Thursday News Bucket

26 Comments

1. 

   CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 8:14 am

   that there’s a lot of denouncing and rejecting that should be going on in all the campaigns:

   McCain got an endorsement from a pastor who think Jesus would bomb Iran: NYT

   Senator John McCain got support on Wednesday from an important corner of evangelical Texas when the pastor of a San Antonio mega-church, Rev. John C. Hagee, endorsed Mr. McCain for president. Mr. Hagee, who argues that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive, biblically prophesized military strike against Iran that will lead to the second coming of Christ, praised Mr. McCain for his pro-Israel views.

   And from Hillary herself: AP/Yahoo

   During a series of satellite television interviews, Clinton was questioned by Dallas station KTVT about comments by Adelfa Callejo, a local activist who supports Clinton candidacy. The interviewer quoted Callejo as saying “Obama’s problem is he happens to be black” and asked Clinton to respond.

   “Well obviously I want all of us judged on our merits,” Clinton said. “I believe strongly that the fact we have an African American and a woman running for the Democratic nomination is historical and I’m very, very proud of that.”

   That doesn’t sound like she’s doing much rejecting to me…unless, of course, you’re black.

2. 

   CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 8:33 am

   what I think of this article relating to Demographic Winter:

   If current trends continue world population should begin a steep decline sometime around the middle of the 21st century. Why?

   Because total fertility rates (TFRs) are plummeting around the world. Population stability is achieved when each woman bears an average of 2.1 kids over the course of her lifetime–one for her, one for her male partner, and a little overage to make up to childhood deaths. Today, there are sixty countries in which TFRs are below 2.1…The U.S. TFR dropped from 2.55 in 1970 to around 2.1 today, largely because of the influx of higher fertility immigrants. However, the fertility of second generation Americans drops to the level of longer established Americans.

   I doubt that the “demographic winter” portends economic collapse or social deterioration, but let us set that aside for this column, and instead ask why people are choosing to have fewer children? After all, voluntary childlessness seems to violate the Darwinian premise that our genes dispose us, like all other creatures, to try to reproduce.

   Okay, maybe economic collapse is a bit strong, but what happens as there are fewer young people working and paying taxes to support those who are retired and on Medicare (or the European quivalents, as this is something that is happening worldwide)?  On a more practical and smaller scale, who will take care of all these aging people, especially if they have no children to check in on them?  I guess their similarly aged friends could do it.  Anyway, there’s more:

   So, modernity essentially transforms children from capital goods that produce family income into consumption items to be enjoyed for their own sakes, more akin to sculptures, paintings, or theatre. But that’s just the problem–according to happiness researchers, people don’t really enjoy rearing children.

   “Economists have modeled the impact of many variables on people’s overall happiness and have consistently found that children have only a small impact. A small negative impact,” reports Harvard psychologist and happiness researcher Daniel Gilbert. In addition, the more children a person has the less happy they are. According to Gilbert, researchers have found that people derive more satisfaction from eating, exercising, shopping, napping, or watching television than taking care of their kids. “Indeed, looking after the kids appears to be only slightly more pleasant than doing housework,” asserts Gilbert in his bestselling, Stumbling on Happiness (2006).

   Any thoughts from the childbearing and non-childbearing among us?  I’m wondering why these types of articles always have to insult one side or the other as being either incredibly selfish and self-centered or stupid fools who can’t admit they don’t like their kids.  There’s a wider range of people out that there that this doesn’t include, IMO.  What about people who didn’t have children, but not by choice?  What about people who’s fondest wish was to have a big family like the one they grew up in, and who enjoy the chaos that comes with children?

   • 

     Nag on February 28, 2008 at 11:10 am

     So does this article link to it’s sources before it makes pronouncements? I’m in my 50’s and I don’t have any children. By choice. I can tell you over the years I’ve shied away from conversations about having vs not having children. I’ve been accused of dissing motherhood because I’m childless. So when asked, I have been known to lie and say with wistfulness: “oh, we can’t have children”.

     I’m still afraid to honestly discuss it. I love children. I taught Jr./Sr High for 16 years and worked with gradeschool children for 9 more years. I always thought that I brought a different attitude and point of view to how I related to those kids. Most teachers have kids of their own.

     Why didn’t I have kids? Honestly? When first married, when discussing kids, my husband and I decided to wait for a while. That was it. As years went by we saw our friends with kids and how much they were sacrificing… and we kept putting it off. I put my heart and soul into my relationships with kids at school, so maybe I did my mothering with them, I don’t know.

     The years ticked by, yeah, we discussed it regularly. So here I am, maybe the mothering thing can be seen with my 12 cats, 2 birds, and 2 horses, I don’t know. But I have no regrets. Do I look at raising kids as just above housecleaning? Hell no, I think that’s an incredibly cold and sarcastic comment. Raising children is a commitment, a way of life, something you choose to do.

     • 

       CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 11:35 am

       Why should anyone have to lie about why they did or didn’t have children? If that was the right choice for them, why are people like this clown judging them and/or crowing about how much better his way was and how he’s so much smarter than those who did have kids?  There’s as many reasons for having and not having kids as there are people making the decision, and it’s not an either-or choice between “selfish” or needing to acquire the nuclear family set with 2 children.

       In your situation, I can see how you would have put it off, and how your kids at school might have benefitted from your decision, because you had more energy to put into teaching them.  

       I have to admit, it does bother me when guys like that suggest that my kids are nothing more to me than another suburbanite accoutrement, something to fill the Volvo with and brag about to the country club set, and that if I were honest I’d admit that they were a PITA.  They’re totally not (although I’m sure my gray hairs have their origins in my teenaged offspring, LOL).

       • 

         Nag on February 28, 2008 at 12:32 pm

         I’ve been hanging around long enough to hear you talk about your kids… with lots of pride, a little exasperation, lots of humor and always with lots and lots of love. I think that’s what’s left out of such a cold worldview. That’s also why I could never read anything like that and take it too seriously, you know?

         • 

           fabooj on February 28, 2008 at 9:48 pm

           I never planned on having kids.

           I don’t like children.

           I have two.

           I still don’t like kids in general, but my two are all right.  If you saw how dirty my house is, it’s clear that raising kids is only slightly above housecleaning.  LOL!  I’m always shooing them away because they’re damned annoying.  Especially the 4 year old.  
           But that’s only a small slice.  On the whole, I do get a big kick out of them and we have a lot of fun together.  They’re wonderful kids; sweet, caring, eager to please, eager to learn and they get along great with each other.  But they’re only 2 and 4, so what do I know?  I do know that they are the ultimate crack-ups and both of them can bring a smile to my face by doing or saying something hilarious.

           Am I unhappy?  No.  Am I blissed out with my life?  No.  Do the kids have an impact on that lack of bliss?  No.  Yes, there are times when I realize I haven’t been to a movie theater (not counting Mommy Monday Matinees) in 5 years.  My husband and I have gone out to eat without the kids exactly twice since they’ve been around.  I could do with more sleep.  I wish we took more trips like we used to before the kids.  It’s hard to just get up and go, when you drive a Mini, have a family of 4 and there’s no room for a stroller and luggage.

           I think that these reports are more than a little unfair.  Before when I told people we had no plans to have kids, we’d get the oddest of reasons to have kids from people who also didn’t have kids.  It was just that we were married and that’s what we were supposed to do.  

           But I don’t think people should go around populating the planet for economic reasons or to bank on having someone around to take care of them.  Geez, my mother had 3 kids and none of us want anything to do with her.  My husband is an only child.  What if something happened to him?  His mother would have no one then.  

         • 

           CabinGirl on February 29, 2008 at 7:55 am

           This is only somewhat related…but I think that some people are better with small children, some are good with babies, and some are better with teenagers.  For example, my mom is great with younger kids, but has a harder time with teenagers; I think she has a hard time letting people make mistakes and grow into adulthood and date and all that comes with those things).  I’ve liked every stage of having kids (I was one of those people who knew where she wanted to send her kids to nursery school back when she was in 7th grade, because I worked there in the summer), but having teenagers is almost a relief after raising 2 kids by myself from the age of 2 and 4.  I have some time to do what I want to do without always needing a babysitter, and it’s kind of fun to watch them try out who they want to be.

           Can I also just say I am in awe of you for packing 4 people into a mini at all?

3. 

   CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 8:52 am

   about organ donation.

4. 

   CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 8:56 am

   for a mohawk haircut at age six?  WTF?

   Haven’t ANY of the grownups involved ever heard the ter, “pick your battles wisely”?

   • 

     boran2 on February 28, 2008 at 9:27 am

     Yeah, ’cause kids will spend like, months, looking at his hair.  

     • 

       CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 10:44 am

       If that’s their biggest problem…

5. 

   CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 9:01 am

   Custom printed m&ms.

   Wow.

6. 

   ask on February 28, 2008 at 9:04 am

   Eskimos file lawsuit against oil companies

   An Eskimo village that is melting into the sea off Alaska has launched a legal challenge against BP, Shell and more than 20 other oil and power companies, alleging that their contribution to global warming is threatening to destroy the tiny community.

   The 391 inhabitants of Kivalina, a traditional Inupiat Eskimo village built on an eight-mile barrier reef between the Chukchi Sea and Kivalina river, say sea ice that has always protected them is eroding because of higher temperatures and that the energy companies should pay to move them to safer ground.

   In a lawsuit filed in a federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday, the tribe, which is a federally recognised as the Alaska Native village of Kivalina, sued nine oil companies, 14 power utilities and America’s biggest coal company. The companies include Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips.

   The suit also claims that the energy companies are guilty of conspiring to “create a false scientific debate” about global warming to deceive the public.

   The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Kivalina by six law firms and two campaign groups, the Centre on Race, Poverty & the Environment, and the Native American Rights Fund.

   I am especially pleased to see the part I bolded. End the propaganda!

   • 

     CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 11:37 am

     That’s cool.  I hope that they get some satisfaction and recognition of the part you bolded.

7. 

   ask on February 28, 2008 at 9:09 am

   Court bans deportation of terror suspect

   Government hopes of deporting dozens of terror suspects to their home countries suffered a serious setback today with the European court of human rights ruling against one such attempt.

   The grand chamber of 17 judges at the Strasbourg court ruled unanimously that an attempt by Italy to send a man back to Tunisia violated the ban on torture or inhuman or degrading treatment in the European convention on human rights.

   The case was brought by Nassim Saadi against Italy. The British government intervened in the hope the court would sanction the return of suspects regardless of their home country’s human rights record.

   Ministers argued the right of the public to be protected against terrorism should be balanced against a suspect’s rights not to be ill-treated.

   The court ruled that protection against torture is absolute and Saadi cannot be sent back, even though he has been convicted of terror-related offences in both Tunisia and Italy.

   Good to see that European courts are clear on the issue.

8. 

   ask on February 28, 2008 at 9:11 am

   Kenya’s leaders agree power-sharing deal, says Annan

   Kenya’s feuding politicians have agreed on a power-sharing deal to end the violence which has afflicted the country since December’s disputed election, Kofi Annan said today.

   “We have come to an understanding on the coalition agreement,” the former UN secretary general told reporters after meeting Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, opposition leader, Raila Odinga, and African Union head, Jakaya Kikwete.

   Local television reports said the government had agreed to a 50-50 split in cabinet positions and that Odinga, who leads the Orange Democratic Movement, would be appointed prime minister with “executive powers”. These changes would reportedly be protected by the constitution.

9. 

   Man Eegee on February 28, 2008 at 10:35 am

   Deported for skipping school.

   WINONA – Skipping school is usually met with fines and the threat of jail time; but, for two sisters, the punishment was much worse – they were deported. – linkage

10. 

    Nag on February 28, 2008 at 10:40 am

    USA Today has the poop on the Marines who were before the study before they were against it. If you know what I mean.

    Marines halt study critical of MRAP program

    The Marine Corps has ordered a civilian scientist to stop work on a report critical of its efforts to obtain new armored vehicles, saying he exceeded his authority, a Marine official said Tuesday.

    Franz Gayl, a retired Marine officer and civilian science adviser, alleged in a Jan. 22 report that “gross mismanagement” of the program to quickly field Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles had resulted in the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of Marines in Iraq. Gayl had planned to continue his investigation.

    

11. 

    Man Eegee on February 28, 2008 at 11:37 am

    They think we’re stupid.  Check out this statement about an ICE agent who killed himself after a police stand-off.

    “We’re not accusing this guy or saying that he was involved with any skinhead or Nazi organization or anything like that,” Detective Brimmer said. “He could have been a memorabilia collector. A lot of people collect stuff from World War II and they specialize in German things.” – XicanoPwr has more

    • 

      CabinGirl on February 28, 2008 at 12:04 pm

      Gosh, whatever could the connection between Nazi memorabilia, an arsenal, and working in Dallas for ICE deporting people from the US be? </snark&gt

      The suitcase of porn was a nice touch too.

12. 

    Denim Blue on February 28, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    “Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the US central bank, or Fed, has said that inflation rates in Gulf states, which are reaching near record levels, would fall “significantly” if oil producers dropped their US dollar pegs. Speaking at an investment conference on Monday in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, he said the pegs restrict the region’s ability to control inflation by forcing them to duplicate US monetary policy at a time when the Fed is cutting rates to ward off an economic downturn. -Al Jazeera “

    What about inflation here?  Gas was $3.18.9 at gas stations here in S.E. Michigan this morning.  The natural gas bill for heating the house topped $100 for last month despite setting the thermostat at 62 during the day & 55 at night.  Everything at the grocery store has skyrocketed because of higher costs to grow & transport.  The dollar has fallen to .7386 Euros.

13. 

    Man Eegee on February 28, 2008 at 1:23 pm

    Update on Pedro Guzman, who was wrongfully deported and lost for several weeks in Mexico.

    The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 30-year-old Pedro Guzman. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

    Guzman was deported in May after he was arrested and jailed on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. He said he told authorities he was born in California, but authorities say that Guzman told them he was an illegal immigrant.

    “Not only does Peter and his mother want some vindication, they want to make sure immigration officials understand they can’t do this,” said attorney Jim Brosnahan, who represents Guzman. “They should have apologized and said they would take steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” – linkage

    • 

      chocolate ink on February 28, 2008 at 5:18 pm

      Hi Manny, thanks for the update. I’ve wondered about him and his family and how they are doing. It seems particularly hideous due to his mental disability.  I can’t begin to imagine how scary it must have been for him those 3 months he wandered around foraging for food etc. I hope this case doesn’t drag on for years and that the ACLU can win this case for the family.

      The whole immigration system is broken beyond belief and added to that is the inherent racism underlying everything related to immigrants(immigrants from Mexico or South America anyway) or anyone now with brown skin.

      • 

        Man Eegee on February 28, 2008 at 5:47 pm

        I was glad to hear that the family is going to pursue justice.  Recalling the image of his mother searching the streets of Tijuana looking for her son still brings tears to my eyes.  I just wish we had more solidarity from people who actually have power to change the dynamics of this horribly administered government.

        • 

          CabinGirl on February 29, 2008 at 7:58 am

          Thanks for always keeping us up on this stuff, Manny. I’m looking forward to a day when this administration is no longer in power, and we can start the shift toward kind and decent and most of all human immigration policies.

          • 

            Man Eegee on February 29, 2008 at 11:56 am

            Appreciate the support.  It gets frustrating sometimes but hopefully things will change soon.