As we all know, BO is spending a week overseas. Presumably to add foreign policy credentials to his resume. With him hiring 300 (THREE HUNDRED) foreign policy advisors how could he do wrong? How much did that cost I wonder.

I heard bits and pieces of his speeches while he was away. I found it disingenuous that he told our foreign friends that he was not there to campaign but rather there as an American citizen. He went on to say "he looked different" - I take offense to him throwing out the race card - yet again. I don't believe Condilisa Rice or Colan Powell say that when they visit our foreign friends. Shame on you Obama.

Then, while in Germany, two different military base visits to wounded soldiers were cancelled. The story varies-depending on who's telling it.

The Pentagon issued a statement that regulations prohibit a candidate for office from being accompanied by campaign staff when visiting a military base." Senate staff would have been OK, but, as it turns out, campaign staff is all he had in tow. Clearance for his plane to land on the base was authorized. Could he have left his campaign staff on board the plane for awhile or was visiting the soldiers becoming too much of an inconvenience?

The Obama campaign has indicated the Pentagon interfered with its decision to visit U.S. troops at the Ramstein and Landstuhl U.S. military bases in Germany. Well… in BO legal speak that's technically true.

So… If Mr. Obama was not overseas to "campaign" to foreign countries-as he stated in his speeches--why is it that the only staff he had on board his newly painted plane were campaign staff?

I've also heard rumblings that while in Afghanistan, Obama snubbed the soldiers - although I can't verify the validity to that rumor.

Today while BO is in London I can't help but reflect how much money he's been spending. If you're with the "change" machine money is no object. Is there anything that leads you to believe there will be a "change" of spending habits once he has access to your tax dollars?

Here, back in the states, whispers of how Denver plans on hiding the 4,000 homeless people who call downtown Denver "home" has started erupting in the news.

Is the Democratic National Convention trying to sanitize the streets of Denver for the big event? Denver states "They will not 'sweep' homeless people away or try to hide them, but will seek to engage them in the process." That process is to offer free movie tickets and free bus tokens to the homeless. Others will stroll around the Denver Zoo or Museum of Nature and Science. And others will play bingo.

"This isn't unusual … The whole homeless provider community routinely offers access to public events for people experiencing homelessness," a spokesperson said.

Why don't they invite the homeless to the DNC events for the community experience? Everyone else seems to be going.

Has anyone stopped to consider the vast amounts of money being spent?

Has a single voter - in a lucid moment - stopped to consider a single thing that BO has done that indicated a reigning in of our tax dollars? What makes you believe he will treat your tax money any differently than his campaign money? It's all "free" money, right?

Every time I turn around I see more money being poured out. His campaign promises will all cost not only more tax dollars but will include hiring of more government employees.

Has anyone stopped to think who's going to pay? Those will be YOUR tax dollars.

Do you really believe that after he's squeezed every cent out of "them" he isn't going to come after YOU through added EXCISE taxes?

My question remains the same...

Do you believe the government has enough of your tax money to accomplish what they need to do?

My point, do I have one?, is that it is blog light here at the spot. So I thought I'd send you to some readings related to some of the topics here in the past few weeks:

• queer community needs your help to build a new safe space for youth in Montreal - they lost their lease, previous efforts did not pan out, but now they have done a survey of the area youth's needs and wants (ie they actually asked and partnered with youth not just providers) and now they need you.
• The prison-industrial-complex and the dismantling of radical cultural movements - if you don't know that policing and the prison system were used to destabilize most of the radical cultural movements in the U.S., this article should only be a light snack on your way to the library. I want to encourage readers to think beyond the "perfect victim" complex (ie that in order to care about people who are marginalized, oppressed, and/or abused they have to be as innocent as new born babes.)
• DN's Report from Unity 2008 - a discussion about poc's roles and relationship to the media with Roberto Lavato (journalist on immigration issues), Amy Alexander, and Alfred Knobler (authors of a forth coming book on race and media)
• SA African woman named head of the UNHCR - she takes her place just as discussion of how to handle the recent indictment of a sitting president for Human Rights violations is underway.
• Insurance company denies repro choice benefits in NY - women seeking or having received infertility treatment were having their insurance claims consistently denied by Health Now Insurance. Like so many other providers these days, the company felt they had the right to decide what counts as legitimate women's health and what does not.  Another reason why we need regime change in Washington for those of you who are still confused.

Checking the line for familiar faces, we saw JJ of i'm not drunk enough for this.....

i'm on my way to write all the sweet memories jaulah during holidays. bi iznillahi Taala. insyaAllah.

Do wait, ok?

;)

Something flashed on my mind this morning... I asked, how could our country, Malaysia, come into this state of confusion? And how could Malaysia, the country, continue to progress when the majority of my countrymen are not patriotic? Why is the majority refusing to be Malaysians? Aren't all citizens of Malaysia, Malaysians first? After all, are we not a sovereign nation and our individual national identity described as Malaysian?

And I asked again.. but what had actually made the majority unpatriotic, hesitating or refusing to behave as Malaysians? Then I answered myself. No, the majority are not unpatriotic people by nature. They are good people. The main reason for these good people holding back and resisting to be Malaysians is that they have always been influenced and brainwashed by UMNO politicians into behaving that way for too long, for many decades. ... It's a strange phenomenon for any country and it's certainly a lousy recipe for unity and nation building!

For the entire letter, read here!  Something to reflect on this Saturday evening!

A recent report by 60-minutes examines this "miracle food":

Every year, 5 million children die worldwide from malnutrition. That's one child every six seconds. Now, the relief group Doctors Without Borders says it has something that can save millions of these children. It's called "Plumpy'nut" - a ready to eat and cheap to produce food that might be the most important advance ever in the fight against malnutrition. Anderson Cooper saw the benefits of plumpy'nut firsthand in the African nation of Niger.

I applaud the immediate success of this product, and if in the same situation I would seek out and feed my daughter Plumpynut without hesitation. But I of course have my concerns. It seems like a similar product for developing countries could have been produced years ago. So why this product, now? I'm certain organic is cost-prohibitive, but why is it so cheap to produce this product? Are genetically modified ingredients, BGH's and pesticide residue also packaged along with the vitamins and minerals? And if so, what sort of health consequences might be seen down the road for these children and future generations?

These are concerns I have, but at the same time I am glad to see that families and children are having immediate health benefits.

Are you interested in the ingredients and nutrient content found in Plumpy'nut? Here are the food specifications provided by the World Food Programme:

Plumpy'Nut [Nutriset] Formula:

• Peanut Butter
• Dry Skim Milk
• Lactoserum
• Malto-dextrine
• Sugar
• Minerals & Vitamins

Composition (per 100g):

• Energy 545 kcal
• Proteins: 13.6g
• Fat: 35.7g

Minerals (per 100g):

• Sodium: <290 mg
• Calcium: 300 mg
• Phosphorus: 300 mg
• Magnesium: 92 mg
• Zinc: 14 mg
• Iodine: 100 mcg
• Potassium: 1,111 mg
• Copper: 1.8 mg
• Selenium: 30 mcg
• Iron: 11.5 mg

Vitamins (per 100g):

• Vit A: 910 mcg
• Vit D: 16 mcg
• Vit E: 20 mg
• Vit K: 21 mcg
• Vit C: 53 mg
• Vit B1: 0.6 mg
• Vit B2: 1.8 mg
• Niacin: 5.3 mg
• Vit B6: 0.6 mg
• Ac. Folic: 210 mcg
• Vit B12: 1.8 mcg
• Biotin : 65 mcg
• Ac. Panto: 3.1 mg

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I reported work at Seragoon Central today.
I love it there, and i wish i didn't have to leave.
I'd really like a transfer.
I like the peace i NEVER will get back at home branch.
I was the selected one that's suppose to be
transferred there 6 months ago.
Oh well. Everything's fated.

I miss boyfriend soooooo much.
4 more days.

That 4 more days never came.

Baby, look at how happy we were,
the photos says in all. . .
we shared so much memories,
we were so in love,
why did you have to leave . . .
why did you have to leave me behind,
you said the last thing you'll do is leaving me,
we have plans, so many of them . . .
we're going to get our degree together,
we're going to have a family,
you working outside while i'll be home
looking after our children, our yearly oversea trip . .
you bringing us around the world. . .
We're going to spend our life together,
till lines tattoo our forehead, till we're old and frail,
till we have our grandchildren, till we hold our hands and
bid the world goodbye with smile together.
That was our plan . . . why didn't you stick to it?
How am i going to have them all fulfilled when you're
not here with me?

The lost of a loved one, the pain which cannot be explained.

Baby i miss you,
i miss you so so so much,
did you know?

Only when you have lost it will you know how to cherish.

Moving on is easier said then done.
but i know - life goes on.

For more reads: http://memyselfmine.blogspot.com/

Got the link of 2LT Clifton Lam's girlfriend through searching.

It must have been a heart wrenching experience, a horrible ordeal to go through. Someone you love, someone you rely on is now gone. I read through some of her past entries before the passing away of 2LT Clifton Lam and it can be seen that they are really close. She must have felt very sad with his death. This news has been hogging the headlines of the newspapers which I feel has no purpose. It just constantly reminds his family and friends of the painful past and just how many readers really care? Or do they just brush it aside after reading them.

Cherish while one is still around, not regret when one is gone.

I was talking about this with my husband and we were comparing/contrasting our body image battles from back when we were in middle school. I can remember thinking about every outfit I wore, comparing my body to others in my grade, avoiding swimming pools and hating the fact that my school had one which meant bathing suits during PE class.

My husband remembers trying to decide between his Rush, Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin T-shirts.

"No, I don't mean the thoughts behind creating a fashion statement, I mean worrying about your appearance so much that it becomes a problem", I explained.

So he thought about it and he remembered once wearing turf shoes on purpose to an amusement park to meet the height requirement of the roller coasters because he was afraid that he'd be too short to ride. He also wore a cap one winter on the way to school each day to keep his curly hair flat because although Robert Plant was popular at the time, it really wasn't cool to walk around junior high with his hair-do.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yep," he replied.

"You've been on the planet for over four decades and you've only obsessed over your appearance a few times?"

Holy shit. How is that possible? My brain needed time to process what he said. You see, MS Magazine did an article this month that stated that girls today spend more time as a "witness" to their body therefore less time actually mastering it's use. In other words you can't be a great dancer if you obsess about how you look in your tights in lieu of concentrating on moving your body through space. You can't throw a baseball far if right before you release it from your hand, you're worried about your ball uniform riding up and revealing your stomach.

This got me thinking about a study I heard about years ago that said guys tend to mentally focus on only three things: Golf, Work, and Sex. I thought this was a joke until I asked my husband about it and said, Yes. That's pretty much all I ever think about. Interestingly enough, my husband's a club champion, a vice president and well, I don't want to kiss and tell, but lets just say, he's good at all three things. Three things that he's apparently spending a lot of his mental energy on.

Hmm...I'm sensing a pattern here. No wonder guys rule the world.

But here's the rub. You boys better watch your ass, because the body image obsession has reached it's peak with us females. Beside the width of our backside and the circumference of our thighs, we've been conditioned to freak out over (in no particular order)....drum roll please...

Eyebrow arches, nails, back-fat, hair color, cut, and style, crows feet, frown lines, forehead creases, perfect make-up application, age-appropriate clothing choices, accessories, toe cleavage, dry skin, oily skin, the t-zone, the g-spot, nail polish, varicose veins, smoothly-shaven legs minus any razor burn, random chin hairs, bikini lines, perky breasts, stretch marks, cleavage, coin slots, lifted butts, age spots, nose hairs and evening out our skin tone. Saggy vaginas, c-section scars, post-baby-ab-fat, post-menopausal-stomach-rolls and neck waddles - just to name a few.

Guys on the other hand must worry about wiping well after they shit, brushing their teeth and shaving.

But not for long fellas. Thanks to our free-market economy and the fact that it's all about the bottom line, advertisers, once they are done destroying the psyches of women and young girls have no other place to turn but to you.

Lets face it, the fun has already begun. Queer Eye For The Straight Guy taught men to manscape their uni-brows, the proper way to exfoliate and that back hair is disgusting. Future Pundit reported that cosmetic surgery was up 44% among men between 2000 and 2005. Just last night I caught the tail end of an informercial for the Body Trimmer, a shape enhancing undergarment for men.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette interviewed Neil Mulhall, President of Undergear, maker of the Shape Enhancer. This line of undergarments for men have a patented contour-stitched seat that defines your backside nicely, a padded front pouch for a fuller silhouette and firming spandex and nylon to redefine trouble spots around your abdomen, hips and thighs.

Let me guess. You thought your love handles were cute and we don't notice that your ass sagged. Don't worry gentlemen, all you need to do to look like the guy above is to buy better skivvies. (Ladies, feel free to insert chuckles and giggles here).

And no offense, but as soon as you drop your cash on a new pair of Undergear, it'll be kindly suggested that you also trim your nose hairs. And whiten your teeth. And get some hair plugs. And pick up some pants without pleats so your ass won't look so big. Oh and do some damn sit-ups for Christ's sake.

Brace yourself boys.

You're fucked.

]]> http://letustalk.wordpress.com/?p=1024 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:11:34 +0000 Paulette http://letustalk.wordpress.com/?p=1024  Senator Barack Obama has arrived at 10 Downing Street – the historic office and home of the British Prime Minister – for a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

  The two sat and talked in the beautiful back garden of Downing Street. The conversation between Mr. Brown and Mr. Obama is expected to build on a meeting the two had in Washington in April 2008 – at the time the meeting was described as 'warm and wide-ranging'.

Last weekend both men were in Iraq - Brown on Saturday and Obama on Sunday - so they didn't bump into each other.

Since they’ve both made recent trips to the Middle East they have plenty to discuss – including troop withdrawal from Iraq.

After Obama’s successful tour of the Middle East and Europe, Britain's political elite will be hoping to get great photo ops with him – if his trip had not been successful some of the British leaders would have been conveniently ‘not available’. Senator Obama will also meet with several MPs while at Downing Street.

  Before the meeting with Prime Minister Brown, Obama had a breakfast meeting with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is now a Middle East envoy.

Mr. Blair's new role gave the two men lots to talk about. Obama has put the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli question at the heart of his foreign policy - pledging to 'roll his sleeves up' from the moment he takes office, if elected.

  Senator Obama’s final meeting and last handshake of his trip will be with Conservative leader David Cameron, who he'll meet at the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is the lower house of the British Parliament (and more powerful than the upper house, also known as the House of Lords). Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster.  The Commons is a democratically elected body -- consisting of 646 members, who are known as ‘Members of Parliament’ or MPs.  

Max Power / Corbis

In her 30 years of counseling couples, Mira Kirshenbaum has discerned 17 reasons that people have extramarital affairs. In a near majority of couples, one partner will cheat on the other at some point. In her new book, When Good People Have Affairs: Inside the Hearts & Minds of People in Two Relationships (St. Martin's), Kirshenbaum explains the reasons and offers some helpful — and sometimes surprising — advice on how to manage the consequences. TIME senior reporter Andrea Sachs reached Kirshenbaum at her office in Boston:

TIME: Is there a pattern in the way that affairs begin?

Mira Kirshenbaum: People say, "I never meant for this to happen." They're being honest when they say that. Typically, they're in a committed relationship, but they aren't perfectly happy. No one who was perfectly happy in their primary relationship gets into a second one. They're a lot unhappy, or maybe just a little. Maybe they have no plans to cheat. And then the other person somehow floats onto their radar screen. The image that I have is like someone who has been wandering around with a couple of empty wine glasses who suddenly meets someone with a bottle of wine. And so they want a little taste. It starts very innocently. Very slowly they get to know each other. It's often an emotional affair to begin with. Maybe they have long conversations, whatever. However it happens, eventually they realize that they've crossed some sort of line. But they realize it after they've crossed it. And it feels wonderful because it was a line they were hungry to cross. But it also feels terrible because they know it's cheating, and they know they never wanted to be a cheater. But it keeps going. Think about it. If you don't want to divorce, and there are many reasons people don't — for the children, for financial reasons, they don't want the stigma of a divorce — this is a way people cope. They have the illusion that no one will know. If I get a divorce, it's a public act and everyone will know that my marriage failed, that I'm a failure. But if I have an affair, I'm able to pretend that everything's O.K. and no one will get hurt. So they find themselves involved in the two relationships and it looks as though it could work. And the guilt seems manageable. And they're not really thinking about the future. They feel like they've got this wonderful, wonderful present, and it seems to solve all their problems.

TIME: Can that last?

It never lasts. It can't. Being in two relationships is inherently unsustainable. It's like a house of cards. And the longer it keeps going, the more likely it is to come crashing down. And then the pressure mounts and the central structure is that three-way tug of war. The person who is cheating is just trying to keep everything stable, the same, not changing anything. The two other people, the lover and the spouse, are putting pressure on, if the spouse knows about it. If the spouse doesn't, she still is wanting more time, more fun. She puts pressure on anyway.

TIME: Do most people get caught?

Yes. Inevitably there are slip-ups. In the stories I hear, they find a gift in a pocket of a coat and they think it's for them and they're so excited, and then they never get the gift. I mean, it's just heartbreaking. So it all blows up eventually.

TIME: Should you confess if you feel guilty about it?

No. I've got to tell you that this is very, very important. I'm a person who is just an advocate of truth. I really will do anything to tell the truth, so it took me a long time to get to the point where I say, just don't tell. Because how does it make a person less guilty to inflict terrible pain on someone? Which is exactly what the confession does. It puts the other person in a permanent state of hurt and grief and loss of trust and an inability to feel safe, and it doesn't alleviate your guilt. Your relationship is dealt a potentially devastating blow. Honesty is great, but it's an abstract moral principle.... The higher moral principle, I believe, is not hurting people. And when you confess to having an affair, you are hurting someone more than you can ever imagine. So I tell people, if you care that much about honesty, figure out who you want to be with, commit to that relationship and devote the rest of your life to making it the most honest relationship you can. But confessing your affair is the kind of honesty that is unnecessarily destructive. There are two huge exceptions to not telling: if you're having an affair and you haven't practiced safe sex, even if it's only one time, you have to tell. Again, the moral principle is minimizing the hurt. But this time, the greatest risk of hurt comes from inflicting a sexually transmitted disease, and I've never seen a relationship recover from that. You also have to tell if discovery is imminent or likely. If you're going to be found out, then it's better for you to be the one to make the confession first.

Before I did this research, I really thought that affairs were fatal for relationships, but they're not. It all depends on how you deal with it, and that's why I have two sections in the book on how to repair and rebuild and heal the hurts. You need all of that. But if the person who has been cheated on has a talent for forgiveness and the cheater is truly sorry — this is one of the surprising findings — many, many people are able to use the affair as a wake-up call and end up so much happier with a relationship that gives them what they need, instead of just being on automatic and pretending that everything's O.K.

TIME: Do people who decide, during an affair, to leave their marriage often end up staying with the person they cheated with, or is that just a way of getting out of the relationship?

There are 17 reasons people have affairs, and you've just talked about one of them. I call it the Ejector Seat affair. People use the relationship as a way to get out of the marriage. That is a real reason. They're afraid to leave the marriage, and they're hoping that an affair will end things. Either the spouse will kick them out or the lover will give them the courage to quit.

TIME: Let's talk about some of the others. What is the See-If affair?

If your motive is to see if what you've been missing in your marriage can be gotten with someone else, and if so does it make as much of a difference as you thought, then you're in a See-If affair.

TIME: What about the Heating Up Your Marriage affair?

This is subconscious for people. They don't actively say, "I'm going to go and heat up my marriage." But unconsciously they're hoping that either the affair itself or their spouse finding out about it will make things more passionate in the relationship.

TIME: Is that a good strategy?

Well, none of these are great strategies, but you have to assume that there's a hidden wisdom. People are coping. People are doing the best they can. There's something they're hungry for and they're not getting it in life. And an affair is a way for people to try to get what they're needing.

TIME: What about the I Just Needed to Indulge Myself affair?

Look, it may not be noble, but the fact is that some people work so hard and they really don't know how to take care of themselves and give to themselves. And an affair occurs to them as the best way they know how to give themselves some pleasure. You don't really think very highly of someone like that, but there are people like that.

TIME: I'm intrigued by the Let's Kill this Relationship and See if It Comes Back to Life affair. What is that?

This happens unconsciously also. The idea is that once an affair is discovered, it will deliver a blow that will either kill your relationship or make it stronger. And it often does. The sex becomes much more passionate for some people.

TIME: The Having Experiences I Missed Out On affair?

This is true for a lot of women who weren't in many relationships before they got married — men as well — [who] feel there are experiences that are important that they missed out on. And an affair is the best way they can think of to get those experiences.

TIME: Let's take the last one. How about a mid-marriage crisis affair?

Without time and attention, marriages get stale or feel full of problems. They're tired and frustrated with their marriages and not knowing what else to do. You have an affair. It's about the stage the marriage is in. And the way we live today. Everyday life is terrible for love. Love needs time, and time is the air love breathes, and people have no time. On the weekends, they're running around schlepping, doing all kinds of things. And where do you have the time you had when you were falling in love? It just doesn't exist for people anymore.

TIME: What do you say to someone who comes to you and says, "I can't choose; I don't know who to stay with"?

If you want to work with me, O.K., first accept the fact that your view of your lover and your spouse are both skewed. Things always seem great with the lover, it's always so romantic and sexy, special, sporadic and, most of all, new and exciting. But guess what? New gets old. I wish I had a nickel for everyone who married their lover and found they replicated what they had with their spouse, with the added poverty of a post-divorce lifestyle. And in the same way, spouses are usually not as bad as they seem. After all, the person who is cheating is withdrawing energy from their marriage and has alleviated their guilt by bad-mouthing or bad-thinking their spouse. But when people work on their marriage and put the lover by the wayside, they're often very surprised at how much things can improve. Another piece of advice I'd say is, lovers are often little more than the crowbar you needed to get out of your marriage, but you don't need to marry the crowbar. That's a mistake a lot of people make. They feel so guilty, they then marry the person they had the affair with.

TIME: Are you still optimistic about marriage after hearing so many bad stories?

Oh, sure. Just because people have problems doesn't mean they can't solve their problems. It's a terrible way to have to wake up, but I work with so many couples who've gone through all of the stages and come out the other end in a much better place than they ever were, especially if they don't tell. And the problem with telling is that you're then taking all of the time in therapy and in your life where you should be focusing on making the relationship the best it can be. You spend it just talking about the past. [But] no one can change the past.

I don't know if you had a chance to follow Obama's trip across Europe. I watched several reports in the German news, then in the French news, and he was unanimously being cheered like a rock star. As a French loving and living in the United States, I was pleased to see those pictures of true "pro-americanism" in Europe. But I wonder how the American voters may react, and I thought this blog might be a good place to get some answers.

How does it feel as an American citizen to see a presidential candidate being praised by an overwhelming crowd of more than 200,000 Germans? How do American voters react watching a French president welcoming Obama as an almost-president of the United States and clearly endorsing his candidacy?

In a recent survey of 6,200 people in Europe by YouGov, Obama was favored by an overwhelming majority in Italy (70% vs 15% for Mc Cain), Germany (67% vs. 6%) and in France (65% vs. 8%). Only Russia (surprisingly considered as part of Europe in that survey) would support Obama by only 34% and gives Mc Cain a decent 28% credit (see here for more results and comments on this poll). This strong support lies in the perception that Obama would lead America in a way that better matches the European interests as well. He's regarded by many Europeans as a kind of messiah, who will finally get the most powerful nation in the world back to reason: fighting Al-Quaeda where it really lies in Afghanistan - not in Iraq - and eventually joining European nations in their fight against climate change. Again, this is the general perception in Europe (please do not draw conclusions about my personal views on this ;-).

Europeans - and especially the French - have great interest in the coming American election. By supporting Obama, my opinion is that they favor change in the French-American relationship rather than Obama's program for change. In Berlin, most of the crowd that cheered Obama did not even speak English, and a lot may have joined just to be part of a mediatic event. However, I like to see it as a gathering against anti-Americanism, and a hope for renewed friendship after a long period of tense diplomacy.

You tell me if American voters may trust a candidate with such suspicious friends abroad (facts are: the European support did not really help John Kerry enter the White House!). But I can tell you this: this "simple U.S. Senator" - as he presented himself - did more for America's image across Europe in 3 days than the entire Bush administration in a decade (and this is a personal opinion you can now sneer at) ;-))

Scoopit!

Saturday, rant day, boy is Adam looking forward to letting off some steam today. Not so much over major items, but over a series of little things, those ones which over time cause a build up of frustration.

Like many irritating things the ones Adam will be commenting on may not irritate you, even though they cause me mental anguish.

Firstly

The word 'lead'

Now lead can be a noun when used in the context of the base metal, or a verb in the context of 'to lead'. What really irritates Adam is how often he sees the past tense of the verb written as 'lead' in newspapers, books and used by people who should know better.

Yes, 'lead' and 'led' may sound the same, but they do not mean the same. Adam had this drummed into him at school by a succession of English teachers.

Should we blame word processors and spell checkers? Should we blame the cult of teaching which no longer regards the use of language as important and spelling as irrelevant? No wonder, so many people are effectively incoherent.

Another example Adam came across this week was a comment by someone in respect of the NZ Herald where an article referred to the Cook Straight ferry, the Cook STRAIGHT!! What made this even more egregious was the fact that the article was changed for another reason later in the day, but this mistake was not rectified.

This leads into the question of do people understand the words they use, for example Adam seems to notice that many seem to routinely use the word 'effect' when in fact they mean 'affect' and vice versa.

This misunderstanding of meanings can be summed up in the old joke 'Jack and Jill anticipated the joys of matrimony and now Jill is expecting'.

But is it too much to expect newspaper sub-editors to be able to read and write English? Should they not catch these sorts of errors, even if the reporters do not?

Secondly

Fact Checking

Earlier this week in her TV Review column, on 22 July, Ms Jane Clifton commented on a documentary shown on Sky TV, which premised an invasion of Britain in WWII by the Germans.

Now Adam remembers reading a biography of Viscount Alanbrooke, as he became, sometime in the 1960s. Adam's father being a great reader of biographies.

By the way, not that it is germane to this item really, but the predecessor who left Gen. Brooke the Rolls, was Gen. Ironside. So, no doubt you want to know what this is all leading up to. Well in this mornings Dominion Post, in the To The Point section of letters to the editor is this item:-

Adam does not want to upset the letter writer in question; especially as it would appear from the tone of the letter that the lady is perhaps of a vintage that remembers the war.

Unfortunately, for Mrs (?) Walker she is incorrect. Jane Clifton did not make an error. General Sir Alan Brooke, became Field Marshal, the Viscount Alanbrooke after the war and in due course published his war diaries which contained criticism of the way Churchill conducted the war.

The point of all this? Well Adam is intrigued as to why the DomPost published this letter which contains a clear error. He suspects that it is because whoever selects the letters for publication is in fact unaware of the error. Which raises the question why was the letter not checked for factual accuracy, as by publishing it without any comment either by the editor or Jane Clifton, a casual reader might come away with the impression that Jane Clifton was incorrect in her report. This then has a 'knock on' effect as a reader on reading other columns by Ms Clifton such as her political columns or seeing her comments on Agenda, might be led to conclude that she was an inaccurate reporter. Unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

Therefore, Adam considers that the Dominion Post has done a disservice to Jane Clifton and to itself in allowing this misconception by a reader to be published without correction. This is especially important at the current time when the paper is publishing articles concerning the probity of a senior government minister. Failure to deal with errors such as this, gives those who might wish to cast doubt on the factual accuracy of their claims in other areas ammunition. Silly you might well think, but Adam has seen small errors used to create major doubt in other circumstances.

Thirdly and finally this week,

Auckland University Students Association

Or should that be the Auckland Universally Stupid Association, for their stunt in offering NZ$5,000 for a citizen's arrest of US Secretary of State - Condoleezza Rice. This has to be one of the more idiotic actions by a student group. Adam has no problem with them holding views about Dr Rice's conduct, nor about them protesting against her visit if that is what they wish to do.

Adam does have a problem with them offering to pay someone to try and penetrate the security screen around Dr Rice to carry out such an action, which might result in someone, probably the student getting hurt.

Adam questions the ethics of potentially using monies obtained through compulsory student fees to 'reward' such an action, unless it can be clearly shown that the governing body of the AUSA is acting in accord with the wishes of the majority of the student body, rather than a group of activist student politicians. In fact, Adam would suggest that it might be appropriate for the student body as a whole to take a much closer interest in just what those compulsory fees are spent on by the AUSA and it's equivalents around the country.

As a taxpayer, Adam believes in some assistance but for students, but not unlimited nor unmonitored. At a time when government may be considering an extension of allowances and in an election year, Adam would suggest students should not upset those who fund them, i. e. the taxpayers.

Adam believes that students would do better to work their way through college as happens elsewhere in the world and for increased funding to be given to the universities rather than to students.

Conclusion,

Well that is all for this week except for this little piece of humour from today's Weekend Herald:-

Enjoy!

Scoopit!

 New Zealand university students offered a reward on Friday

Rice was due to arrive in Auckland late Friday ahead of talks set for Saturday with Prime Minister Helen Clark and Foreign Minister Winston Peters.

Auckland University Student Association (AUSA) president David Do said the reward of $5,000 NZ ($3,725 US) was being offered for Rice's arrest for her role in "overseeing the illegal invasion and continued occupation" of Iraq.

"We thought we'd give our students a chance to make a dent in their student loans and work for global justice at the same time," Do said.

Police said any attempt to make a citizen's arrest could lead to "very serious consequences".

"I would strongly advise the association representatives who've put this challenge out, to withdraw it immediately so as to avoid being caught up in something much bigger than they may have anticipated," said Auckland district commander, Superintendent Brett England.

Rice is due to leave New Zealand on Sunday for Samoa, where she will hold talks with foreign ministers from the 16-nation Pacific Islands Forum.

In what can only be viewed as a slap in the face to our wounded war hero's, Barack Obama canceled his scheduled visit with them yesterday. While trying to make excuses for not being allowed to go, his pathetic attempts were struck down by the truth. Obama claimed that the Pentagon informed him he would not be allowed to visit the wounded military men and women while on a trip funded by campaign contributions. It sounded like a valid reason, until the Pentagon spoke up with the truth.

The fact is that this was all taken care of before his overseas trip ever started. The Pentagon made special arrangements for his plane to land at the military base, a privilege not often granted. He was told his campaign staff and entourage of reporters would not be allowed to accompany him during the visit, but his Congressional staff would. The Military would also have their media people present to record the visit for posterity. Rather than be without the 3 ring media circus, he chose to cancel the visit and go play basketball at the Hyatt.

I certainly hope that our current members of the Military, and all Veterans considering supporting Obama, pay attention to his actions. I expect many who do will reconsider the decision of supporting someone who only pays lip service to them. This slap in the face should be loud and clear, since actions speak louder than words.

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THE FUNNY THING ABOUT RAMADHAN

The BBC is making a documentary called “The Funny Thing About Ramadhan”. The programme will be presented by comedienne and former Blair spin doctor Ayesha Hazarika, and directed by Irshad Ashraf (director of "The Muslim Jesus").

Seen through the eyes of presenter Ayesha, the viewer will meet a cross section of fasting people to gain a humorous and insightful feel of what it is like to fast in Britain.

Irshad is looking for interesting people or groups of people who want to share their funniest stories of fasting. Please contact philip.lindh[at]bbc.co.uk or irshad.ashraf[at]bbc.co.uk if you want to take part.

You should be available for filming between 4th – 16 August.

[iMuslim: I'm not so sure what's so funny about Ramadan - do you have any interesting stories? Plus doesn't it start in September this year?]

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ARE YOU AN OSAMA OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS ?

A forthcoming C4 documentary exploring Muslim culture through Muslims named Osama would like to talk to people with the name Osama (or Usama/Oussama, etc...). Farrah and Masood are travelling to Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, North American and the UK looking for 500 Osamas. If you are called Osama or know someone who is, then please contact us.  You may write to osamahq[at]osamaloves.com or go directly to our website and register your interest at http://osamaloves.channel4.com/referrers/new

[iMuslim: This reminds me of the comedy show: "Are You Dave Gorman?"]
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CHANNEL 4 WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ONLINE BRITISH MUSLIM COMMUNITY

Where do British Muslims go on the web? What sites excite them or entertain them? Do social networks and blogs cater to the needs of Muslims? Channel 4 is conducting research into the online habits and interests of British Muslim communities. If you would like to contribute to this research or have any comments to make, please e-mail Bushra at: BeeSiddiq[at]googlemail.com

[iMuslim: Sister Bushra actually asked me to post this ad a while ago, and I kept forgetting. Sorry sis! It's not actually for a TV programme; it is market research into the browsing habits of Brit Muslims to be used in shaping Ch4's website... or something like that, insha'Allah]

 

Many visitors to the 2,000-year-old Western Wall (also called the "WailingWall) leave notes bearing requests and prayers. Senator Obama did so during a 5:00am pre-dawn visit on Thursday, following a day spent meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

 Senator Obama’s prayer, written on a piece of hotel notepaper, was published by an Israeli newspaper, which was criticized for making it public.

"Lord – Protect my family and me," read the note published in the Maariv daily. "Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."

 But Shmuel Rabinovitz, the rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, said publishing the note was an intrusion of the presidential candidate's relationship with God.

Twice a year, when the cracks in the Wall become full, the prayers and messages are removed and buried - without being read - in strict accordance with Jewish law.

"The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them," he told Army Radio. The newspaper's action, he said "damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves."

Another Israeli paper, Yediot Ahronot, published an article saying it had also obtained the note but decided not to publish it to respect Mr. Obama's privacy.

Maariv published a photograph of the note, which it said had been removed from the wall by a student at a Jewish seminary immediately after Senator Obama left.

The handwriting appeared to match a message Obama wrote in the guest book at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, on Wednesday and was written on stationery from the King David Hotel, where Obama stayed while in Israel.

At the Western Wall, Mr. Obama was greeted by a crowd of curious onlookers and photographers. He donned a white skullcap, listened to a rabbi read a prayer, and inserted a folded white piece of paper between the stones.

Shameful.  This is a sacred and most personal communication between Senator and his Lord and Savior.

Why did I include a copy on this page?  Because it's already out there.  It never should have been removed from the wall...