widows in india

ghosts. even their kids think they're 'unlucky' and don't acknowledge them. they shave their heads (they're not allowed to look pretty), they have to beg for food and NO ONE wants them around.





women





WORSE then second class citizens





we must all stop treating the world's women like this



(married at 12 a widow at 15 and now 80 something - she lived her WHOLE life as a non-person)


Shunned from society, widows flock to city to die





By Araw Damon


VRINDAVAN, India (CNN) -- Ostracized by society, thousands of India's widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die. They are found on side streets, hunched over with walking canes, their heads shaved and their pain etched by hundreds of deep wrinkles in their faces.


These Hindu widows, the poorest of the poor, are shunned from society when their husbands die, not for religious reasons, but because of tradition -- and because they're seen as a financial drain on their families.
They cannot remarry. They must not wear jewelry. They are forced to shave their heads and typically wear white. Even their shadows are considered bad luck.
Hindus have long believed that death in Vrindavan will free them from the cycle of life and death. For widows, they hope death will save them from being condemned to such a life again. Watch how some widows are rebelling »
"Does it feel good?" says 70-year-old Rada Rani Biswas. "Now I have to loiter just for a bite to eat."................

picture: A widow makes her way in Vrindavan, India, where an estimated 15,000 widows live on the streets.

yesterday i linked to a story about the construction of the us embassy in iraq

it cost well over 500 million dollars (and i'm guessing that's nowhere near where it will eventually cost). it was built like the first piece of 'furniture' i built when i took woodshop as a senior in high school (i had all of my credits but they wouldn't let me graduate early. so i took all sorts of FUN classes as a senior. woodshop ended up being fun but since i had NEVER before done anything with wood except pound in a nail, you can only imagine how my first piece looked. it was a 'whatnot' shelf by the way.)

now they want to form an oversight committee to go over the delays, the expenses and the problems? NOW? what about before? before 592 million was thrown down the drain?

what are they going to do? who are they going to punish?

you see not even people who commit treason have to serve time if they're friends with king george or his court members.

Oversight committee to probe embassy construction in Baghdad

Michael Roston

Amid reports of escalating trouble in the construction of the new US Embassy in Baghdad, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced that it would investigate the project to build what will be America's largest overseas diplomatic post.
"The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing on construction delays and problems plaguing the U.S. Embassy construction project in Baghdad, a $592 million project," said the release from the Oversight Committee sent to RAW STORY. "The hearing will examine the performance, billing, and labor practices of government contractors, including the record of oversight of contractors by the United States government."......

you know all of those 'verify your ebay account' emails you get?

well i don't know if YOU get them. i do. i get MANY of them. each and every one i do get, i forward on to ebay WITHOUT clicking on any links.

who knew some of them are the work of terrorists? i would have NEVER thought of this.

good thing to be aware of WHOEVER is responsible. DO NOT EVER give out your information on the phone or on the net or ANYWHERE if you are not absolutely certain who you are giving that information to

Terrorism's Hook Into Your Inbox
U.K. Case Shows Link Between Online Fraud and Jihadist Networks


By Brian Krebs washingtonpost.com Staff Writer

The global jihad landed in Linda Spence's e-mail inbox during the summer of 2003, in the form of a message urging her to verify her eBay account information. The 35-year-old New Jersey resident clicked on the link included in the message, which took her to a counterfeit eBay site where she unwittingly entered in personal financial information.
Ultimately, Spence's information wound up in the hands of a young man in the United Kingdom who investigators said was the brains behind a terrorist cell that sought to facilitate deadly bombing attacks against targets in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. ..........

one more has drifted AWAY from the dark side

well drifted at least on THIS issue and it is a very important issue. the lives of our men and women and innocent iraqis are at stake

technical troubles or not, i'm glad he came out of the muck and mire for a moment.

however, do we have to wait for one at a time to change their minds? how many more have to come into the light before this unjust immoral and illegal war is actually STOPPED?

Key GOP Senator Breaks With Bush
Domenici Urges Change In Strategy on Iraq War


By Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writers

White House efforts to keep congressional Republicans united over the Iraq war suffered another major defection yesterday as Sen. Pete V. Domenici (N.M.) broke with President Bush and called for an immediate change in U.S. strategy that could end combat operations by spring.
The six-term lawmaker, party loyalist and former staunch war supporter represents one of the most significant GOP losses to date. Speaking to reporters at a news conference in Albuquerque, Domenici said he began to question his stance on Iraq late last month, after several conversations with the family members of dead soldiers from his home state, and as it became clear that Iraqi leaders are making little progress toward national reconciliation........

And Now, an Important Announcement About [Thump]

By Dana Milbank
The war in Iraq has been a series of errors, so it's only fitting that the exit plan should have its share of miscues, too.
Yesterday, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M), previously a full-throated supporter of the war, gave a news conference in Albuquerque to urge an expedited withdrawal of U.S. troops. It could have been a major turning point in the war if the audio feed hadn't run into technical difficulties.........

neil shakespeare is back

and i for one am glad. i've missed him so

stop by and say hola to him

seems like the more the united states surges in

the more unidentified iraqi bodies there are. how long are we going to allow this to happen? how long are we NOT going to demand accountability? how long are we going to destroy someone else's country? how long are we going to just TOSS BILLIONS of dollars out of the window? how long are we going to allow our constitution and our laws to be either ignored or spit upon?

Body Count In Baghdad Up in June


By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service

BAGHDAD, July 4 -- Nearly five months into a security strategy that involves thousands of additional U.S. and Iraqi troops patrolling Baghdad, the number of unidentified bodies found on the streets of the capital was 41 percent higher in June than in January, according to unofficial Health Ministry statistics.

During the month of June, 453 unidentified corpses, some bound, blindfolded, and bearing signs of torture, were found in Baghdad, according to morgue data provided by a Health Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information........

three stories

three out of how many? i'm guessing not too very many are pretty either.

Iraq Comes Home: Soldiers Share the Devastating Tales of War
By Emily DePrang, Texas Observer

...............Michael Goss:
I gave the Army seven years. It was supposed to be my career. I did two tours in Iraq, in 2003 and 2005. But during the last one, I started to get depressed. I lost faith in my chain of command. I became known as a rogue NCO. That's how I got my other-than-honorable discharge.
One night they said to me, "Sgt. Goss, gather your best guys." I say, "Where we going?" They say, "Don't worry about it, just come on." So we get in the car and go. We drive three blocks away, and there's six dead soldiers on the ground. They say, "You're casualty collecting tonight." I'm not prepared for that. I wasn't taught how to do that. But you're there. So you pick them up, and you put them in a body bag, pieces by pieces, and you go back to your unit, and you stand inside your room. And they're like, "You're going on a patrol, come on." You're like, "Hang on a minute. Let me think about what I just did here." I just put six American guys in damn body bags. ...........

how sad and sick is this?

and no, it didn't happen here. but damn, that's just cold

Shoppers step over stab victim

AS A stabbing victim lay dying on the floor of a convenience store, five shoppers, including one who stopped to take a photo with a mobile phone, stepped over the woman.The June 23 incident, captured on a store surveillance video, received scant news coverage until a columnist for The Wichita Eagle, in the US state of Kansas, today disclosed the existence of the video and its contents.
Police have repeatedly refused to release the video, saying it is part of their investigation.
"It was tragic to watch," police spokesman Gordon Bassham said. "The fact that people were more interested in taking a picture with a cell phone and shopping for snacks rather than helping this innocent young woman is, frankly, revolting."..........

slime. pure slime

if i did what he did, my big fat ass would be rotting in jail - i'd be charged with treason. HOWEVER, i wouldn't do what he did. i would NEVER out a covert cia agent

Novak: I'd print Valerie Plame Wilson's name again

Michael Roston

When Robert Novak publishes his memoir, The Prince of Darkness, 50 Years Reporting in Washington, the conservative political pundit will seek to settle some scores with colleagues in the nation's capitol. But he won't be expressing any regrets for printing the name of and 'outing' covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, according to a Tuesday report in 'Washington Whispers,' a blog published by US News and World Report.
"Novak was investigated in the CIA spy case, slammed by fellow journalists for 'outing' an agent, the subject of what he calls false stories, kicked off his regular CNN gig, and barred from Meet the Press for two years-and out $160,000 in legal fees," Paul Bedard, who acquired a copy of the forthcoming book, writes. "Still, he writes, 'Judging it on the merits, I would still write the story.'"..........

evil, evil and more evil. i heard him being interviewed in npr and i had to rush home and shower

the king really IS something ain't he?

President Defends War on July 4th
Bush Compares Iraq To Revolutionary War


By Tim Craig Washington Post Staff Writer

MARTINSBURG, W.Va., July 4 -- President Bush warned Wednesday that the Iraq war "will require more patience, more courage and more sacrifice," as he appealed to a war-weary public for time and sought to link today's conflict to the storied battles that gave birth to the nation.
In an Independence Day address before members of the National Guard and their families, the president again painted a dire portrait of the consequences of pulling out of Iraq, asserting as he has before that "terrorists and extremists" would try to strike inside the United States.............

hey king george, IRAQ ALREADY IS A NATION. they're not fighting the british. the only country they're trying to get away from is US

592 MILLION

yes i said MILLION. it will end up being WAY more than that though. you know it and i know it.

592 million and children living in the us (even in connecticut) are going hungry. 592 million and millions in the us lack health care. 592 million and the us education system sure could use a giant boost. 592 million and there are still thousands displaced from natural disasters such as katrina. 592 million and our vets aren't being treated right at several va hospitals including walter reed.

592 million and the justice department already has an eye on the building contractor.

592 million and they can't even turn an effing stove on

592 million

Construction Woes Add to Fears at Embassy in Iraq


By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer

U.S. diplomats in Iraq, increasingly fearful over their personal safety after recent mortar attacks inside the Green Zone, are pointing to new delays and mistakes in the U.S. Embassy construction project in Baghdad as signs that their vulnerability could grow in the months ahead.
A toughly worded cable sent from the embassy to State Department headquarters on May 29 highlights a cascade of building and safety blunders in a new facility to house the security guards protecting the embassy. The guards' base, which remains unopened today, is just a small part of a $592 million project to build the largest U.S. embassy in the world.........

what? now i have to burn each and every pair i own? dang!!!

i don't know who took the actual picture, but i found it on manolo's shoe blog

far be it for an organization or a person to slow down another individual's purchase of a gun

far be it from a person or organization to protect the welfare of every other citizen and visitor in the united states. we cannot have someone who wants to buy a gun wait ONE SECOND LONGER than it takes to throw some cash (or a credit card) at a gun seller, take the weapon and dash out to do some shootin' (which very well could be shootin' at other individuals).

this country's gun laws (well LACK THEREOF) are OBSCENE

Gun-Buyer Checks Halted by ATF Amid Criticism Appear Proper, Report Says


By Lara Jakes JordanAssociated Press

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives no longer routinely checks the addresses of some buyers at gun shows after being accused of slowing sales at a show in Richmond in 2005, the Justice Department reported yesterday.
But the checks were part of investigations that appear to have been warranted, the 56-page report by Glenn A. Fine, the Justice Department's inspector general, concluded........

........The ATF abandoned the checks five months after dealers at the August 2005 gun show in Richmond said sales plummeted because buyers were intimidated by police who showed up at their homes, sparking congressional criticism...........

your moms was RIGHT - don't do drugs

Photograph by Politie Midden en West Brabant/AP

Dussen, Netherlands, June 22, 2007—Crop circles on crack? No, just a car driver on coke.
A panicking driver high on cocaine led several police cars and a helicopter on a chase through a rural area in the Netherlands.
After knocking over two apple trees and ramming a metal fence, he zigzagged through a grain field before being caught, local police said.
The damage was estimated at 7,000 to 8,000 euros (US$9,423 to $10,769), the Reuters news agency reported.

this is how INSANE some people's spewing diarrhea of the mouth is

and no, i'm NOT talking about the people who attempted to obliterate the airport in glasgow. we KNOW those pathetic excuses for humans are beyond even an explanation

i'm talking about THESE idjits

Conservative bloggers try to link Michael Moore to UK terror attempts

Michael Roston

............One writer, Mark Steyn, who contributes to the National Review Online's Corner blog, posted an e-mail he received in order to identify the connection between Moore's Sicko and the British terrorists.
"'Would these be Doctors who work for the U.K. health care system so lavishly praised by Michael Moore? ...Perhaps they are not Jihadists at all but simply men driven insane by their employer? Maybe Michael Moore has spawned an entirely new breed of suicide bomber — the alienated UK health care worker'" Steyn quotes from one e-mail, after noting "I've been getting more than a few letters along these lines."
He also posted a second e-mail, and observed, "Now that Dr Mohammed Asha has been arrested in the Glasgow/London terrorist investigation, several readers have noticed that this artfully combines Michael Moore's two most recent enthusiasms, 'insurgents' and socialized health care." Steyn, however adds, "Mr Moore has yet to call these medico-jihadists 'Minutemen.'"................

(p.s. if you are not familiar with how i feel about mr moore, for the most part, i like his ideas. i think he is a GIANT blowhard though. i also know some of the views he expresses are stilted. all in all i really wouldn't want to sit down and have a coffee with him. BUT one of the MOST brilliant things i have ever seen on tv was from his old tv show. it didn't run very long but it sure was eye opening. my favorite thing he did was have a convicted felon whose skin was white as the driven snow- murder i believe, hail a cab in nyc and also have yaphet kotto multi-award winning actor, black as night, hail a cab in nyc. which one do YOU think the cabbie stopped for?)

da liebs

ready willing and don't for a second doubt, VERY capable of starting ANOTHER war



i don't like the government of iran. they are evil and even more unjust than our own government. there are terrorists in iran. i have no idea how many or if the government is bankrolling and training them. my point is i don't think DA LIEBS HAS THAT INFORMATION EITHER.



before starting YET ANOTHER WAR where our men and women are being harmed maimed and killed, WHY DON'T WE GATHER ALL OF THE FACTS. why don't we determine what is true and what isn't true.



we invaded iraq based on lies. are we going to continue to invade more countries without having the full story?



Lieberman: Iran has declared war on the US



Josh Catone

Following a statement issued by the American Forces Press Service accusing Iran's Quds Force of "training, funding and arming the Iraqi groups," as well as Hezbollah operatives in Iraq, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) released a statement saying that Iran has declared war on America.
"Although no one desires a conflict with Iran, the fact is that the Iranian government by its actions has declared war on us," Lieberman wrote, while urging the United States to keep "open the possibility of using military force against the terrorist infrastructure inside Iran.".........

Lieberman: Iran Has Declared War

By DAVID LIGHTMAN Washington Bureau Chief, The Hartford Courant

............Lieberman said he hoped the latest news about Iran would help quash calls in Congress to withdraw U. S. troops.Withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq at this time, he added, "will give Iranians exactly what they want most" -- an "epic victory" for forces of terrorism."Iran's purpose in sponsoring these attacks against our soldiers is clear," he said. "The Iranian government wants to push the United States out of Iraq................

this came as a surprise to NO ONE

the only shocking thing is how long it took king george to commute the sentence
because if he put scooter in the big house, he'd have to put almost every single member of his court in the big house PLUS he'd have to toss himself in as well. scooter was and is a tiny little lower level player. he committed crimes but they sure don't equal the crimes of king george
how will these people EVER atone for their sins?




A Decision Made Largely Alone


By Michael Abramowitz Washington Post Staff Writer

President Bush limited his deliberations over commuting the prison term of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to a few close aides, opting not to consult with the Justice Department and rebuffing efforts by friends to lobby on Libby's behalf, administration officials and people close to Bush said yesterday.
"We were all told to stay away from it," said an old Bush friend from Texas who is close to Libby and would not speak for attribution. "When we called over there, they said the president is well aware of the situation, so don't raise it. None of us lobbied him because they told us not to.".............

and an editorial: Too Much Mercy
Scooter Libby's prison sentence was excessive, but so is President Bush's commutation.

IN COMMUTING I. Lewis Libby's prison sentence yesterday, President Bush took the advice of, among others, William Otis, a former federal prosecutor who wrote on the opposite page last month that Mr. Libby should neither be pardoned nor sent to prison. We agree that a pardon would have been inappropriate and that the prison sentence of 30 months was excessive. But reducing the sentence to no prison time at all, as Mr. Bush did -- to probation and a large fine -- is not defensible............

a big fat shout out to my friend lk

tyshawn and lk

mikey relaxin'

chris and gizmo

alli, tyshawn, katie and lk

alli, katie and lk

she just got back from a few days in new orleans. what was she doing you ask? sure, she went out and had fun during the evenings. during the day she was BUILDING HOUSES FOR HABITAT! that's so very wicked cool

the plot thickens

very few papers and news organizations are reporting the truth. well the FULL truth (as they can find it of course). mcclatchy seems to be a notch above just about everyone


there are so many weasels out there (no offense to the actual animal of course) it's unbelievable. how can they call themselves americans? i just don't get it

Was campaigning against voter fraud a Republican ploy? (hint: THE ANSWER IS YES)

By Greg Gordon McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — A New Mexico lawyer who pressed to oust U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was an officer of a nonprofit group that aided Republican candidates in 2006 by pushing for tougher voter identification laws.
Iglesias, who was one of nine U.S. attorneys the administration fired last year, said that Albuquerque lawyer Patrick Rogers pressured him several times to bring voter fraud prosecutions where little evidence existed. Iglesias believes that he was fired in part because he failed to pursue such cases.
He described Rogers, who declined to discuss the exchanges, as “obsessed . . . convinced there was massive voter fraud going on in this state, and I needed to do something to stop it."
Iglesias said he only recently learned of Rogers’ involvement as secretary of the non-profit American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund - an activist group that defended tighter voter identification requirements in court against charges that they were designed to hamper voting by poor minorities.......

i am STILL so very angry my state voted this man

who is CLEARLY not quite right, back into office. makes me think my fellow citizens are NOT QUITE RIGHT either



(and by the way, i am NOT against surveillance of ANY kind as long as it is done WITHIN THE LAWS)



Lieberman calls for wider use of surveillance cameras




By Klaus Marre
July 01, 2007
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said Sunday he wants to “more widely” use surveillance cameras across the country.
“The Brits have got something smart going in England, and it was part of why I believe they were able to so quickly apprehend suspects in the terrorist acts over the weekend, and that is they have cameras all over London and other of their major cities,” Lieberman said.“I think it’s just common sense to do that here much more widely,” he added. “And of course, we can do it without compromising anybody’s real privacy.”Lieberman lamented the “petty, partisan fighting” in Congress and called on his colleagues to join together to upgrade the nation’s electronic surveillance capabilities............

sen leahy, don't just threaten to do it. DO IT ALREADY

something, anything, has to be done to stop king george and his court. they are NOT citizens above suspicion (a wonderful french movie by the way)

MAKE THEM STOP EVERYTHING THEY ARE DOING. MOST OF IT IS ILLEGAL AND ALL OF IT IS IMMORAL

Leahy Says He May Seek Charge Of Contempt Against President


By Lyndsey Layton Washington Post Staff Writer

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said yesterday that he will attempt to cite the White House for criminal contempt of Congress if it does not turn over documents related to the firing of nine federal prosecutors.
"If they don't cooperate, yes, I'd go that far," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "This is very important to the American people."
Leahy's comments raise the stakes in a growing conflict between the Democrat-controlled Congress and the Bush White House, suggesting that the constitutional clash may end up in a court case that could last beyond Bush's tenure as president.......

and i just don't get it. why in the case of what is clearly THE most horrid administration in the entire cosmos, why it's 'democrats vs king george and his court'. why isn't EVERYONE, republicans included, up in arms over EVERYTHING those evil beings have done?

king george is 'looking for answers'

well i have them ALL. i do.

not just me, practically everyone i know has the answers. cindy sheehan (i don't know her) has the answers. king george doesn't have to round up a slew of intellectuals. we're all right here ready and waiting to give him EVERYTHING he needs

(oh, i have a stinking suspicion his slew of intellectuals have given him the VERY SAME answers we all would. he JUST DOESN'T LISTEN)

A President Besieged and Isolated, Yet at Ease
Bush, Grasping for Answers and Fixated on Iraq, Remains Resolute


By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer
At the nadir of his presidency, George W. Bush is looking for answers. One at a time or in small groups, he summons leading authors, historians, philosophers and theologians to the White House to join him in the search.
Over sodas and sparkling water, he asks his questions: What is the nature of good and evil in the post-Sept. 11 world? What lessons does history have for a president facing the turmoil I'm facing? How will history judge what we've done? Why does the rest of the world seem to hate America? Or is it just me they hate?.........