Women And Their Right To Human Rights
Posted by Michelle Moquin on December 10th, 2011
Good morning!
Today is Human Rights Day. No, actually today is the observance of Human Rights day. Every day should be Human Rights Day…every day each and every person should be born free and equal in dignity and rights. But unfortunately we are far from it.
Human Rights Day 2011
On December 10th, the world observes United Nations’ Human Rights Day.
On December 10th, the world observes United Nations’ Human Rights Day. The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption, by the UN General Assembly in 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the first global enunciation of human rights.
Having just lived through the horrors of the Second World War, the founding countries of the UN resolved, at the Organization’s birth in 1945, to never again allow such atrocities to occur. Three years later, the UN General Assembly stated in the ground-breaking Universal Declaration of Human Rights that respect for human rights and human dignity “is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. The first Human Rights Day Observance took place in 1950.
2011 is notable as the year that people across the Middle East stood up to demand their rights. What began in Tunisia as a protest against unemployment, corruption, abuse and repression soon swelled into a nationwide demand by Tunisians for their rights as citizens and human beings. Before long, their neighbors: Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen took up the cry.
But ultimately, it is not national movements but rather the actions of individuals, of each citizen of the world, that will ensure that each human being should, and must, be seen by the law and by his or her fellows as a “human being born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
As former First Lady and First U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.
“Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”
Readers: I blogged the other day about Hillary Clinton – The highlight then was on LGBT’s and their right to human rights. I stand strong in support of Clinton and my support of LGBT’s, and their right to human rights.
Because of my strong love and support of ”women and girls” their right to human rights is my focus today. Because as well all know violence against women in the form of physical abuse, torture, rape, and murder is pandemic throughout the world.
This write says it best for me this morning:
Violence Against Women Violates Human Rights
Violence against women and girls is a crime, not something private or cultural.
![Bangla woman whose husband threw acid in her face. [AP]](http://media.voanews.com/images/300*200/ViolenceAgainstWomenCrop400.jpg "Bangla woman whose husband threw acid in her face. [AP]")
“Violence against women and girls leaves all of our communities poorer.” –Ambassador Melanne Verveer
Between International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25th and International Human Rights Day on December 10th, thousands of organizations and activists all over the world are working to highlight the global scourge of violence against women and girls.
As Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer said, “Striking a blow against a woman is a blow against human rights:”
“Gender-based violence is a global pandemic. It cuts across all borders. It is not just a women’s problem. It affects all of us – men and women, girls and boys.”
Violence against women and girls is not only a moral challenge and a human rights violation, said Ambassador Verveer. It also carries with it a terrible economic consequence and undermines productivity. “Violence against women and girls leaves all of our communities poorer. Businesses close, incomes shrink, families go hungry, and children grow up internalizing behavior that perpetuates the cycle of violence.”
The negative consequences on health are significant as well. “The health costs to women include not only the detrimental impact on their physical well-being, such as increased susceptibility to HIV infection, but also mental health costs for both women and their children.”
In addition to the myriad chores women do in the household, including raising and teaching their children, many also work in the informal economy, earning a living selling market goods or as domestic workers. As a result, when a woman cannot work because of injury, the cost is often hidden.
That is why investing in the prevention and prosecution of acts of aggression against women may cost money upfront, but it pays off in the long run.
“Prevention, protection and prosecution are essential and we must add a fourth “P” as well: combating gender-based violence must be a priority,” said Ambassador Verveer.
“We must end the impunity that too often leaves the most egregious perpetrators unaccountable for their crimes. Violence against women and girls is a crime, not something private or cultural. We must redress the low status of women and girls around the world that renders them undervalued and vulnerable,” she said.
“We must support the inclusion of men and boys in addressing and preventing violence and changing gender attitudes, increase accountability and commitment by community and government leaders on this issue, as well as highlight and promote effective programs that are already successfully at work.”
“No country can progress by leaving half its people behind. . . . The consequences are simply too great for us to not act.
♥♥♥♥♥
Readers: What will you do today? What steps will you personally take to ensure that all human beings, no matter what race, gender, sexual preference, etc., are treated equally, with respect, and the right to Human Rights? Blog me.
Prism Princess and Howie: Thanks to both of you for chiming in and sharing. As always the information is so welcomed by me and my readers…not to mention that reading about space travel is just a cool read in general. The way you described space in comparison to the ocean is so logical. In this case, bigger is always better. And I’m happy to hear that Luc is okay.
Time for me to sign off…your turn.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)
Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:
Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129
Thank you for your loyal support!
All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011
" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"
December 10th, 2011 at 9:59 am
Michelle, in the spirit of women I want to share tale of heroic women from the legends of Guam. I hope it is not too long.
Hafa Adai
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How mermaids, and the daughters of Guam saved Guam
3:00 PM, Dec. 10, 2011 |
Written by
Anthony P. Sanchez
Anthony Sanchez
Editor’s note: The information in this column was complied and researched by Olympia Q. Camacho in 1982 under the administration of Gov. Ricardo J. Bordallo.
If you’ve seen the island of Guahan from the air or on a map, you’ll notice the island is oddly shaped.
It is fairly wide at the ends and narrow in the middle, as though large bites were taken from both the western side at Hagåtña Bay and the eastern shore at Pago Bay.
How was Guahan formed? The Chamorro people have an old legend about it.
“Antes na tiempo,” or a long time ago, before the ancestors of the present day Chamorros came to Guam, a mighty race of people lived here.
They were called taotaomona, which means “the people before.” It is said that they were very clever and wise, and possessed magical powers.
A group of fisherman, peskadot siha, who fished in Hagåtña Bay, noticed that the mouth of the bay was growing larger and larger.
They could not understand what was causing this strange occurrence. Similarly, a group of fisherman from the other side of the island noticed that Pago Bay was also growing larger and larger.
It seemed as if the island was being eaten away from both sides.
The land between the two bays was becoming narrower each day.
“If this keeps on, the island will be cut in two,” the people commented to one another. “We must do something to stop it.”
A meeting was called amongst all the wise taotaomonas. Everyone agreed that something had to be done to find out the cause of the strange action.
Everyone realized there had to be answer. But there seems to be no solution.
A certain fisherman was out early in the morning doing his day’s work when he spotted a giant fish. The fisherman was curious to find out more about the strange, large creature.
As he neared it, he saw that the fish was eating big chunks of the land. As he got closer, the big fish swam away.
The fisherman started spreading the word that a giant fish had been seen biting away pieces of land at Pago bay.
“This monstrous fish must be destroyed,” said the leaders. “Every strong man on the island must go and help destroy the fish.”
Early the next morning, all the capable men on Guahan gathered together with their weapons and started on their mission.
No one knew what the day would bring, but no one was going to let the large creature destroy the island. Everyone was determined, before the day was over, to return to his village with some sort of evidence that the horrible fish had been destroyed.
As everyone started on this mission, Pago Bay was almost covered with canoes. The hunters and fisherman paddled into the bay, searching for the terrible fish. Some searched in the coral reef while others looked in the deep ocean near the reef.
Everyone searched for hours, hoping to spot the fish. But no fish was seen, at least not the giant fish. Soon it began getting dark and the hunters and fisherman began returning to their homes, each with sense of disappointment.
The search continued for many days. No one wanted to admit failure, and the enthusiasm to find the fish continued for a long time. But no matter how hard the men searched, they couldn’t locate the terrible giant fish.
The news of the failure of the men to find and destroy the giant fish spread from village to village. The news even reached some of the sirenas of the island.
The sirenas were mermaids that would gather at the large deep pool called Hagåtña Springs. The mermaids had special powers and had the power to hypnotize anyone with their singing.
It was said their beautiful singing voices would attract men from near and far who would come listen to them sing. These mermaids would often gather at Hagåtña springs to swim, sing, laugh and chat together.
Those who saw the mermaids said the greatest trait of the sirenas was their long, beautiful, black hair. The mermaids washed their hair in the cool clear water and then rinsed it with lemon juice.
The mermaids and daughters of Guam were horrified by the horrible fish which was supposed to be eating away at the island.
One day, they learned all men were detected by the creature’s sense of sight and smell. This happened when it surprised the women, mermaids and children when it rose among them at Hagåtña Springs, but could not detect the children they held above their heads.
The mermaids and daughters knew the brave men of the villages had tried using a fish net to catch the giant fish. Island residents wondered what could make a strong net.
Knowing their long, beautiful, black hair had magical powers, the sirenas cut off their hair and intertwined it with the Chamorritas’ hair, sprinkling hope and love.
They all worked on this net for hours and hours. The longer they worked, the larger it became. As they wove, they began to sing. Their singing attracted many fish, but not their prime prey: the destructive, giant fish.
However, they didn’t become discouraged. After they finished their net, they hurriedly put the final step of their plan into action.
All the mermaids gathered around the entrance of the tunnel at Hagåtña springs, with the Chamorritas floating nearby. They sat down around it, holding onto the net, and began to sing.
They sang so beautifully that, before long, the giant fish heard them. The fish couldn’t help but become enticed by their singing. It swam deeper into the tunnel and closer to the source of the beautiful songs.
As the fish approached, all of the mermaids moved toward the fish and threw their magical net around the creature and pulled the net tight.
There was no way the fish could escape the trap. The mermaids and daughters summoned some men to come and dispose of the giant fish.
The mermaids and daughters saved their island paradise. With the magic of their hair, beautiful singing and the strongest men of the island, together they destroyed the giant fish.
Hagåtña means “our daughters, our blood,” and has been home to the ancient Chamorros ever since.
Anthony P. Sanchez (Fongu) is the editor for Guahan/Guam A History of Guam.
December 10th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Michelle, your articles about the struggles of women have come to mean so much to me. I work in Faisalabad. I struggle every day with men who put me down for “stealing a man’s job.”
I am so happy to leave work and return to the safety of my home and read your blog about heroic women. I hope I can be one some day.
Tayebba
December 10th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Feeling Anxious? Passionflower Can Calm You Down
Its name suggests an aphrodisiac, but passionflower is more effective for relaxation than arousal. The herb increases the brain’s levels of gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA), which helps people relax.
It is available at health-food stores and online. How it can help…
Insomnia. Australian researchers found that adults who drank a warm herbal infusion of passionflower before bed felt refreshed and alert upon waking, compared with those drinking a placebo tea.
Anxiety. Passionflower can help you relax without causing drowsiness, which makes it particularly good as a daytime remedy.
How can a remedy that helps you sleep also enable you to stay awake?
That’s one of the great things about passionflower—it enhances (instead of works against) the body’s natural sleep/wake cycle.
PMS and menopause. Passionflower can help to relieve PMS symptoms and menopausal symptoms of anxiety and irritability.
High blood pressure. Passionflower is known to reduce high blood pressure associated with stress and anxiety.
How to use it: For patients who want relief from the conditions above, I recommend passionflower be taken in capsule form (500 milligrams) two to three times daily when symptoms occur.
It also can be taken as a tincture (20 to 30 drops) or herbal infusion (one teaspoon of dried passionflower leaves steeped in three ounces of water) taken two to three times daily.
Women who are pregnant should not use passionflower. It should not be taken with pharmaceutical sedatives because it may increase their effect.
Mark A. Stengler, NMD, is a naturopathic medical doctor and leading authority on the practice of alternative and integrated medicine.
Dr. Stengler is author of the Bottom Line/Natural Healing newsletter,
author of The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies (Bottom Line Books),
founder and medical director of the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine in Encinitas, California,
and adjunct associate clinical professor at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. MarkStengler.com
December 10th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Women everywhere need to unite to help women everywhere.
Unless we learn to feel the passion of our sisters, we will continue to be “things” for me to manipulate for their amusement.
Amundi
December 10th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Nice touch Howie. I for one can’t wait for more.
December 10th, 2011 at 10:22 am
THE LATEST FROM MAGNOLIA!!
Hello out there. Is this thing still on? We’ve let far too much time go by without saying hi and keeping you up to date with the many things happening in Magnolia land.
We promise to improve on that, as we know a lot of you miss out on things you’d rather come and try, if only you knew about them! Therefore, on to the latest, of which there is a lot:
IT’S 11/11/11 – CELEBRATE OUR ANNIVERSARY
We’re 14 years old today! As with anyone with a birthday of 11/11, we’ve been looking forward to 11/11/11 for a while now. To celebrate, we’re selling 2-liter growler refills for $11 all day today. We’ll also have a few other fun treats in store, so come by if you can.
BRU/SFO IS HERE
November is also now home to our BRU/SFO Project with the 21st Amendment Brewery. Following on the heels of our popular Strong Beer Month (every February), this one celebrates the multi-headed gumbo of traditions and techniques that make up Belgian brewing culture.
We save you the SFO to BRU flight expense by serving 12 Belgian-style or Belgian-inspired beers, six at each brewery, during November.
Pick up your boarding pass at either pub and start your journey today, collecting a punch for each beer tried. Try all 12 and get a commemorative glass (while supplies last).
Four BRU/SFO beers are already on tap at each place:
Magnolia: 21st Amendment:
Saison de Lily
Sunburst
Chocolate George
Deep Ellum Dubbel
Via
Leuven Life
An Cat Dubh
Double Triple
We wrap up the series with a new beer at each brewery the next two Mondays (11/14 and 11/21). Bon voyage!
2011 WINTER WARMER ARRIVES 11/23
Not to be overshadowed by all of this low country influence, our old favorite, Winter Warmer, makes its annual return, as usual, on the day before Thanksgiving (11/23).
Mahogany in color, rich and malty in body and flavor, this traditional, English-style strong ale is how we’ve kicked off the holiday season every year since 1997.
Draft comes first so you can take a growler home for Thanksgiving, then we tap a cask of it on Friday, 11/25 (we’re closed for turkey day).
WE WON TWO MEDALS AT THE 2011 GABF!
We can’t keep talking about beer without mentioning our recent wins in at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. We took the bronze and silver in the same category (Ordinary and Special Bitters).
New Speedway Bitter (our ordinary) won the silver while Bonnie Lee’s Best Bitter won the bronze.
Both were brewed with Maris Otter from Branthill Farm in the UK, grown by Teddy Maufe, father of one of our neighborhood regulars.
Special thanks to Teddy and crew for the great malt! We just tapped a new batch of Bonnie Lee’s Best today.
WELCOME BACK, RONNIE NEW
It’s almost impossible to convey how happy we all are here to welcome Ronnie New back to Magnolia as our Chef. He’s been here for about a month now and it’s just like old times, only better.
Check out our new lunch and dinner menus, available now (one word: scrapple), with a new brunch menu to follow by the end of the month.
AND ONWARD TO THE DOGPATCH
It’s also time for the first of many big updates from the Dogpatch, where our long-awaited expansion is under way.
We have way more to tell you about than we can possibly get to in this lengthy screed. Watch this space for many details to come.
For now, though, we’ll start with the fact that the new space is at 3rd and 22nd Streets in the heart of the Dogpatch neighborhood,
in a building we share with lots of other great businesses including familiar partners in crime like Sutton Cellars, Leadbetter’s Bake Shop, and Recchiuti Confections, plus a whole bunch of people we can’t wait to get to know better.
Dogpatch has revealed itself to us as an amazing community and we hope to contribute a small part to it and make it proud to call us a neighbor.
Next to our large, new brewery (with ceilings three times as tall as in our basement on Haight Street)
we’ll be opening a new restaurant and bar focused on three of the greatest things in the world that begin with the letter B: beer, barbecue, and bourbon.
The beer is our own, lovingly crafted, same as it ever was, of course.
Only now there can finally be more of it, including more styles, more barrel-aging, more experimentation, with the extra space affording us an opportunity to treat the original, tiny Haight Street brewery a little more like a lab.
The barbecue will come by way of Chef Dennis Lee, of Namu (and soon to be Namu Gaji in the Mission), who we are thrilled and honored to welcome into the Magnolia family.
Lots more to come on this front, but it will be southern style, non-denominational, and with a lot of attention on different kinds of wood and smoke.
We’ll be able to take further (despite the autocorrect, many of you know it as furthur) our mission of local sourcing of heritage animals and working with whole animals in ways that utilize every part (and waste nothing).
And, there will be bourbon. Lots of bourbon.
Never slaves to alliteration, however, we’ll be providing you with all manner of American whiskey from near and far, not just the Kentucky-made, 51% or more corn variety.
Another partner in crime, our own Daniel Hyatt, from Alembic and beyond, will spearhead and curate the spirit and cocktail program.
BECOME A PART OF MAGNOLIA
Which brings us to you. Along with our expansion comes an investment opportunity.
If you like what we do and like where we are going, consider joining us to help fund these developments and grow our business.
We’re very excited to make this offering available. Please click here for the investment details.*
As always, thanks for reading and thanks for being a part of the Magnolia family.
It’s truly amazing, here on our 14th anniversary, to see and feel the powerful sense of community that has emerged around Magnolia.
Our entire team is grateful for your ongoing support and we can’t wait for you to check out what’s next.
In the meantime, keep in touch. Send us you comments, thoughts, and questions. And stay on top of the latest developments by subscribing to our newsletter (in case you had this one forwarded to you) and following us on Twitter and Facebook.
We even have an iPhone app to tell you what’s on tap and what’s on the menu. Better yet, just come in for a pint.
Cheers,
Dave McLean
Magnolia Pub & Brewery
1398 Haight (@ Masonic)
SF, CA 94117
(415)864-7468
December 10th, 2011 at 10:29 am
What is with people these days… Got a problem? Solution: go postal!!
Someones bullying me! solution: kill myself!!
Someone gotta teach these kids to not be so Damn selfish.
When you kill someone you wound the whole community, when you kill yourself, You hurt your friends and family far more than any bully could hurt you.
Life is just too cheap these days.
December 10th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Now that’s a beer article. Wished I lived in San Francisco.
December 10th, 2011 at 11:11 am
Oh Michelle, what a great day for being gay in california. When that federal judge struck down Prop8, I leaped for joy.
December 10th, 2011 at 11:14 am
If you have not done so, please read the ruling. It is well written, not only in defense of gay marriage but also of true American values.
This nations history began with those seeking religious freedoms (and in many cases freedom from religion).
At its core this is not an arguement about gay marriage, it was about discimination and the attempts of one group trying to legalize discriminatory practices, based only on their moral convictions, againts another group.
It wasnt too long ago in our nations history where similar arguements were used to segregate schools and have citizens who we deemed “inferior” brutalized and killed.
This is not only a victory for gay rights, it is a victory for all civil liberties.
December 10th, 2011 at 11:16 am
When will gays be allowed to marry again here?
The judge issued a 2 day stay on his decision while he awaits their appeal papers, but from how strongly worded his decision was, can he withdraw the stay and force the state gov to begin issuing marriage license’s again? I hope he will
December 10th, 2011 at 11:32 am
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/world/sirleaf-gbowee-and-karman-accept-nobel-peace-prizes.html?_r=1&hp
December 10th, 2011 at 11:45 am
This is a spoof of what I have to go through every day from one white person or another.
Asians in the Library – UCLA Girl parody / spoof
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PkuwYX2hpZs#!
December 10th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Michelle, It appears you are having technical difficulties posting today. I HOPE you get it sorted out. In any case I will comment on Flap Your Lips Friday even though it is Saturday afternooon my time.
Grant (#7 Thursday’s Post):
Sorry about the trouble getting on Michelle’s blog — but you did succeed in the end. Thanks for the compliment. I hope to bring more to MM blog as it occurs.
Charles (#9 Thursday’s post):
I am glad you are fascinated by reading my comments. Who is the “he“ you mention? My info comes directly from Carr. He must be the “he” you speak of. Carr is my friend who is not from earth.
Thanks for the kudos, Charles.
Clark (#5 Flap Your Lips Friday):
Thank you Clark. I hope not to disappoint you with future comments.
HOWIE
December 10th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
How many of you are aware of SB S510? I wasn’t until today. This is extremely disturbing. PLEASE, fight for your rights people. Click the link within the story (story link below) to tell the Senate to F OFF!
SB S510: This tyrannical law puts all food production (yes, even food produced in your own garden) under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. Yep — the very same people running the TSA and its naked body scanner / passenger groping programs.
This law would also give the U.S. government the power to arrest any backyard food producer as a felon (a “smuggler”) for merely growing lettuce and selling it at a local farmer’s market.
It also sells out U.S. sovereignty over our own food supply by ceding to the authority of both the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Codex Alimentarius.
It would criminalize seed saving, turning backyard gardeners who save heirloom seeds into common criminals. This is obviously designed to give corporations like Monsanto a monopoly over seeds.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/030418_Food_Safety_Modernization_Act_seeds.html
—-
As Americans, we cannot continue to let our Government run this way. What it is going to take?
/SB
December 10th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Thanks SB for the 411. We have a Senate that can’t meet or agree on anything to help job security but they can meet and agree on the orders of their masters.
When will the american voter wake up and forget about party and vote the individual. If he/she is on the take vote the asshole out.
Grace
December 10th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
It just goes to show that our congress will do anything to the people. Why? Because we are such sheep.
When we are not being sheep, we are being racists, moralists, bigots, republicans, democrats, etc. So they play to that and get reelected. They they sell out to their masters.
SB, I protested, but how many others will?
Jaob
December 10th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Anonymous #7:
I agree that there exists a terrible social problem. Life is too cheap these days. This is only my personal opinion but I firmly believe it.
When I was growing up life was precious. If someone was injured everyone would rush to try to assist, even if it caused you to be late for work or dinner or caused some other inconvenience.
These days many people would literally step over the injured person thinking that it is not their problem even though just about everyone has a cell phone people do not want to become involved.
This is exactly what is wrong today. People do not have any heart — no empathy for their fellow human being.
Children are not nurtured at home or in school. With a 50% divorce rate, single Parents do not have the time to teach these fundamental ideas to their offspring — they are busy putting food on the table — This generation is growing up without a conscience. Basically we are raising a generation of psychopaths.
Kids are given ultra-violent video games which reward them for mass murder and mayhem. After thousands of hours of being programmed to kill and destroy one’s fellow man, kids become cold, violent killers.
The authorities have empowered children. They can pick up a phone and accuse a Parent of abusing them and get them arrested just for revenge for being punished.
There is more information available to an 8-year old than an 18-year-old had when I was young. Kids are smarter and craftier than in past generations.
When a teenager was bullied or harassed in school it hurt but it was only among a few people. Now an embarrassing situation can be put on YouTube or FaceBook and thousand of peers will see your embarrassment. It can sometimes be just enough to push a kid to commit suicide.
Life has become cheap these days. It could bring in a new generation of psuychopaths. How will the (un)justice system deal with them?
A ten-year-old will have to be held responsible for Capitol crimes and receive long prison sentences and the death penalty in order to deal with this frightening problem.
Right now, any streetwise kid can perform premeditated murder of their Parents, Teachers or peers and walk away free. The laws will have to change to include child murderers in our midst. This fear tactic might keep them in check. If not, we have a bleak future to look forward too. It reminds me of “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess — where young criminals are transformed into Police Officers because there is so much crime committed by youth.
HOWIE
December 10th, 2011 at 4:55 pm
I am sorry but I seemed to have gotten the dates wrong on my comment #14 today. I was under the impression that Michelle was stuck on “Flap your Lips Friday” until late this afternoon Eastern time. I thought she was unable to post today.
All the dates in my comment are incorrect.
I hope the people I gave kudos to are easily found. I am one day off. I thought today was Fridays blog all day, and What I call Thursday was really Friday.
The Names remain the same to be able to find their comments. They are worth having their moment on MM blog.
I am truly sorry. Too Many Drugs, I guess.
HOWIE
December 10th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
About now I could use some of those drugs.
Wanna share?
December 10th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010 may be the most dangerous bill in the history of the US.
“If accepted [S 510] would preclude the public’s right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes.
It will become the most offensive authority against the cultivation, trade and consumption of food and agricultural products
of one’s choice. It will be unconstitutional and contrary to natural law or, if you like, the will of God.” It is similar to what India faced
with imposition of the salt tax during British rule, only S 510 extends control over all food in the US, violating the fundamental human right to food.” ~ Dr. Shiv Chopra, Canada Health whistleblower.
Monsanto says it has no interest in the bill and would not benefit from it, but Monsanto’s Michael Taylor who gave us rBGH and unregulated genetically modified (GM) organisms, appears to have designed it and is waiting as an appointed Food Czar to the FDA (a position unapproved by Congress) to administer the agency it would create — without judicial review — if it passes.
S 510 would give Monsanto unlimited power over all US seed, food supplements, food AND FARMING.
You can use this special one click action page by OpEdNews.com and The People’s Email Network (P.E.N.) to submit your personal message on the issue above to your local daily newspaper as a Letter to the Editor as determined by your address, as well as to both of your senators and your house representative if you like all at once. You can even select exactly who you want your message to go to. This form works for any issue, but I hope you will use it right now to address S-510, for the future of all of us. http://www.usalone.com/cgi-bin/oen.cgi?qnum=10418
December 11th, 2011 at 5:45 am
Howie:
My husband, a judge, was saying much the same thing to a group of young lawyers who just graduated. Were you once a lawyer or in law enforcement?
My husband read your column and said you could have written his speech. It was his first time reading Michelle’s blog.
He was very impressed with your response to Anon7. He said that if you weren’t a lawyer, you probably had a long career in law enforcement.
Brenda
December 11th, 2011 at 5:53 am
Li, your example would have been understood if you had included the rant by Alexandra Wallace. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366132/Alexandra-Wallace-YouTube-racist-Asian-rant-day-Japan-tsunami.html
Then we would have an opportunity to understand your point.
Eric
December 11th, 2011 at 6:16 am
Eric:
The way I see it is this happened the day Japan had the greatest natural disaster in its history. Many people were concerned about their loved ones or relatives. But this is the first time many reading Michelle’s blog or not have head about Alexandra Wallace’s racist rant.
If a OTW had done the same to a white person, it would have been worldwide news broadcast 24/7 on every available news media outlet known to man.
Your choice of link gave us the results of her rant, so that we could see that she received death threats. What did she expect when the campus she posted her racists rant against asians is 40% asian?
I suspect that she thought she could get away with dissing an OTW group because she was white. That was true in the day when we ruled the OTWs as lords over their every right, included the right to live since in most southern states it was only a misdemeanor to kill one.
Fortunately for them today this is not always the case. I am not naive if Alexandra had done this same racist rant in a state like Arizona or Texas or Ohio, she would have undoubtably gotten away with it, but not on the campus of UCLA.
How much that speaks about her Political Science learning I will leave up to the reader.
However it speaks loud and clear of her sensitivity towards the OTW as she posted her rant after the tsunami that hit Japan.
Apparently this didn’t matter to Alexandra, rather it gave her an opportunity to get her seething hatred out against an OTW group she was upset with.
Michelle and Howie have shown that all whites aren’t racist. I offer my name to the list.
Diane
December 11th, 2011 at 6:34 am
Okay, if you must bring this thing up again, get it right. Here is the original rant from Alexandra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0JKb_Cn1qc
I’m from Pennsylvania too. We don’t have that many asians there. So it was a natural error for her to assume she could say what she did and get away with it.
She did say upfront that she wasn’t talking about the asians that were her friends.
I have plenty of black friends here in Reading, but I hate the race in general. They are dumb and rude. I have told this to my black friends and they are all right with it. We all have our opinions and that is mine.
She spoke hers. It was unfortunate that she did it in an environment that has hostile to free speech.
Lucy
December 11th, 2011 at 7:18 am
Here is another scare tactic by the Right to see yet another book.
=========================
Dear Loyal Conservative,
When Jimmy Carter, LBJ and the New Deal start looking pretty harmless compared to the Obama administration, things must be a lot worse than we thought.
Welcome to that moment.
According to Mark Steyn and his new book
After America: Get Ready for Armageddon:
Barack Obama is not the first African-American President. He’s the first Scandinavian Prime Minister of the United States. Dispassionate, super-rational — and a big fan of big government, European-style.
He and his “sophisticated,” elite cronies are aiming for nothing short of “a full-scale Europeanization of American exceptionalism.”
They’re driving us toward nanny-state security — even dictating which light bulb to buy.
They favor bureaucratic regulation over a thriving, free-market economy.
We are hurtling toward a moment that will plunge the US into European-style stasis at best, and complete disintegration at worst.
There is no recovery if we let that happen.
If it happens, it will not be over years — we’ve already used those up. We’re teetering on the brink of sudden collapse and chaos.
If this sounds dark and frightening… it is. But Mark Steyn has a magic touch. One reviewer said that reading Steyn’s previous best-seller, America Alone was “the most fun I’ve had being depressed.” And Ann Coulter says, “Only Mark Steyn can write about the decline of America and leave you laughing.”
This is a unique experience from a writer called “the most entertaining, yet profound, columnist on the planet.”
Steyn describes America’s slide into dissolution as an economic and geopolitical Armageddon. In the aftermath, he sees a world…
Where China is the new superpower…
The Middle East is dominated by Iran…
And our own shores are wracked by violence and even secession.
In his previous book, New York Times bestseller America Alone, Steyn foresaw what we’re watching happen today — the collapse of nearly every western country.
But he made an exception for the US.
Not this time. This time, with Washington’s help, we’ve boarded the sinking ship — and it’s not too big to sink.
Fortunately, Steyn has a plan. A way to win us back our cherished freedom and prosperity. You’ll definitely want to sign on and get to work.
“Mark Steyn has done it again,” says Sean Hannity.
Mark Levin advises, “The choice is stark — we either listen to Steyn and act on his recommendations or face economic and cultural Armageddon.”
This could be the most frightening, most hopeful, funniest and finally, most important book you read this year or any year.
And now, for a limited time, we at Human Events are making After America: Get Ready for Armageddon available to you absolutely FREE — just for trying us at zero risk.
It’s the periodical that the peerless Ann Coulter, our legal affairs correspondent and a key participant in our weekly editorial meetings, proudly considers her editorial “home” — and where you can read her trenchant, biting satirical columns.
Says Ann: “Not only do I write a weekly column for Human Events, I devour it from cover to cover. Why? Because it’s the one newspaper I can count on to bring me the absolute, unvarnished, hard-hitting truth. And so should you.”
Human Events is written and edited by gutsy people who will rescue you from the sticky tar pit of political correctness that passes for contemporary reporting… not girlie-boy editors afraid of sticking to their guns!
That means by reading Human Events, you can count on learning the news the liberal media try so hard to keep secret!
For example…
In a recent issue of Human Events we reported on those “thousands of acres” Obama speaks of as ready for oil drilling in U.S. waters… virtually none have been found to have any oil! In other words, Obama has no intention of opening new drilling anywhere in the U.S. — no matter how high the price of gasoline soars!
Human Events also reported that Obama’s “economic stimulus” was simply a gargantuan gift to the states — to make sure pampered government workers did not share the same painful fate as private sector-workers who lost jobs by the millions.
Human Events revealed that ObamaCare is so brilliant and so wonderful that trade unions and companies friendly to the president are fleeing it by the thousands. In fact, Obama’s health care plan is so desirable that 20% of the exemptions have gone to Nancy Pelosi’s posh district in San Francisco!
There’s so much at stake today. America is facing its biggest financial crisis of modern times and liberals just don’t get it. Never has it been more important for you to get the truth — and not just the P.C. pabulum dished up by the mainstream media.
And now you can try Human Events with this special introductory offer — a full 30-week trial subscription at the reduced rate of just $39.95, just over a dollar an issue.
==================
Notice how the emphasis shifts from the loss of America’s democratic ideals to “you will lose money and let me show you how not to.”
Greed that is what makes the racists right so easy to fleece. Blind greed is what makes an easy con to spot work.
Mike
December 11th, 2011 at 7:20 am
Hafa adai
Leave it to a white boy to make Guam’s “greatest treasures” marketable.
http://www.guampdn.com/article/20111211/OPINION02/112110316
December 11th, 2011 at 8:41 am
I just got up. You left the party early. I didn’t get to kiss you goodbye. No pass intended, but I have to say you looked good.
Doug’s a lucky guy. Some of your female friends are envious of course. But that goes without saying. But even though they are envious of your “gorgeous hulk” many said they missed him because he is so smart.
Guess it goes without saying that he wasn’t missed by the guys. Who needs it.
See you next year.
December 11th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Thank you again Michelle for keeping the struggle of women in the forefront. There were 116 reported rape cases on Guam so far in 2011 and we all know that statistics say more that half of all rapes go unreported.
We as women need to stick together and make our lives less burdensome.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
116 cases of rape reported on Guam in 2011
Posted: Dec 07, 2011 8:06 PM PST
Updated: Dec 07, 2011 8:06 PM PST
by Nick Delgado
Guam – The recent rape of a 15-year-old girl from Mangilao was the 116th sexual assault case to be reported this year.
Officials from healing hearts were not able to speak about the specifics of the case but Nurse Ann Rios and medical consultant Dr. Ellen Bez confirm that sexual assault is on the rise.
There were 116 cases reported for all of last year and this year we’ve already reached that number and will likely surpass it during the remainder of the year.
Rios and Bez say they ensure that with every case, the victim’s needs are thoroughly addressed.
“What we look at is the whole picture, are they in a safe environment, do we need to contact CPS at this time or is there a danger to themselves, we want to see if there is any suicidal ideations and we can assess just by doing our interview and examination,” said Rios.
“One of the biggest things we like to offer our victims from kids to adults in counseling because the metal scares from this are much more far reaching and damaging than the physical scars,” Bez added.
According to statistics from Healing Hearts, 91 of the 116 sexual assault victims reported this year were minors and 70% of victims are raped by someone they know.
=================
Why men are the way they are may never be known. But we as women don’t have to take it.
Hafa Adai
Anna
December 11th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Michelle, I didn’t bring my other half either. But after watching you most of the night. I went home and ravished her.
I wonder if I had that effect upon you. Was Doug as lucky?
asc
December 11th, 2011 at 10:08 am
Larry:
Behave … It was just an expression.
HOWIE
December 11th, 2011 at 10:10 am
http://reinep.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/former-us-presidents-granddaughter-claim-alien-tech-is-used-to-thin-population/