The rape culture in action

Students were actually chanting misogynist lyrics advocating rape.    The administration claims to not have known about it, but a student had complained when she was a freshman in college, but….wait for it….her complaint was not taken seriously.   She probably was portrayed as an uptight bitch who hates men….<sigh>

EU speaks against Syria strikes

The EU has urged the U.S. to wait until the U.N. report comes back before it takes any action.  Note how the French have made a stupid statement that the U.N. report is basically not needed.  Yep.  That tells me more than anything the U.N. is very important to the assessment of what is going on and who is doing it.  I am increasingly suspicious that it isn’t Syria doing it….then the question is…who is…?

Selling the war

It is truly disgusting watching the mainstream media falling all over themselves trying to sell this war.   My past blog on the media’s culpability in selling Iraq….

As yet, I haven’t seen any of them mention the Russian warships en route to Syria.  Putin states that Russia will help Syria.  Note that “help” includes weaponry.

Last night, CBS shows a visual of people being forced to kneel as the captors aim their rifles.  Scott Pelley then says “we won’t show you them being shot….but you will hear the gunfire…”  and then proceeds to air the execution.  Shame on you, CBS, for using such graphic tactics.

It’s hard for anyone to ignore that.  You want to help these people.  You don’t want to see anyone suffer. 

…but what you don’t see is the media’s same concern, for, say, Chicago.  To take a nod from Stephen Colbert, who rightly pointed out that “if we were going to war over people being shot, we should invade Chicago. ” 

Why isn’t the media that concerned with what is going on at home?

Dianne Feinstein said that her constituents are very much against us bombing Syria….but with a smug smile on her face says, “…but they don’t know what I know….”  She reminded me of a middle schooler who says “I know something you don’t know.”   ::giggle giggle::  It was patronizing and once again shows how little D.C. is concerned with the opinions of war weary Americans.

Has anybody else noticed that they’re not talking about the uptick in the stocks since the announcement of going into Syria?

This just in from Canada’s Global News.  Note that other world leaders are questioning whether Assad  is to blame for chemical use. 

Weiner goes off on Rabbi

Another angry voter has words with Anthony Weiner.

Notice that he doesn’t dismiss the Rabbi like he did this lady.  He doesn’t tell him to “relax” and he doesn’t accuse him of trying to get attention like he did the angry woman who voted for him.

This drives home his view of women, imo.  Angry women who call him on his bull are to be patronized and dismissed.  Angry men are not.

….and you don’t see men on the sidelines encouraging Weiner to put the angry man in his place….

How can you tell… **edited

…when John Kerry is lying?  His lips are moving.   (Old joke, but unfortunately still works.)

From Global news in Canada.

Anytime anyone involves ego in a decision, you can bet it is a bad decision.  Going to war over a warped perception of credibility is wrong.  And America’s credibility was seriously damaged with going to war in Iraq.  We were perceived as bullies and liars.   The whole world rejoiced when Barack Obama was elected because the whole world disagreed with our invasion.

But the world’s perception of us didn’t seem to bother Congress before now, eh?

And what exactly does “protect our values” mean??  Because I don’t value war.

Kerry tries to shut up opposing voices by throwing out ” this is not the time for  armchair isolationists”….that’s you and me, folks, the American public that speaks out against war.  We’re sick of war and we’re sick of millionaire politicians telling us that our opinions don’t matter.

He asks if one would be comfortable if we don’t act and Assad gasses his people.  Hello? Are we alone in the world?  Israel and Saudi Arabia have a stake in this  and they should be expected to bear the brunt of it–skin in the game, as they say…they are both wealthy nations, and we are fast losing our wealth.  Well, it’s still there, technically, but in the hands of a few who don’t want to pay taxes….that… fund… wars.  So Saudi Arabia and Israel need to ante up.

Note how Kerry asserts that there will be no boots on the ground, but from what I was watching yesterday, he once again flip-flopped and stated that he did not want that put in writing because it may become necessary if things escalate.   Mighty suspicious….

Tell me again why Kerry was trying to interfere with U.N. gathering evidence on chemical weapons?  And why aren’t we waiting for the U.N. to get the results bacK?  The Syria situation is not new–this has been happening for over a year now….so why the rush, rush, rush to bomb?

And tell me why those pictures of the dead keep nagging at me–like I have seen them before…?  That they were from a chemical weapons attack, but not the current event with Syria?? I just can’t shake that feeling.

Here’s the view from emptywheel.  During the hearing, Kerry was drumming his fingers on the table with impatience that they were questioning him.   John McCain was caught playing computer games….on taxpayer’s dime.  If those same taxpayers were caught playing computer games during company time, they would be fired.

Another take here on it from the Israelis:

Note the sentiment if the U.S. doesn’t strike, Israel will.   Is that supposed to be a threat of some sort?

Lastly, John Kerry’s testimony as a Vietnam veteran before Congress, below.  He stated yesterday that no chemicals had been used since WWI…I was stunned that he chose to ignore Agent Orange used in Vietnam.  In this video, he acknowledges the horror of them and how we “destroyed villages in order to save them…”  Note also the reference to Nixon, who stated he “did not want to be the first president to lose a war…”  Doesn’t that sound eerily similar to “we have to go in to Syria to save our credibility…”??  The Communism threat was a lie, btw, as only 25% of the people in Vietnam were Communists.  The rest were peaceful Buddhists.  Pretty sad, eh?

**Edited to fix stupid link to Kerry’s Vietnam Testimony:

Labor Day…what unions…?

Another reader of Diane Ravitch posted this on how times have changed.

~~~~~~~~~

We Do Not Support A War on Syria.

~~~~~~~~~~

“You Take Care of Us.  We Keep Everything.  Screw You.”

 

 

A letter to Boston

The Indignant Teacher has  a post up highlighting Diane Ravitch and her letter to Bostonians.

Bostonians being recently threatened with the bombing perhaps can understand a bomb has gone off in the public school system–put there by billionaires who wish to destroy it for their own greed.  Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to see as a bombing in a public space…it’s much more stealth than that…and the damage done is not felt in real time, but in years past it.  It will be hard for some to realize the connection to the destruction to society and democracy…making it easier for those doing it to not be held accountable.

The Racism of Charter Schools

Ani McHugh, a high school English teacher in New Jersey has a letter to Bill Gates and questions all the evidence pointing to racism.

Also from teacherbiz blog, she has this up–requesting that Arne Duncan and all of the pro-testing, testing, testing reformers take the  tests they require of the kids and publish their results.

…because we need to know if they are qualified to run schools.

Forcing chemo

This is outrageous.  The child does not want it.  The parents do not want it.  But a gov’t bureaucrat has once again decided they know what’s best for someone else better than they do.

I would want to know their genetic background–most Amish came from Dutch/German stock…so it is possible that this family has the dreaded gluten intolerance and her immune system might be unable to fight off the cancer due to an inflamed gut.  Not to mention whatever chemicals she has been exposed to from industry and farming.

But…no…the medical nazi’s will force her to take a highly toxic chemical that may or may not cure her of cancer.  And they will turn their heads if by chance she is cured of this cancer, but later on develops yet another, more aggressive form of cancer due to the toxic chemicals they are putting into her now.

Like I have said many times–if I am stricken, I won’t go the chemo route, but try to fight it naturally and let nature take its course.

No one should be forced to take any medical treatment.  Ever.

 

Unreality

I was stunned the other night when I saw that Duchess Katherine had lost so much of her pregnancy weight that she is nearly back to her anorexic looking self.  No, I’m not going to apologize for saying that, either, if someone thinks I’m being too harsh.  Kate looked healthy before she became engaged and then she lost more weight making her look anorexic to me.  It is not healthy and I strongly suspect it is the reason she was so violently nauseated in the first few months of her pregnancy.

Now we have media obsessed with her returning to her pre-baby weight.. Sweet Jesus they were after her the DAY after she had given birth

Good Grief, it took me two years to lose the weight after giving birth.  And I exercised with aerobics but ate normally.  You cannot lose 60 lbs. or so in a month’s time in a healthy way.  It can’t be done.

It’s occurred to me that perhaps Kate’s breastfeeding could account for some of the weight loss–but I’m sure that wouldn’t be more than 20 lbs.

Anyway, the whole warped obsession needs to be nixed.  It’s not healthy—mentally or physically.