People Pouncing On The President’s Every Move? Not Me – I’m Proud of Our President
Posted by Michelle Moquin on April 14th, 2009
Something has been on my mind and it has been bugging me for over a week, so I have to blog about it. When I blogged about the law passing in Afghanistan allowing men to legally rape their wives, I noted that “Europeans, although they endorse and support America’s strategy, they are ‘more enthusiastic about increasing humanitarian and development aid than adding soldiers’, and especially in light of the new controversial law”. What I neglected to put in my blog that day is President Obama also had a response to the Afghan law and I think that it is worthy of printing. So many people are so ready to pounce on our president’s every move that I want to do as much as I can to support his every move. Not that he is perfect (who is?) but he is doing a damn good job in my mind.
That being said, here is the transcript from the news conference when President Obama was in Strasbourg, France:
Q Thank you, Mr. President, and good afternoon. I’d like to ask you about a law that’s recently been passed in Afghanistan that affects the 10 percent of the Shia population there. A summary of it says it negates the need for sexual consent between married couples, tacitly approves child marriage, and restricts a woman’s right to leave the home. The United Nations Development Fund for Women says this legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband. I’d like your assessment of this law, number one. Number two, will you condition future troop movements of the U.S. to Afghanistan on the basis of this law being retracted or rewritten? And if not, sir, what about the character of this law ought to motivate U.S. forces to fight and possibly die in Afghanistan?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, this was actually a topic of conversation among all the allies. And in our communication — communiqué, you will see that we specifically state that part of this comprehensive approach is encouraging the respect of human rights. I think this law is abhorrent. Certainly the views of the administration have been, and will be, communicated to the Karzai government. And we think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture, but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle.
Now, I just want to remind people, though, why our troops are fighting, because I think the notion that you laid out, Major, was that our troops might be less motivated. Our troops are highly motivated to protect the United States, just as troops from NATO are highly motivated to protect their own individual countries and NATO allies collectively. So we want to do everything we can to encourage and promote rule of law, human rights, the education of women and girls in Afghanistan, economic development, infrastructure development, but I also want people to understand that the first reason we are there is to root out al Qaeda so that they cannot attack members of the Alliance.
Now, I don’t — those two things aren’t contradictory, I think they’re complementary. And that’s what’s reflected in the communiqué.
Q But do you object to the law –
PRESIDENT OBAMA: We have stated very clearly that we object to this law. But I want everybody to understand that our focus is to defeat al Qaeda and ensure that they do not have safe havens from which they can launch attacks against the Alliance.
Ah…I feel so much better. I just don’t enjoy having something on my mind for days on end. Now it is resolved and I can move on. Thoughts? Comments? Blog me.
I just want to end with congratulating our president for putting the right people in the right place at the right time. I’m speaking of those sharpshooter Navy Seals who took out those Somali pirates and rescued Captain Richard Phillips. A big congrats to ‘them’ too! I’m sure the repugs were just biting their nails hoping that Obama would fail. Oops not today. Chalk up another one for Obama and of course the trained eye and steady hand of those Navy Seals.
Jata: Are you eating your words yet or do you still want to put your fate into the Chinese or Russians?
Frank: The problem with comparing ‘real life’ to an ‘American movie’, is that is just it; it is ‘a movie’. There is no comparison. ‘Real life’…is rarely portrayed in the movies. Oh, how I wish it was that romantic. We all love the drama and a good ending. But hey, who ever these Navy Seals are, they did their job. And the ending?…Well, you tell me….a success, yes? Absolutely. For once, ‘real life’ ended just like in the movies. Kudos to the ‘Real life’ James Bond(s)? Oh….I knew I’d find the romance somewhere in this story. :)
Zen Lill: Thanks for adding to the convo. I have never heard that justification before. To me, that says that someone who might go after a married man, just might have some commitment issues too. They may just want all of the good stuff which they may get with some ‘afternoon delight’, but they are not willing to accept it all. And with a married man who is already in a so-called ‘committed’ relationship, they don’t have to. Hmm…Interesting. Sorry ladies…The justification does not warrant the behavior. Somewhere the marriage is going to suffer. And I’m not talking one-night-stands here that may or may not be discovered, and may or may not bring hurt to the marriage, but an ongoing affair.
As far as your one-liner to the unknown married man – powerful comeback – love it.
And in regards to ‘barking up the wrong tree’….I totally get where you are coming from. There are many scenarios, and each marriage going through a separation or divorce is different. But if the marriage is over and the two people involved have come to an agreement, whatever agreement….and it works for both…hey, I’m all for that. It’s all about being honest and communicating.
Hello Anna: My pleasure.
Mela: I have dabbled in pork skins before but yours sound supperb. I’ll have to pop by one of the places that you mentioned. And as bad as they may sound for you, healthwise, correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard that pork rinds are actually good for you. Do you have anything to substantiate this? Maybe health Info will post something.
And on that note, dear readers, I will communicate that I am done for the day. Have a good one….
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:38 am
ALZHEIMER’S RISK INCREASES AFTER HEAD INJURY
Research demonstrates that head trauma increases the likelihood of developing dementia, and a story that has been in the sports pages offers anecdotal evidence: Some football players seem to be developing dementia at an unusually early age. The NFL has responded with an expanded disability package, which includes the “88 plan” — named after Baltimore Colts player John Mackey (age 66) who wore 88 on his jersey and who was diagnosed at around age 60 with fronto-temporal dementia. That’s helpful, I guess — but far better to learn how to keep this from happening in the first place.
Truth is, it’s been evident for some time that head injury as well as stroke contributes to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)… and you don’t have to be a football player or a prizefighter to sustain a head injury. The latest research from Massachusetts General Hospital adds more to our understanding of how such injuries set the stage for AD. Hopefully, this will help doctors develop therapies that can reduce the long-term risks of those who’ve had head injuries or a stroke.
BRAIN INJURIES BOOST CELL DEATH
The death of brain cells from both head injury and stroke boosts levels of amyloid-beta protein, which is key in facilitating the formation of senile plaque in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Both head injury and stroke set into motion a series of potentially destructive biochemical events that increase amyloid production in the brain, explains researcher Giuseppina Tesco, MD, PhD. At Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown, she and her colleagues set out to find why this happens. In their lab researchers have now pinpointed the process by which one protein (called GGA3) helps keep plaque-forming amyloid-beta protein in check, therefore perhaps reducing the likelihood Alzheimer’s will develop. They found that GGA3 regulates the activity of beta-secretase, one of the enzymes involved in the production of the amyloid-beta protein. Head trauma or stroke destroys GGA3. As a consequence, beta-secretase activity increases, enhancing the production of the beta-amyloid protein. This research was published in the June 7, 2007, issue of the journal Neuron.
NEW TREATMENTS ON THE HORIZON
These findings suggest that new therapies based on preserving the function of GGA3 could slow or halt those destructive biochemical events after strokes and head trauma that lead to beta-amyloid production, says Dr. Tesco. This discovery might prove especially beneficial for older people, in whom strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs, or “mini-strokes”) are more common, in addition to being helpful in preventing later development of AD in people who suffered traumatic brain injury. Dr. Tesco envisions one possible future therapy will shield an already-injured brain by providing protection for the protein GGA3, thus preventing or reversing the post-traumatic processes that encourages amyloid plaque production and Alzheimer’s disease. Other possible applications are also under exploration. But, for now, this is another reason to take extra care to avoid possible head injury.
Source(s): ??Giuseppina Tesco, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MIND), Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts.
April 14th, 2009 at 8:43 am
I am a soldier in Israel. I came home from leave and found my husband in bed with another woman. I killed him with two well placed shots. I shot him in both heads. I got nine months for mutilating a dead body. I didn’t shoot the woman because I gave her the benefit of the doubt as to whether she knew he was married.
Amita
April 14th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I read this article about Palin. Just wanted to share it.
Sarah Palin’s choice for attorney general once wrote a column defending a statue of a KKK figure as an expression of free speech on a college campus and mocked the psychology of a fellow student who protested the display.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Hi Mischa, yes, I was taken aback a bit by this ‘new’ totally non-commital attitude amongst younger women but it is what it is…personally I found it more reflective of the evolution of the institution of marriage (just my opinion that it will become passe’, could be my jadedness at the mo’ so let’s let me retract that at later date if need be) as well as women not allowing ‘typical’ (translation: dumb bad boy behavior) male BS into their lives than I did a statement about where they were at with commitment themselves, will have to think on that : ) thanks for the counter-thought. It’s one of the reasons I dig you so much. I’ll call you later this aft or Weds aft, finally a bit caught up on life and I’m assuming your feeling better.
I’m with you re: Obama. He’s doing the best he can which is better than most of his predecessors’ ‘best’ – just my opinion. WHAT is up around the world, Somalian pirates, Bangkok, North Korea…? Yikes…
Luv, Zen Lill
April 14th, 2009 at 9:49 am
i bet she never figured that the scrutiny would continue once she was finished with the national campaign. But like Michael Steele, she finds herself defending her words and deeds just about every week. I have to say that i am kind of enjoying it. I remember a time not too long ago when i was wondering how in the world we liberals were going to get the media to really question the GOP and their tactics, like when we were being called unpatriotic for not supporting the invasion of Iraq.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:59 am
SCAR-FREE SURGERY
It has the ring of a “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” story — gallbladders are surgically removed through the mouth… a kidney is taken out via the vagina… a colon is extracted from the rectum. Yet it’s true — these and other natural orifice surgeries have been successfully performed at academic medical centers around the country, including Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Diego Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center, and you’ll undoubtedly be hearing more about such procedures in the future.
These groundbreaking procedures are the latest twist in minimally invasive surgery, which reduces pain, scarring and recovery time. I spoke with Marc Bessler, MD, one of the surgeons who performed the first transvaginal gallbladder removal. Dr. Bessler is director of both the Minimal Access Surgery Center and the Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
USING “NATURAL OPENINGS”
The trend toward less invasive procedures was evident in the late 1980s with laparoscopic surgery — where doctors thread narrow instruments and cameras into the body, their actions guided by video images displayed on monitors in the operating room. Now surgeons have pushed the envelope even further with natural orifice procedures. Dr. Bessler informed me that natural orifice surgery is still in an early and experimental stage, yet it shows great promise for the future. These revolutionary new procedures are collectively referred to as Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES), or — less scientifically — as “scarless” surgeries.
Dr. Bessler called that first gallbladder removal that he performed through the vagina a “hybrid” operation, since for safety’s sake he also made several small laparoscopic cuts in the patient’s belly. While many natural orifice procedures are still performed this way, Dr. Bessler and a small cadre of fellow pioneer surgeons have now started to do some surgeries through natural body openings without making any external cuts at all.
AVAILABLE PROCEDURES
The most common openings used are the vagina, mouth and anus. In addition to gallbladder operations, other procedures performed through these new routes include sleeve gastrectomy to treat obesity, tubal ligation, kidney and appendix removal, tumor removal and diagnostic evaluations.
Dr. Bessler cautions that while the cosmetic results of natural orifice surgery are a significant plus, since the scars are hidden internally, surgery is still surgery. Whether a surgeon enters the body through the vagina, mouth or rectum, he/she must still cut through internal tissue walls to reach and operate on organs. There will still be pain and recovery time, albeit at the less severe level of laparoscopic surgery rather than that of traditional open procedures. “We hope and many believe that we can achieve pain-free and recovery-free surgery using NOTES,” said Dr. Bessler.
To learn more about this promising new technology, visit the Web site of the Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research at http://www.noscar.org. Be aware, however, that although natural orifice procedures have enormous potential, the field is in its infancy and further trials are still being conducted. Dr. Bessler emphasizes that he and other surgeons are in the process of researching, developing, testing and perfecting these new surgical techniques. Far from being widely available, natural orifice procedures are primarily performed on an experimental basis at major surgical centers, and although this is likely to change in the future, few surgeons at present possess the skills and training to undertake them.
Source(s):
Marc Bessler, MD, director of the Minimal Access Surgery Center and director of the Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, assistant professor of surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City.
Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research, http://www.noscar.org.