BBC NEWS | Middle East | Jerusalem gay march ban set aside Well, that’s good and joyful all right. A judge came down hard on the Jerusalem mayor’s unilateral banning of this year’ Gay Pride parade. Not only will it go on, but the city of Jerusalem will pay 30,000 shekels to the gay and lesbian center to underwrite the vent, plus another 30,000 shekels just for good measure, and they have to line the parade route with banners. So there, nyah. It’s good news, much better than those crotchety old religious clerics of various faiths who came together last…
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It has been to Downing Street, caught the imagination of Nelson Mandela and attracted a plethora of celebrities – so just what is Making Poverty History? In just six months the campaign has grabbed numerous headlines and can count on the support of pop stars, clergy and statesmen alike. So what are the coalition’s AIMS? How is it FUNDED? How are the CHURCHES involved? What has it got to do with the POLITICIANS? Why does it attract the CELEBRITIES? And just what are those WRISTBANDS? I’ve ordered some of the British wristbands. The American version is available here. Live 8…
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Oh well. It was silly to think there’d be humanity, understanding, or reconciliation from the opportunists who grabbed Terri Schiavo’s inert body and dragged her, head lolling obscenely, into battle. They’re too busy sending out inflammatory fundraising emails and preparing the heavily-Photoshopped “2006 Terri Schiavo Swimsuit Calendar.” Being at war, even a “culture war,” means admitting no errors, not until it’s over. Which is why we’re fighting wars on “terror” and “the culture of death” rather than wars on “Iraq” and “The Schiavo Case.” Those might end, after all. Adam rightly notes that the lack of apology from the “activists”…
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Freak season lets Utah skiers go 4th – Yahoo! News Okay, I heard this on WXRT on the way in, and now it’s front page in the Chicago Trib. The people of Chicago are might envious of this thing you call “snow.” Today’s temp is supposed to get up to 95 or higher. No rain in sight, it was a dry spring, and there are watering restrictions out here in Burbclavia. I expect later in the summer there’ll be an outright ban. And then the other day, there was a massive hailstorm in Colorado Springs, and right now there’s flooding…
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Okay, so I’m podding already. Downloaded 4 6 7 songs from iTunes already. My husband David’s going to regret this already. I’ve already realized it’s pretty trippy to play Cirque du Soleil’s Icare, then segue into Tiny Hat Orchestra’s Sing, Sing, Sing, then Rachel Yamagata’s Worn Me Down… and so on and so on. Hmm, there’s a new album by Cam Newton on iTunes… well, David has only himself to blame. I’d better get to bed…soon. Right after synching up and listening to that Cam Newton tune. I used to go to the weekly Beer Garden ‘way, ‘way back in…
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Personally, this horrifies me on so many levels: Arkansas Family Expecting 16th Child How can someone justify this large a family as a moral imperative? Our country consumes the bulk of the world’s resources in fossil fuels and yet are behind other nations in the percentage of our gross national product that we donate to poor countries. We don’t donate 0.7% like some of our peers. “Extreme poverty can be reduced, and indeed eliminated, in our generation,” Sachs told journalists last week in a national conference call. “What it will take is increased investment.” How much? To the American who…
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* beep’s Remote Patrol notes that former Amazing Race winner Reichen Leimkuhl and other reality “stars” will be in a new show where they all live together while filming a horror film. Oh, the horror indeed. That’ll get a big thumbs-down on the TiVo.
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We’re making an attempt here at Chez Guique to be more active and eat better. We went for the bike ride the other night – 11 miles, not too shabby – and today I felt like a salad rather than a gutbomb at the office cafeteria. I stood behind a rather heavy woman who very slowly picked individual leaves of lettuce out of the bin in the salad bar. Then she very slowwwly and deliberately put 4 ladles of French dressing on her salad. I waited until she moved away, then added a couple of items and crunchy things to…
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My husband David, with the help of Mac gurus Steve and Fred, got me a reconditioned iPod. This will make my friend Kevin do the happy bum-wiggle footy dance discreetly at his desk. It’s a 4-gig silver iPod. We have to get a high-speed USB2 card for my computer, but David says that’s no big deal. So very soon I’ll be learning how to navigate iTunes and figuring out all kinds of other junk. And also, as a wacko NPR / AAR loyalist, I have to download the latest OK Go EP, because Adam Felbers says so. And as Adam…
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Okay, I actually found this via Boing Boing and it totally rocks. I’m thinking of saying it the next time I’m stuck having to recite the Pledge. And I know at least one person who owns a UFP flag, so must pass it along later. “It’s Ms., please. And sorry for my attire, but I ran a marathon yesterday and I’m too sore to change this morning.” I tried to infect her with my smile, but she wore a tight-lipped expression as frosty as her jacket. “So, anyway. What did he do?” I picked at the hem of my sweatshirt,…