Monthly Archives: July 2006

Darfur & the ICC

Posted on by yllwdaisies

Everyone is upset about the genocide & atrocities going on in the Dafur region of Sudan. It is a complete outrage. So many innocent lives lost. I know it’s a massive amount of ppl. We read individual accounts of what’s going on, & our hearts ache for them. But what you read is only an iota of the tragedy. There are countless untold stories; some of which will never be told, for the ppl who may tell them have been silenced.

To date, not a single person has been brought to justice for these war crimes & crimes against humanity. Go to the link, & fill out a letter to our US Administration to get involved w/ the International Criminal Court, so that these ppl can be brought to justice.

Amnesty International is trying to get as many letters as possible to them by July 17th, which is International Justice Day.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the best hope for justice in Sudan.

For more information, or other links, you can visit the Bloggers for Darfur website.

In other news, I also hotlinked the pic to the left, so you can just click on it to take you to the page where you can take action. Yes-this is a 1st for me, & yes-I do think I’m a complete genius & very clever. I know others have been doing it for years, but let me revel in my accomplishments, ‘kay.

pink elephant

Posted on by yllwdaisies

There’s this woman at work. I’ve been working w/ her for over 3 years now. In the last 2 years, she’s seemed to put on weight; just a little weight, mind you. Well, in the last few months, she’s put on a bit more weight, & had developed an ever-increasing belly. A lot of times, women who find themselves w/ a bit of a belly try to hide it. Esp b/c they’re not used to having it, & they don’t really care for it. They do it more for themselves than for other ppl.

So, this woman. She’s been walking around w/ this belly now for the last 2 months. I just ignored it.

Oh, total sidenote: In my fam, they are not shy about mentioning these kinds of things. Once, I went to see my uncle after not seeing him for a year, & the 1st words out of his mouth were “Wow, it looks like you’ve put on some weight there? You need to exercise more.” No, I’m not kidding, you can’t make this stuff up. Oh, & btw, I’d gained about 10 pounds (maybe 8). And I wasn’t fat to start off w/. Yeah, they don’t like weight gain. But it’s better than my other uncle, who’s come to visit us from overseas, & hasn’t seen a lot of us in 15 years. He went to see my cousins, & mentioned how two of them had become “fatties”. So nonchalantly too. He’ll just say, “oh yeah, & we saw ‘so & so’ today, he’s turned into a bit of a fattie, hasn’t he?”, then ask when we were going to make his tea for his ‘4 pm tea-time’. B/c he doesn’t know how to make TEA!!! TEA, ppl!?!

Ok, back to the subject at hand. Yesterday, I saw her & she was wearing (what looked to me like) a pink maternity top. Now, I realize maybe she hasn’t been slingin back the Pabst Blue Ribbons. Maybe she’s pregnant. I mean, she’s married, young-ish, has a dog, & they just bought a house 2 years ago. No, I don’t know what the dog has to do w/ anything. At the time, I thought they’d moved into the house from the apt so that the dog had space to run around in. Now, it’s occurring to me that maybe they bought the house in preparation for a baby.

So, I still haven’t asked if she is or not. I don’t want to say anything about it, b/c what if she’s not? She’s a decent person. That, & the fact that when I request changes be made, she’s the person who decides what priority to give my requests; which in turn affects whether my requisitions are fulfilled in the next 48 hours or 8 months. Ok, more the latter reason; but still, I don’t want to hurt her feelings or upset her.

This is my current “pink elephant in the room & you can’t talk about it” situation. Literally & figuratively.

aren’t rainbows purty?

Posted on by yllwdaisies

Does anyone else go stand outside in the rain when it’s sunny looking for rainbows? Last Sat, we had one of those days here. I just finished working out, & it’d been rainy & grey all morn. Well, I was almost done, when I looked out the window & saw that it had become sunny. It was still raining, but in the beautiful sunshine. So, I finished up & hightailed it outta there. On my way out, the lady at the desk (they all know me so well in my town) saw me fixated on the windows of the door as I was headin towards it, & said to me “You’re going to look for the rainbow, aren’t you?”. I said “yup” (I’m a girl of few words. haha, ok, so I’m not, but when I’m focused on something I can be.) She said I needed to come back in & tell her what it was like before I actually left. So, I walked outside, & had to look around for it. I couldn’t find it anywhere. It took an 8 year old boy riding his bike through the parking lot to help me find it; “look over there”. So, I did.

It was a short stubby rainbow. Wide, but short. I’d never seen one like that before. I could see both ends of it, & the top of it was so low to the ground. Very cool. So, if it’s sunny & raining, high-tail it outside to see one of these babies, ‘kay? Cause no two are alike, & if you miss it, that’s it. There’s no instant replay on ‘em.

Then, this morning, I check my email, & my friend Jen sent me this awesome pic. Thanks, baby-doll! How cool is that?!? So, I’m sharing w/ y’all.

Pavarotti

Posted on by yllwdaisies

Luciano Pavarotti had surgery for pancreatic cancer this past week in an undisclosed hospital in NY. I just read the story about it, & it seems like they were able to remove the entire mass. They say he’s recovering well.

Here’s the thing about pancreatic cancer. It’s the most lethal. Most patients die w/in a year, & less than 4% make it a full 5 years. FOUR PERCENT!! That’s really scary.

It seems like a death sentence. Like you’re just waiting for the clock to stop ticking, cause you know the odds are against you. I really feel for him & his fam (he’s got 4 kids). I wish him the best; & anyone dealing w/ cancer the best as well.

AP News article | Reuters article | BBC News

Um, guess who I’m never gonna vote for…

Posted on by yllwdaisies

This guy is a complete idiot. I can’t even believe he said that. I’ve never been one to hold one statement against someone. I mean, I’ve made some rather dumb statements in my life. But this is unreal.

Senator Joe Biden – “You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent, I’m not joking…“

Oh, yes he did. This has nothing to do w/ the price of tea in China. He was talking to someone w/ a lil pigment on their skin, & he was trying to think of some way to relate. I mean, he can’t talk to a potential voter the same way he talks to his housekeeper. He thought he was makin a funny. I get it. And yeah, I still think that this just totally broke him for me (& prob a lot of others out there).

Seriously, Biden, is that the only thing you could come up w/ to say to someone? You do realize that if he’s a potential voter, um, that makes him an American citizen too. Don’t cha think, Biden?

Click this to watch the video clip, if you must. I don’t really recommend it.

yahoo news articles & my need to republish

Posted on by yllwdaisies

Hello all,

I just wanted to let y’all know that I had to go back through my archives & republish a lot of posts that had links in them. I was going through to see if all the links were still valid, & it turns out that all the Yahoo news links I had (some AP news articles, but via Yahoo news), were no longer good.

So, I re-linked the news stories w/ the proper linkage.

Anywhohow, here’s where it makes a diff. I’ve made it easier to suscribe to my feed by clicking on the RSS icon on the right menu. For those you have a yahoo home page (y’all know who you are), once you click on it, just click on the ‘+yahoo’ button & you’ll have lil ole moi on yo home page. Kewl, huh? I KNOW!!!

Oh, but w/ all the re-linkaging I just did, some of those posts were republished so the updated versions of the old posts will show up there.

If you don’t suscribe, I shoulda told you that you didn’t have to read any of this from the beginning. I’m sorry. If you have kids, go read to them since you can read so well though.

remember the taliban

Posted on by yllwdaisies

No, not like “remember the Alamo”. I’m asking, remember the taliban? As in the taliban that Yale admitted to a non-degree progam? Well, hotair.com has an update on it all; as does the NY Times.

At the time of my prior post, Mr. Hashemi was asking to be moved into the full-degree program* w/ a sophomore status (since he had already completed one year there). Well, now it’s been decided that he may be back for one more semester in the fall, but he will not be graduating. I know it really shouldn’t be such a big deal; but it is to me. Yes, everyone deserves an education; & I will be the 1st to give someone a second chance, & I truly believe that people can reform. I did a dissertation on the rehabilitation of prisoners in college, & most ppl can reform if endowed with w/ the ambition & the means**.

But here’s my beef w/ the situation. Yale does not allow the ROTC to train on campus, they would not allow intelligent Afghan women to study there; but they’re ok w/ this top-level Taliban official being there? I think that part is wrong. At least the Afghan women were well-qualified, & likely to succeed in a high-caliber institution; but Mr. Hashemi only completed a 4th grade education, & a high school equivalency certificate. Not only that, but I don’t believe he’s reformed, or that he regrets any of his past doings. He was doing horribly in his “Terrorism: Past, Present and Future” class, arguing the textbooks were labeling the wrong ppl as the bad guys. He said that public executions in a soccer stadium in Kabul (pic to the left) were akin to the executions that take place in Texas***. I can’t agree w/ that. Um, btw, the ppl that were executed in that very public (see the tons of ppl in the background watching) stadium were missionaries.

*This is very common for international students to be admitted into a non-degree program, & be “shifted” into the full-degree program after a year (pending grades/courses, & approval by a dean). Of course, they need to formally petition this change (either by re-applying or simply writing a letter of appeal/petition to the dean & admission committee).

**I did find exceptions (as usual). It seems that some types of criminals have a chemical imbalance in their brains that actually propels them to do what they do. However, some of those crimes are not considered deviant in other countries. We as a society have deemed their actions as deviant behavior & so we persecute them. We are either fortunate to live in a country where we are so protected; or they are unfortunate to live in such a narrow-minded society that is not willing to accept their behavior. It depends on exactly how liberal you’re willing to go. I’m not quite that open-minded & liberal.

***I really did not mean to start up a topic on capital punishment. I know that the ppl who are executed in Texas are convicted murderers & rapists. I also know that a lot of ppl who have been on death row had subsequently been found innocent (via testimonials, dna, whatev); some before they were executed, & some unfortunately after. And I know that the anesthetic injection they give to paralyze the individual before they actually inject the super-painful poison that destroys the person’s insides doesn’t always work right; & there’s evidence that the person goes through the most jarring, wrenching pain possible before they actually die, but they can’t communicate it b/c they have been paralyzed. That all being said, I’d love to hear any thoughts anyone has on this. You can leave an anonymous comment.

world cup fever

Posted on by yllwdaisies

Everyone knows someone who’s got it. Monday, at a cookout, I met a girl who’s got it bad. Her prob right now is that since the US is outta contention, she can’t find the game on her tele. ESPN, ABC, & ESPN2 are still broadcasting games, but she couldn’t find them. I guess they’re just airing whichever games they want all sporadically. So, I told her how I watch it. Now, mind you, I don’t have ‘the fever’. If I’m dusting, vacuuming, or straightening up the living room, I do turn it on. I’m not glued to the set, but I’ll watch it for a few mins, then turn off the tv, & go onto whatever is next.

So, I told her to find her Telemundo channel, cause they’ll play the World Cup all day & all night, like it’s 1999. So, I’ve made a list.

Reasons to watch the World Cup on Telemundo versus the American sports channel:
1. No 5 sec delay.
What do they seriously think is gonna happen? Oh, wait, maybe it’s cause of all the streakers during the games. Ok, so maybe that’s why. Forget it then. But still, no 5 sec delay.
2. The commentators talk in Spanish.
Do you really need a play by play during the world cup? We don’t know the players names or anything. So you can clearly see the one dude passed it to the other, who bounced it off his head to some other guy who kicked it all sideways-like into the goal! Yeah! You can see all that, you don’t need someone explaining the obvious. BUT, it does sound cooler when they’re all talkin in Spanish all fast, & rollin ‘r’s, & what-not. I guess if you know Spanish, it may help; but I don’t & I totally enjoy watching it in Spanish anyway. It’s just plain, good clean fun.
3. You don’t have to check your tv guide to see what games are playing & when.
They’re always on, all the time. They barely even interrupt w/ the news. Screw the regularly scheduled programming, they’re (like the whole rest of the world) excited about the World Cup.

Now, I don’t really watch it, like I said before. But I do love seeing ppl all excited & passionate about stuff. They’re playing commercials in Europe about it, & U2 did a couple of the spots. Here’s what the Edge says in one: “…every 4 years in June, sick days increase 300 percent. And yet not one employee is fired. Not one doctor’s note is required. Not one important meeting is ruined. Because bosses are out sick, too.”

I think that’s just crazy. I mean, by 300%!?! That’s insane! But I do like crazy, & it’s totally insane in a really cool way. So, I just wanna say that I’m totally diggin all the ppl who are all ga-ga over da Cup.

dude, what am I?

Posted on by yllwdaisies

For over a decade now, I’ve been undeclared (as a voter). The only real effect this has is that in May, during the primaries, I’ve only voted on the issues (some years, I’ve just gotten a ballot w/ one issue on it*). I’ve always voted in every election since I was 18; including primaries. This past May, I did have to declare myself for the first time, b/c there was this guy running in the primary, so that he could run for office in November. So, I knew he had to beat the other dude. That meant I would have to declare myself to give him a fighting chance, so that he could do good (not unlike Superman). But alas, he didn’t win the nomination.

I don’t think anyone can really say that they are completely liberal or completely conservative. We live in the shades of grey in between. It’s more a matter of how liberal. or how conservative.

Anyway, I found this quiz that asks “How Liberal or Conservative are You?” I though it was really interesting.

Your Political Profile:
Overall: 35% Conservative, 65% Liberal
Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal
Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

*usually the school levy, which I always vote for, even though sometimes I feel they’re just wasting the money. Well, not sometimes, a lot of the times. They threaten you by saying they’re gonna cut classes or bussing or teaching staff, but then they use the money to give the higher-ups (superintendent or board members). I feel we as adults have a responsibility towards children. Even total strangers’ children. If I pull up next to a car w/ a kid in the front seat & see no seat belt on him, I do roll down my window, honk the horn to get their attention, & tell them that kid needs to have that restraint on him/her. Yes, that crazy lady is me; my dad would yell at me & say that anyone who was willing to not make their kids buckle up musta been some sort of cretin, so he might even just pull out a rifle & shoot me. This was like 12 years ago; now that it’s like the law, you don’t see ppl w/out their seat belts on much. Well, not here anyway. And on the plus side, more ppl have guns. Yea.