So much for the French being more civilized than the rest of us as protesters clash with police. And over what? Marriage equality. A sizable number of French people are against it. In fact, about 150K of them showed up to protest it this weekend.
Parents sue over circumcision
Some parents in Florida have sued a hospital over the unwanted circumcision of their son while he was in NICU.
I hope they win and that the judgment is so huge that doctors & hospitals will cease involving themselves in the routine mutilation of little boys.
The parents of a four-year-old boy who was circumcised at a Miami hospital against their wishes are suing the facility.
According to Delgado’s attorneys, Viera’s parents told South Miamidoctors several times that they did not want him circumcised.
Though Viera had spent over a week in the NICU for birth-related complications, at one point, he was taken out of the NICU and the circumcision was performed. (via)
Frankly, I think the adults who do this should be put in jail for a very long time. I don’t care about religious/cultural traditions. No one should get to practice either on the bodies of other people, children included.
Rushdie backs Park 51
Salman Rushdie has come out in support of Park 51. Rushdie, as you may recall, had a price put on his head by the Iranian government over his book The Satanic Verses.
He says he understands the “sensitivities” of building the site close to where thousands were killed during on Sept. 11, 2001.
But he says First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion should be honored. He adds that he is “not personally” a lover of mosques or any place of worship.
But he says that if people “want a mosque, it seems absolutely right they should have it.” (via: AP)
The New York Post quotes him as explicitly supporting Park51:
It’s just a stupid argument,” said Rushdie, after he spoke at the Brooklyn Book Festival. “Of course they should be able to build a mosque there.”
I wonder what the haters are going to do now now that the man behind one of their reasons for opposing Park51 has come out in support of it.
When will child abuse be taken seriously?
One thing that never fails to amaze/annoy me is the complete lack of recognition of the humanity of children.
Take this report about abused children in Britain. Researchers have discovered that handing these children back over to their abusers might not be a good idea:
Children who are taken into care because they have suffered abuse or neglect are usually better off staying in care rather than being returned to their families, research for the government has found.
Let’s put it another way:
Wives who enter shelters because they have suffered abuse are usually better off remaining in shelters than reuniting with their husbands, research for the government has found.
Most people have no problem with the second statement, but the first one? We have to rush to assure people that “family” will almost always take precedent over the health and welfare of a child:
The team behind the research is stressing that it should not be interpreted to mean that abused children should never return home. But the findings will inevitably spark controversy among critics who think social workers are too ready to take children into care and keep them there.
The critics should be ignored, IMHO. We ignore MRA types who whine, moan and bitch about how, thanks to big daddy government, women can divorce men who abuse them.
Why shouldn’t we ignore people who bitch about how the rights of individual children are seen as superior to the privileges of “family”?
Vermont overrides Governor’s veto
Vermont has officially become the fourth state to grant equal rights to gay people .
The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.
What makes this extra special is it was decided by the legislature which is a first on the issue of gay equality and the first time the Vermont legislature has overridden a veto in 20 years.
Coming soon to a Vogue near you
It’s our first lady, Michelle Obama (via):
This will be the second time a first lady has appeared on the cover (Hillary Clinton was the first) and I’m tickled pink about it as I have a mad crush on Michelle.
America: Only your straight male masses, please.
The last few days have been spectacularly craptastic. Obama got things started by choosing a bigot help him kick off his ‘inclusive’ administration.
Not to be outdone, the Bush administration decided to shield medical workers who refuse to do their job if their would-be patient offends them “ethically, morally or religiously”.
Bringing up the rear is the UN delegation which refused to sign a anti-discrimination resolution calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality.
Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, the declaration was signed by all 27 European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries.
There was broad opposition from Muslim nations, and the United States refused to sign, indicating that some parts of the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review.
“It’s disappointing,” said Rama Yade, France’s human rights minister, of the U.S. position — which she described as in contradiction with America’s long tradition as a defender of human rights.
Disappointing? I guess so – if you think America defines “human” as, well, human not “male humans, preferably white, preferably Christian & most definitely not gay”.
Convicted
Col. Theoneste Bagosora, the main organizer behind the 1994 slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda, has been convicted of genocide and sentenced to life in prison:
Col. Theoneste Bagosora was found guilty of crimes against humanity, and the court said he used his position as director of Rwanda’s Ministry of Defense to direct Hutu soldiers to kill Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The court said that Bagosora, who had authority over the Rwandan military, was responsible for the deaths of former Rwandan Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana and 10 Belgian peacekeepers who tried to protect her as she was killed at the outset of the genocide.
One million people were murdered in 100 days. 333 people per hour. Five people per minute. It was preventable. We did nothing.
Oregon car sellers want blue laws passed
“Blue laws” as they are know are laws that are passed with the intention of making life as boring as possible for anyone who doesn’t spend Sunday on their knees in a Christian church.
When it comes to selling cars, eleven states have passed a blue law restricting the operation of dealerships on Sunday. A group in Oregon wants to make it 12 states.
Oregon’s struggling auto dealers plan to ask the Legislature to impose “blue laws” prohibiting car sales on Sunday.
The day off would help them cut costs during an economic downturn that has already put 19 Oregon dealerships out of business this year. Nationally, sales of domestic cars declined more than 35 percent in 2008.
Greg Remensperger, executive vice president of the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association, told The Oregonian newspaper his members strongly favor the measure.
They have not, BTW, found a missing book of the Bible that states that ‘thou shall not sell cars in Oregon on Sunday”. They merely want to restrict competition in their industry.
The Cutest Kitten Ever
Isn’t he adorable? Now, go read why he’s considered a very special kitten.
