fence. … It’s just not our way. Look at us, most of us have never been protesters. … Do I feel that the left is aggressive and potentially violent? Yes, because we’ve all seen it. I certainly have … firsthand!
October 17, 2008 - by Oleg Atbashian
While the Democrat-leaning media continues to scare undecided voters with bedtime stories about some mythical angry McCain supporter whom nobody has seen (in large part because NO ONE SAW and no one but one media person heard this imaginary person the US Secret Service do not believe exists), here is a real district attorney’s complaint documenting an unprovoked assault by an enraged Democrat against a McCain volunteer in midtown Manhattan: “Defendant grabbed the sign [informant] was holding, broke the wood stick that was attached to it, and then struck informant in informant’s face thereby causing informant to sustain redness, swelling, and bruising to informant’s face and further causing informant to sustain substantial pain.”
The overly formal document doesn’t mention this important detail: the victim was a small, quiet, middle-aged woman wearing glasses, and the attacker was a loud, angry man who went into orbit at the mere sight of McCain campaign signs.
On a Monday afternoon, September 15, 2008, three McCain volunteers were holding campaign signs and distributing leaflets on a busy corner of 51st Street and Lexington Avenue. As they were peacefully talking to each other, they were approached by a man who, in the words of the victim, provided the impression of “a rather benign, doughy-looking guy — not a person I would have expected to assault me.”
He rushed towards them, grabbed a McCain sign off a volunteer’s hands, and tore it apart. That didn’t seem enough.
I said, “What are you doing? You can’t do that!” And he was red in the face screaming, “You people are ridiculous!” And I said, “Yeah, whatever, but you can’t do that.”
So I reached for the sign that he ripped up, and he grabbed another sign, broke it, and ripped it to shreds. And when I said, “You can’t do that,” he took the stick from the sign and started beating me on the head with it. He broke the skin on my head, he scratched my wrist, and almost broke my glasses, and then he left.
I followed him down the stairs to the subway until I could get the police and I said, “You’re not going to get away with it.” And as soon as he saw the police he immediately went calm. He still had the stick in his hand, and you could see the injury on my face, and he admitted it. He was arrested. He actually said, “I don’t know why I did this. It’s just those signs, and this election, it has me so upset.”
Some people are losing control, and it’s not the people on the right. Never have I seen that behavior with any of the people on my side of the fence. … It’s just not our way. Look at us, most of us have never been protesters. … Do I feel that the left is aggressive and potentially violent? Yes, because we’ve all seen it. I certainly have … firsthand!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Angry Hateful People
Two tests -
1)
Twenty Cars
Place ten cars in the most conservative neighborhood. The exact neighborhood to be determined by the liberal group.
Place ten cars in the most liberal neighborhood. The exact neighborhood would be determined by a conservative group.
2)
Twenty People
Ten people carry signs for McCain and walk in a liberal neighborhood. Which place, determined by conservatives.
Ten people carry signs for Obama and walk in a conservative neighborhood. Which place, determined by liberals.
*************************
What we hope to determine -
Which if either group experience physical violence, attacks, rock throwing, or other physically threatening actions. Less significant, which if any group experiences abusive language or gestures toward them.
Which set of vehicles is damaged, if any, and in what way. Which set of vehicles are more raodworthy, usable, sellable, fixable.
Then we can talk about angry, violent, and hateful.
Obama
McCain
1)
Twenty Cars
Place ten cars in the most conservative neighborhood. The exact neighborhood to be determined by the liberal group.
Place ten cars in the most liberal neighborhood. The exact neighborhood would be determined by a conservative group.
2)
Twenty People
Ten people carry signs for McCain and walk in a liberal neighborhood. Which place, determined by conservatives.
Ten people carry signs for Obama and walk in a conservative neighborhood. Which place, determined by liberals.
*************************
What we hope to determine -
Which if either group experience physical violence, attacks, rock throwing, or other physically threatening actions. Less significant, which if any group experiences abusive language or gestures toward them.
Which set of vehicles is damaged, if any, and in what way. Which set of vehicles are more raodworthy, usable, sellable, fixable.
Then we can talk about angry, violent, and hateful.
Obama
McCain
Friday, July 18, 2008
World Opinion - The Swedes
This is part whatever in case any other comments about Sweden wewre less than clear.
The United States is a very large country. We are a country with over 300 million people living at any given time, within our borders. According to recent accounts, we add one new person every 30 seconds, and that new addition is not from birth increases.
We have as many opinions in this country as we do people - on every subject. At any given time we have Jerry Springer guests, some believe Elvis is alive, that UFOs fly our friendly skies, that bigfoot and creatures from middle earth transform into what appear to be earthlings, all the way over the ledge with the 9/11 conspiracies.
We do have our share of fruitcakes, nuts, fools, idiots, and retarded rodeo clowns, BUT that number is, as a whole, statistically insignificant. Less than 1% of a population at any given time is irrelevant as to what their opinions are, and we tend, generally, as Americans, to be middle-of-the-roaders (not to be mistaken for middle -earthers although the US is or could be in the middle of the earth depending on ones perspective.
The number of fools and idiots, nuts, and fruitcakes who believe the nonsense listed above are deserving of a strong suggestion that they not reproduce, for all our sakes. That is generally how Americans regard idiocy. Then we have the flavorful retarded rodeo clowns who run around screaming and hissing about repairing American relations around the world to a chorus of Amens. For me, the chorus is even more problematic than obsequious politicians. Mindless fools who like the sound of something and Amen it to death, who repeat the same mantra without evidence nor purpose - simply because they are the chorus.
In this case, it is the Swedes. While the article that follows is specific to Sweden, it can be generalized as originating out of the mindset of Scandinavians.
Do I care, that much? Not really, except stupid ideas have a way of trickling over here, and vice versa. It is the infection issue that creates opposition. if I knew with certainty the idea would live and die in Sweden, I would chock it up to stupid people and forget it.
I cannot find the article and Reuters does not have an archive for articles 4 years old. A good thing I have kept so many articles.
Stupid ideas
Sweden has been sorted.
Swedes
The United States is a very large country. We are a country with over 300 million people living at any given time, within our borders. According to recent accounts, we add one new person every 30 seconds, and that new addition is not from birth increases.
We have as many opinions in this country as we do people - on every subject. At any given time we have Jerry Springer guests, some believe Elvis is alive, that UFOs fly our friendly skies, that bigfoot and creatures from middle earth transform into what appear to be earthlings, all the way over the ledge with the 9/11 conspiracies.
We do have our share of fruitcakes, nuts, fools, idiots, and retarded rodeo clowns, BUT that number is, as a whole, statistically insignificant. Less than 1% of a population at any given time is irrelevant as to what their opinions are, and we tend, generally, as Americans, to be middle-of-the-roaders (not to be mistaken for middle -earthers although the US is or could be in the middle of the earth depending on ones perspective.
The number of fools and idiots, nuts, and fruitcakes who believe the nonsense listed above are deserving of a strong suggestion that they not reproduce, for all our sakes. That is generally how Americans regard idiocy. Then we have the flavorful retarded rodeo clowns who run around screaming and hissing about repairing American relations around the world to a chorus of Amens. For me, the chorus is even more problematic than obsequious politicians. Mindless fools who like the sound of something and Amen it to death, who repeat the same mantra without evidence nor purpose - simply because they are the chorus.
In this case, it is the Swedes. While the article that follows is specific to Sweden, it can be generalized as originating out of the mindset of Scandinavians.
Do I care, that much? Not really, except stupid ideas have a way of trickling over here, and vice versa. It is the infection issue that creates opposition. if I knew with certainty the idea would live and die in Sweden, I would chock it up to stupid people and forget it.
I cannot find the article and Reuters does not have an archive for articles 4 years old. A good thing I have kept so many articles.
Stupid ideas
Sweden has been sorted.
Swedes
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Culturally Impoverished
The last, very long post, dealt with the failings, in my opinion, of whats his name - to thoroughly explicate why he and so many others do not like America, think so little of America that they would place America subservient to the UN, would take an entire book. I think I began the process in the very long post, but so to have many others, long before me.
Sidebar:
The point of this is, sometimes we have great ideas, or really smart ideas, phrases, thoughts, expressions ... and we lose them in time. We can't remember the argument as well weeks later. That is the point of many of these posts, to allow review. What isn't seen are the labels that allow searches to be done on words, or in my case, many words, adjectives, labels, phrases. It is easier than printing off articles and filing them in a cabinet, as I am very, very, very slow at filing and I end up with piles (think several feet) of articles with no means of finding what I need at any given moment.
End Sidebar
The long post about whats his name is about him, but it is also about an ideology that permeates a small subsection of a larger portion of the American populace. This ideology is deadly to almost everything that America was and is, and could ever be. The plan or goal is to dismantle everything they believe is a hindrance to the fulfillment of their happiness (to find out what makes them happy - read the long post on whats his name), or to the happiness of mankind. The problem is not that they are unhappy, nor that some things would thrill them, if changed. Rather, it is their failure to understand the most basic of economics, international politics, diplomacy, and human behavior, and instead to believe that all human behavior can be modified by the carrot and no stick, or where a stick is needed, the world will naturally agree on a stick.
America is wealthy, not because the poor were robbed, nor because the world was raped. America is wealthy because of our ingenuity, and entrepreneurial spirit, supported and encouraged by our political and economic system. No other country, and no other people have that combination, and you cannot simply transplant our attitudes and beliefs onto another people and suddenly they will prosper (no more than you can impose our democratic system on a Middle Eastern country). Yet, a large subsection of Obamessiah followers do believe that there is no difference between what we have, and how we have achieved it, and any other country or people, culture on earth. That but for the luck of ... they would be where we are.
What these messianic followers believe is that America is full of bad things, corrupted and vile, we shoot each other, car jackings, rapes, robberies - and all because the perpetrator is poor and young, and we should provide them with educational opportunities not jail. That our jails are already too full and we, a crime ridden society, are terrified of each other because we live with guns and fear, and each (guns and hate) perpetuates the cycle of hate in our cities where the poor have no hope and respond accordingly.
The messianic followers look at the more civilized countries, where they do not have guns and people do not die in shootouts on the freeways, or in shootouts with the police, and they dream to themselves: if only we transplanted that culture and its laws on guns onto the American system!! I suppose, right after we impose our democratic system on Middle Eastern countries - using that same dream state argument!
Well, we would hear - other countries like the UK, FR, CA, and GR, have less gun violence and a more civilized and tolerant culture. We would believe all this nonsense, if the messianic followers could convince us, and they do try - from early grade school through college, they are trying! Persistent they are.
Then comes this story from Canada - Calgary, the gateway to the West (in Canada) - a booming city.
National Post, May 29, 2008.
(I have no link to the original story as the source I get some news bits from are not free and thus do not have links but the links below are as complete as possible.)
That's the thing about violence ... no guns needed. They will slaughter without them, entire families, children, mothers, fathers. No matter.
Rwanda - of the million butchered, most were killed with the machete. One does not need a gun to kill every living person in a village. What retards. Knives are so much easier and quieter. Just ask OJ.
Just think - what if the Tutsi had been armed. The Useless. Nations. would not have been needed - not that they did anything but watch.
.
Sidebar:
The point of this is, sometimes we have great ideas, or really smart ideas, phrases, thoughts, expressions ... and we lose them in time. We can't remember the argument as well weeks later. That is the point of many of these posts, to allow review. What isn't seen are the labels that allow searches to be done on words, or in my case, many words, adjectives, labels, phrases. It is easier than printing off articles and filing them in a cabinet, as I am very, very, very slow at filing and I end up with piles (think several feet) of articles with no means of finding what I need at any given moment.
End Sidebar
The long post about whats his name is about him, but it is also about an ideology that permeates a small subsection of a larger portion of the American populace. This ideology is deadly to almost everything that America was and is, and could ever be. The plan or goal is to dismantle everything they believe is a hindrance to the fulfillment of their happiness (to find out what makes them happy - read the long post on whats his name), or to the happiness of mankind. The problem is not that they are unhappy, nor that some things would thrill them, if changed. Rather, it is their failure to understand the most basic of economics, international politics, diplomacy, and human behavior, and instead to believe that all human behavior can be modified by the carrot and no stick, or where a stick is needed, the world will naturally agree on a stick.
America is wealthy, not because the poor were robbed, nor because the world was raped. America is wealthy because of our ingenuity, and entrepreneurial spirit, supported and encouraged by our political and economic system. No other country, and no other people have that combination, and you cannot simply transplant our attitudes and beliefs onto another people and suddenly they will prosper (no more than you can impose our democratic system on a Middle Eastern country). Yet, a large subsection of Obamessiah followers do believe that there is no difference between what we have, and how we have achieved it, and any other country or people, culture on earth. That but for the luck of ... they would be where we are.
What these messianic followers believe is that America is full of bad things, corrupted and vile, we shoot each other, car jackings, rapes, robberies - and all because the perpetrator is poor and young, and we should provide them with educational opportunities not jail. That our jails are already too full and we, a crime ridden society, are terrified of each other because we live with guns and fear, and each (guns and hate) perpetuates the cycle of hate in our cities where the poor have no hope and respond accordingly.
The messianic followers look at the more civilized countries, where they do not have guns and people do not die in shootouts on the freeways, or in shootouts with the police, and they dream to themselves: if only we transplanted that culture and its laws on guns onto the American system!! I suppose, right after we impose our democratic system on Middle Eastern countries - using that same dream state argument!
Well, we would hear - other countries like the UK, FR, CA, and GR, have less gun violence and a more civilized and tolerant culture. We would believe all this nonsense, if the messianic followers could convince us, and they do try - from early grade school through college, they are trying! Persistent they are.
Then comes this story from Canada - Calgary, the gateway to the West (in Canada) - a booming city.
National Post, May 29, 2008.
(I have no link to the original story as the source I get some news bits from are not free and thus do not have links but the links below are as complete as possible.)
Five Dead in Calgary Home.
Original Link. One more Link. Another Link. Another. Video.
Three adults and two children aged 4 and 6 were STABBED to death. The
only living person in the house - a one year old found crying and unharmed. The rest of the family had been slaughtered. The initial inspectors/police on the scene have gone into counseling.
That's the thing about violence ... no guns needed. They will slaughter without them, entire families, children, mothers, fathers. No matter.
Rwanda - of the million butchered, most were killed with the machete. One does not need a gun to kill every living person in a village. What retards. Knives are so much easier and quieter. Just ask OJ.
Just think - what if the Tutsi had been armed. The Useless. Nations. would not have been needed - not that they did anything but watch.
.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Al Sharpton - Publicity prostitute
Sharpton vows to 'close this city' after officer acquittals
Apr 26, 2008. 4:42 PM (ET)
By VERENA DOBNIK
NEW YORK (AP) - Hundreds of angry people marched through Harlem on Saturday after the Rev. Al Sharpton promised to "close this city down" to protest the acquittals of three police detectives in the 50-shot barrage that killed a groom on his wedding day and wounded two friends.
"We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians," Sharpton told an overflow crowd of several hundred people at his National Action Network office in the historically black Manhattan neighborhood. "This city is going to deal with the blood of Sean Bell."
Sharpton was joined by the family of 23-year-old Sean Bell - a black man - and a friend of Bell who was wounded in the 2006 shooting outside a Queens strip club. Two of the three officers charged were also black.
**************************************************
He wouldn't know a genuine issue of racisim if it smacked him upside the head. This was not a racist shooting however much he would like to believe it was.
Apr 26, 2008. 4:42 PM (ET)
By VERENA DOBNIK
NEW YORK (AP) - Hundreds of angry people marched through Harlem on Saturday after the Rev. Al Sharpton promised to "close this city down" to protest the acquittals of three police detectives in the 50-shot barrage that killed a groom on his wedding day and wounded two friends.
"We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians," Sharpton told an overflow crowd of several hundred people at his National Action Network office in the historically black Manhattan neighborhood. "This city is going to deal with the blood of Sean Bell."
Sharpton was joined by the family of 23-year-old Sean Bell - a black man - and a friend of Bell who was wounded in the 2006 shooting outside a Queens strip club. Two of the three officers charged were also black.
**************************************************
He wouldn't know a genuine issue of racisim if it smacked him upside the head. This was not a racist shooting however much he would like to believe it was.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Lost interest
There are three groups of Americans on the issue of Iraq. Those who are pleased the surge has worked and is working, those who are not pleased, and those who don't care about much unless they are throwing a hissy fit.
The media, very reluctantly, and then in only qualified terms, admits the surge has been successful. Too bad. Had the media been as supportive all along, it may have been a little easier.
From a journalist's standpoint, the story hasn't changed for several months. The American "surge" appears to have made progress, and while Iraq is hardly safe, pockets of the country are much safer than before.
It's possible to pinpoint the exact week that the switch turned off. The war averaged 30 minutes per week of coverage last year on the three network evening newscasts up until Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. forces, testified in September about the surge's progress, according to news consultant Andrew Tyndall. In the last 15 weeks of the year, the broadcasts collectively spent four minutes per week on the war.
The media, very reluctantly, and then in only qualified terms, admits the surge has been successful. Too bad. Had the media been as supportive all along, it may have been a little easier.
From a journalist's standpoint, the story hasn't changed for several months. The American "surge" appears to have made progress, and while Iraq is hardly safe, pockets of the country are much safer than before.
It's possible to pinpoint the exact week that the switch turned off. The war averaged 30 minutes per week of coverage last year on the three network evening newscasts up until Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. forces, testified in September about the surge's progress, according to news consultant Andrew Tyndall. In the last 15 weeks of the year, the broadcasts collectively spent four minutes per week on the war.
Friday, February 15, 2008
'Tweens' in sexual, abusive relationships
Washington Times, February 14, 2008
'Tweens' in sexual, abusive relationships.
"Sixth graders with boyfriends and girlfriends. "
That alone isn't a problem or the problem. I recall a girlfriend in sixth grade, but what becomes more serious is the details which follow in the article:
- 30% think oral sex and sexual intercourse are expected in bf/gf relationships.
- 62% of the 1043 interviewed, reported being harassed or bossed around or physically abused by the other person when they ended the 'relationship'. Specifically: 21 reported being slapped or hit.
Is this an issue? How did it begin/why? It is important to figure it out because pretending that sex education will fix anything is rather idiotic. Why are children at 11 or 12 or 13 getting involved in actions that are far beyond their mental capacity to comprehend. Why.
If the argument is - it isn't. Some 13 year olds are very mature - then you have made an argument why a 50 year old should not be imprisoned for life or worse for raping a 13 year old, because it wouldn't be rape. If she consents with a 13 year old boy, she consents.
Why. Why are 12 year olds doing this. Figure it out and stop it.
'Tweens' in sexual, abusive relationships.
"Sixth graders with boyfriends and girlfriends. "
That alone isn't a problem or the problem. I recall a girlfriend in sixth grade, but what becomes more serious is the details which follow in the article:
- 30% think oral sex and sexual intercourse are expected in bf/gf relationships.
- 62% of the 1043 interviewed, reported being harassed or bossed around or physically abused by the other person when they ended the 'relationship'. Specifically: 21 reported being slapped or hit.
Is this an issue? How did it begin/why? It is important to figure it out because pretending that sex education will fix anything is rather idiotic. Why are children at 11 or 12 or 13 getting involved in actions that are far beyond their mental capacity to comprehend. Why.
If the argument is - it isn't. Some 13 year olds are very mature - then you have made an argument why a 50 year old should not be imprisoned for life or worse for raping a 13 year old, because it wouldn't be rape. If she consents with a 13 year old boy, she consents.
Why. Why are 12 year olds doing this. Figure it out and stop it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments