ism-ing all over the place

If you are one of those ppl who say that you will only marry a member of your own race/ethnicity, does that make you racist? B/c you are closing yourself off of others simply based on race?

If so....

Then if you're a female, & would only consider dating/marrying a male. Or, if you're male & will only consider dating/marrying a female, does that make you sexist? B/c you're completely not willing to open yourself up to the possibility simply based on the sex of the person?

pimping my old gay posts

So, I really posted today about the whole Tucker fiasco (below). But once you read it, you're gonna be all worked up & mad at stupid ppl. And let's face, most ppl are stupid.

So, I'm linking to myself so that you can all go back in time (via l'archive de moi), & read a funny. Click below:

gay marriage is wrong. Right?

Oh, & check out this article I found:

Are Homosexual Civil Unions A 600-year-old Tradition?

It mentions how in medieval France, they had a term "affrerement" (like brotherment) that served as a legal contract. They "pledged to live together sharing 'un pain, un vin, et une bourse' -- one bread, one wine, and one purse."

Anyway, it's also an interesting article. So, check it yo.

Person of the Week: Any & all children affected by war

This is lil Fatima Jbouri, a 10-month old survivor of war. A death squad in Saydia (a war-ravaged suburb of Baghdad) raided her home, killed her mother & uncle, then left her for dead in the garbage out back. In 118 degree heat. Under a metal sheet. Her 7-yr old brother flagged down the Iraqi police, they gave her to US soldiers, & the pic you see is of her being held by US military at a combat support hospital in the green zone.

They say she most likely would never have survived in an Iraqi hospital. She has a Shi'ite name of Fatima and a Sunni name of Jbouri. Moqtada al-Sadr controls the health ministry/hospitals; he believes in the "ethnic cleansing of Sunnis", & most likely she would have died before receiving any treatment.

Eventually, she'll be re-united with her 5 brothers & sisters who are in an orphanage. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I mean, most orphanages (esp in some other countries) aren't all that; if ya know what I mean. If she does go on into hiding with her Shi'ite relatives in the south, who knows what happens then. I mean, we're still talking about her being in hiding in a hostile environment.

She was featured on World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson, Monday night. That's when I 1st saw her. But I got to thinking about all the kids that we don't hear of b/c they were found in the trash dead. Or just thrown around somewhere. All the kids that grow up in war-torn countries; if they're lucky to survive. And some would prob rather not have survived all the atrocities they'd witnessed.

And I def don't want to leave out the kids here in the States. The ones who's mommies & daddies went off to serve us. Sure, they are told that their parents love them; even by the parents who are overseas themselves. But it's just not the same, not having them there.

Search for stories on Fatima Jbouri.

resenting authorities everywhere

I know I'm not being a posting machine; it's only cause I have a lot of stuff going on, & have no time. I get up early in the morn for work, don't really return home until 10 pm (or later, or the next day sometimes), & have barely anytime to do anything. I'm thankful for the day off work tomorrow b/c it means I can do laundry & have some clean clothes again. I'm also thankful for Mr. T, cause he did all my dirty, dirty dishes. And there were quite a few.

Even though I'm not posting, I'm still reading y'all's blogs & the news. So, I saw an article about Oliver Stone requesting to make a documentary about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Well, the Iranian prez rejected the offer b/c Stone is part of "Great Satan" cultural establishment.

The media advisor to the Prez said, "I sent a negative answer by Ahmadinejad to Oliver Stone.... It is right that this person is considered part of the opposition in the U.S., but opposition in the U.S. is a part of the Great Satan."

This is all fine & good. If someone thinks someone else is a Great Satan, then of course they would want nothing to do w/ that person.

*total sidenote: I think I'm really digging that term "Great Satan"... there's this whore that I completely hate (like really hate as a human being, seriously). And, I have a name I call her, but it's way worse than whore (whore being the more publishable word; & no, it doesn't involve the 'f' word, it's waaaay worse). But I think I will also start to refer to her as a "Great Satan".

Anyway, the whole point of this post is what Oliver Stone said in response. I found it quite funny.

"I have been called a lot of things, but never a great satan. I wish the Iranian people well, and only hope their experience with an inept, rigid ideologue president goes better than ours."

The pic to the left is of from Feb 2002 when Stone spent 3 days w/ Fidel Castro for his documentary of him, Comandante. I think it's a cool looking picture. And the pic above is my montage of finger pointing that cracks me up. It's really only there for me, b/c I'm sure no one else will find it as funny as I do.

why's it gotta be good?!?

You know that saying “With a name like Smucker’s, it’s gotta be good”? What’s that supposed to mean? If it weren’t for the jams/jellies, I never would’ve heard the name Smuckers, & then if I did hear it, I wouldn’t think, “Oh WOW, that’s gotta be good!”

I mean, I can understand if it was “With a name like Heaven, it’s gotta be good”.
Or, “a name like Angel…”.
Or, “Superhero…”

Or, “Pope…”. Oh, wait … no that wouldn’t necessarily mean it’s “good”. That may just mean that it’s tolerant of what they choose to be tolerant of.

The Pope lays the Smack-down!

One of the previous Pope’s closest friends was accused of child molestation; & Pope Benedict XVI laid the smack-down on him. The Vatican* told Father Marcial Maciel Degollado that he is not allowed any public appearances & cannot be present at Mass anymore. Father Marcial is the founder of the powerful Legionaires of Christ movement, & very conservative. He is was a big-shot, & for the Vatican to publicly take a stand against him & censure him so, says that they are dedicated to the fight against any pedophiles among them. This is probably the 1st time that I will ever say that I do applaud the Pope & the Vatican on their decision.

The pic is of Pope John Paul II giving his blessing to father Marcial in an old photo (dated 11/30/2004). Father Marcial was one of Pope John Paul's (the previous Pope's) favorite sons.

Related Stories:
Time article
NY Times Article


*The Vatican is such a beautiful city/state. A lot of it is not open to the public, like the gardens, but you can find pictures of them when they are allowed to be filmed. It is such a gorgeous & tranquil place. Interesting sidenote: it’s like 100 yards away from Rome, but since it’s a sovereign country, it has it’s own postal service. If you live in Rome, it’s worth it to cross the border & mail your stuff from the Vatican instead, cause it’ll get to its destination twice as fast.

Yale admits just about anyone

Whaaa!?!

You know how schools are always looking to diversify their student body? Well, they are. I just read that Yale enrolled a former Taliban official in to a non-degree program. That’s not even all of it. This person only had a 4th grade education!

Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, a former ambassador-at-large of the Taliban, was admitted as a “special student”.

Related articles:
Opinion Journal (from the Wall Street Journal)
NY Times article
Polly Awards (handed out by CampusMagazine)
Article from Gujarat paper