Derek V
Derek V's JournalGirl power: Friends shot with Malala share her joy
Source: Associated Press
By DANICA KIRKA
Dec. 9, 2014 6:01 PM EST
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Malala Yousafszai wasn't alone when she was shot by the Taliban for having the temerity to demand an education.
Two other girls were also attacked that day in Pakistan and Malala hasn't forgotten them. She brought her friends with her to Oslo, Norway, so they can share her joy as she receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
Shazia Ramzan, 16, and Kainat Riaz, 17, hugged their friend and posed for pictures with her Tuesday before telling reporters that all three are bound together in what they called "Mission Malala" — joining with people around the world to make sure that young girls get a chance to study.
"When you are educated, you are able to do everything," Riaz said. "If you are not educated, you can't do anything."
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bf95d9dc3f504cbb9c31230131f548af/girl-power-friends-shot-malala-share-her-joy
Never go back, Malala!
Ex-ABC Reporter Ann Compton Recalls Obama Profanity-Laced Rant Against the Press
Mr. President, we need more rants from you, public ones that don't have to be profane, but definitely need to be angry. My target selection would be:
60% against the GOP
20% against the Press
10% against FOX, which isn't press, but propaganda
10% against chickenshit Dems, too scared to run on their president's record
Iraqi leader asks US for more air power, weaponry
Source: Associated Press
By ROBERT BURNS
Dec. 9, 2014 8:56 AM EST
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday that his army is taking the offensive against the Islamic State group but needs more air power and heavy weaponry to prevail.
Hagel, who flew to Baghdad to get a first-hand report on progress against the Islamic State militants, held a series of meetings with top Iraqi government officials and conferred with American military commanders.
He met with al-Abadi at the prime minister's office after addressing a group of U.S. and Australian soldiers at Baghdad International Airport. Al-Abadi told Hagel as their meeting began that "Daesh (Islamic State) is on the descent at the moment." He said their capabilities had been reduced.
"We are very thankful for the support that's been given to us," al-Abadi said. "Our forces are very much advancing on the ground. But they need more air power and more ... heavy weaponry. We need that."
U.S. officials assert that the Iraqis' biggest need is competent military leadership, not additional military hardware.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/51e3094110574790b37e1c858bcba5b1/hagel-baghdad-meet-iraqi-officials
That last line.
Monday Challenge II: Hugely Popular TV Shows...That You HATE or HATED!*
*a tip of the hat to fellow duer IrishEyes for suggesting this.
Unlike last week's challenge, there are no numerical restrictions. Post as many, or as few, as you want. Here are mine:
Designing Women. Judgemental, filled with cheap applause lines, and Delta Burke's addressing of the maid as "Con-su-AYLA!"
Lena Dunham's Girls. "Yeah, sure, abuse us, we love it!" Feminism set back half a century. Congrats, Overly-Tattooed One!
Ally McBeal. Not much better than Dunham.
Friends. Just...please don't get me started on this fantasy show.
The Big Bang Theory. Annoying. As. Fuck.
Battlestar: Galactica. The new one, not the 1970s original. It was supposed to be a sci-fi series, but every time I tuned in, it was a sex scene.
The A-Team. Every notice that, despite expending more ordance than the entire Korean War, nobody ever got KILLED in this series?
Anything by Tyler Perry.
Bob's Burgers. Why is the wife's voice deeper than that of my former drill sergeant in the Army?
Dallas.
Dynasty.
Falcon Crest.
Melrose Place.
Beverly Hills 90210. A soap is a soap, regardless of broadcast time.
Star Trek: TNG and Star Trek: DS9. (Yes, I liked Janeway.)
Every series featuring Soulful, Brooding, Emotionally-Wounded vampires.
thirtysomething. Boomer navel-contemplation at its most annoying, and
Northern Exposure. Just FREEZE TO DEATH ALREADY!
ALL "REALITY" TV series. Oxymoronic!
There will be more from me. Count on it!
Russia wants Israeli explanation for 'aggressive actions' in Syria
Source: Jerusalem Post
By JPOST.COM STAFF \ 12/08/2014 14:35
The Kremlin is seeking clarifications from Israel regarding the air strikes that hit Syria on Sunday reportedly destroying Russian-made arms bound for Hezbollah, the DPA news agency reported on Monday.
Israel has not officially acknowledged carrying out the attack, though that did not stop Iran and Syria from placing blame on Jerusalem.
"Moscow is deeply worried by this dangerous development, the circumstances of which demand an explanation," a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Moscow is quoted as saying.
The Russian government sent a letter to the United Nations protesting Israel’s “aggressive action.”
Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Russia-wants-Israeli-explanation-for-aggressive-actions-in-Syria-383986
Anyone familiar with my posts is aware that I'm no fan of The Bibi, but this---"The Russian government sent a letter to the United Nations protesting Israel’s “aggressive action"---is Onion-worthy!
Our Mirror is Dead: a Eulogy for Stephen Colbert
(Edited from original version.)
The man, of course, will live on, taking over The Late Show from David Letterman next year. But the host of The Colbert Report no longer exists, and that is a tragedy for our country.
Jon Stewart of The Daily Show is, to be certain, a valuable national asset who, four nights a week, provides a valuable service to America. But Stewart is a gatherer and transmitter: He absorbs, in a very gifted way few others can match, the national zeitgeist, then coalesces it into a very coherent, very funny message, which is then broadcast to the nation. Jon Stewart tells us what's going on.
Not Colbert. Instead, through irony, satire and, yes, deliberate sarcasm. he showed us what we're doing as a people. For nearly a decade now, the cipher named Stephen Colbert, created by the artist named Stephen Colbert, has been our collective national mirror.
In Oliver Stone's Nixon, there's a scene late in the movie that I find myself reminded of: The Supreme Court has just ruled against him, and the House Panel has just voted Articles of Impeachment. The now-disgraced President, with a drink in his hand, gazes at the portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who bested him in electoral battle, and continues to do so in the hearts of most Americans. Speaking directy to the portrait of his handsome, beloved predecessor, Sir Anthony Hopkins, in the title role, delivers one of the most searing lines in the history of cinema:
"When they look at you," says the half-drunk President, "they see what they'd like to be. When they look at me, they see what they are."
It is precisely this kind of scathing self-reflection that The Colbert Report has been providing to this country lo these many years. TCR never once flinched from showing America to America. This service will be sorely missed.
Derek Vanderxxxxxx
Read and Watch if You GIVE Half a Fuck about Your Country
From Slate:
Dec. 7 2014 5:07 PM
It began as a peaceful gathering against the recent grand violence on Saturday night. But the protest in Berkeley took a violent turn as windows were smashed and stores were looted by a small group of demonstrators. Another group of protesters threw rocks and bottles at police officers. One officer suffered a dislocated shoulder when he was hit by a sandbag, according to the Oakland Tribune.
Police hit back and used rubber bullets as well as tear gas to try to break up the protests, reports Reuters. A total of six people were arrested, and three officers were injured.
Protesters complained of excessive force by police, insisting those who looted stores and became violent were a tiny minority of those demonstrating against police violence. And it wasn’t just protesters who suffered the effects of the tear gas. The San Francisco Chronicle explains:
Minutes before the police dispersed the crowd at about 10:30 p.m., several concerts had let out in the area. Well-dressed concertgoers waiting to pay in a nearby garage were enveloped in a cloud of stinging gas, sending them running into elevators.
“I’m not sure that’s necessary,” said Elaine Dunlap, 74, who had just attended a Paul Dresher concert at Zellerbach Playhouse. “I think people have a right to protest, certainly for an issue as big as this.”
She was sitting with her husband, Greg, tears streaming down their faces.
“I’ve never experienced that and I’m an old hippie,” she said.
Today's resisters need to talk to some of the surviving 1960s "radicals," because I don't think "The whole world is texting!" or "The whole world is tweeting!" can ever evoke the mental imagery of unseen judges, gazing upon the authorities, and finding them wanting.
I'm rooting for the Ducks...I guess
Oregon is the only one of the final four that hasn't won a championship, so among the teams chosen I'll be cheering for them. But I was really hoping that a Baylor, a TCU, or even an Ole Miss just to shake up The Usual Suspects. (Grrrrr!)
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Name: DerekGender: Male
Member since: Mon Nov 24, 2014, 03:20 AM
Number of posts: 532
