cultural observation
grrlscientist | November 4, 2006The results of a recent poll show that the British think that Bush is the second most dangerous man in the world, just behind bin Laden. But I think the Brits are wrong; Bush is more dangerous than bin Laden because bin Laden is sitting in a dank cave somewhere in the Middle East, surrounded by a ragtag handful of poorly educated misfits and losers, whereas Bush is an incompetent bible-thumping elitist with anger management issues who is currently sitting on top of the biggest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the entire world, surrounded by a ragtag group of professional crooks, pedophiles and…
grrlscientist | November 3, 2006Well, I'm shocked -- simply shocked, I tell you!
After Pastor Ted Haggard publically denied allegations of a homosexual affair, senior church officials admitted that Pastor Ted Haggard has confessed to some of the claims made by a former male escort.
Thursday morning, Mike Jones, a former male escort, was a guest on a Denver radio talk show and said Pastor Haggard paid him for sex over the past 3 years. Jones also claims Haggard used drugs with him.
Tsk, tsk.
Currently, the situation is being investigated by an independent panel of leaders from four outside churches. The leaders are from…
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006
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Sheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, the mufti of Australia's biggest mosque in Sydney who described unveiled women as "uncovered meat", refused to step down after he was suspended from preaching for three months. The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, said that stronger action should be taken against Hilaly.
"I believe that unless this matter is satisfactorily resolved by the Islamic community, there is a real worry that some lasting damage will be done," said Howard.
As far as I am concerned, the mufti should never be allowed to preach again after making such a crude and inflamatory…
grrlscientist | October 26, 2006
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Does anyone have any doubts as to the extremist nature of Islam when the senior Muslim cleric in Australia and New Zealand blamed women for their own rapes?
A senior Muslim cleric compared women who go without a head scarf to "uncovered meat" left out for scavengers, drawing widespread condemnation and calls Thursday for his resignation.
First of all, as a woman, I deeply resent being compared to a piece of meat, as if women's only purpose in life is to be consumed by men.
Second, I am appalled and outraged that any rational human being would ever say that women are responsible for a…
grrlscientist | October 26, 2006.
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The petroleum giants were raking in money hand over fist while all of us were sweating blood over gasoline prices that had reached $4 per gallon in many parts of the country -- all during the so-called "gas shortage" caused by Gulf War 2.
Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday said its profit rose to $10.49 billion in the third quarter, making it the second-largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly traded U.S. company.
The world's biggest oil company said its net income amounted to $1.77 per share for the July-September period, up from $9.92 billion, or $1.58 per share, a year ago…
grrlscientist | October 21, 2006Thanks to my blog colleague, John, I learned that I am special in one way ...
HowManyOfMe.com
There are:0people with my namein the U.S.A.
How many have your name?
According to the search engine on that site, there are 3,000 people in the USA who share my first name and 0 people with my last name. I guess I am special because I don't exist at all. Hrmmm.
grrlscientist | October 21, 2006A friend emailed this image, prompting me to ask; when will the pastor of this congregation be arrested and detained indefinitely as a terrorist?
A reader points out that this sign was created using an online church sign generator. Well, of course! That explains why the sign was not vandalized.
Create your own church sign and feel free to share it with my readers!
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tags: Bush, politics, terrorism, freedom of speech
grrlscientist | October 20, 2006
What is a good way to get kids to read particular books? Ban those particular books and then place them on public display. Of course, if you are genuinely banning those books for being controversial, there are problems associated with this;
"But I don't think we should tease kids into reading a book by trying to say, 'there might be something juicy or controversial in this book. Therefore, it would be a good one for you to sneak home and read."' [Cited story]
Speaking as a former kid myself, I can say that banning particular books -- titles that you want kids to read -- is an especially…
grrlscientist | October 17, 2006
Image source.
As some of you know, I have been seeking a job for several years (I won't embarass myself by saying exactly how many years). Needless to say, I have made a few discoveries along the way, one of which is how to decipher job ads. Below the fold is a dictionary of words and phrases that a friend sent to me. These words and phrases are often included in job ads for jobs that turn out to be something other than what they should have been based on the ad description. Feel free to add your own, too.
Ability to take charge: Your boss works 60-70 hours a week and has been looking…
grrlscientist | October 17, 2006
Gallup Poll Results of
Congressional Job Approval by
American voters,
9-12 October 2006.
If I was a republican, I'd be upset with the party leadership because they are clearly not listening to the average American voter. Instead of circling the wagons, key republicans should be asking difficult questions of their colleagues -- questions that are necessary to begin purging the party of those individuals whose blind ambition and personal corruption are trashing all republicans.
As the midterm elections approach, members of Congress understandably can be nervous about being able to keep…
grrlscientist | October 15, 2006Wealth accumulated by First World countries is largely based on riches taken from Third World countries. For example, the destruction of India's textile industry, the takeover of the spice trade, the genocide of native American tribes, and African slavery all served to fuel the Industrial Revolution. Below the fold is an interesting article that discusses the links between the accumulation of wealth concomitant with the over-exploitation of nature and how they cause poverty.
I am interested to read your reactions to this article, dear readers.
Two of the great economic myths of our time…
grrlscientist | October 14, 2006If you were 62, unemployed and broke, what would you do to avoid living on the streets? Well, if you are Timothy Bowers, you rob a bank. ...
... and make sure that you get caught.
Apparently, Bowers is like most people out there, because he cannot pay all his living expenses by working at a minimum wage job.
Judge Angela White asked if he truly wanted to spend the next three years in prison.
"That would suit me fine," Bowers said. "At age 66, I would receive full Social Security benefits," which he can collect as soon as he gets out of prison.
My only comment is that the bank teller could…
grrlscientist | October 14, 2006Does anyone else out there in America think this is long overdue?
More than 650 economists, including five winners of the Nobel Prize for economics, called Wednesday for an increase in the minimum wage, saying the value of the last increase, in 1997, has been "fully eroded."
Critics claim that most people who earn minimum wage are teenagers with after-school jobs, but this is just not true. However, even if this were true, I don't think this is a valid argument against paying fair wages.
The economists wrote, "While controversy about the precise employment effects of the minimum wage…
grrlscientist | October 14, 2006I ran across an online quiz today that claims it can identify if you tend to be more of a socialist or capitalist. I think I am more of a capitalist than a socialist, despite my score (below the fold) so I think this quiz just used the wrong statements or made the statements too black-and-white for a realist, such as myself, to answer in any way other than "gee, that depends upon the circumstances, so therefore, I will disagree with this statement as written."
What were your scores and what did you think of the way the statements were written?
You Are 24% Capitalist, 76% Socialist
You…
grrlscientist | October 14, 2006I want to thank several people who have recently sent gifts to me during my hospital stay (yes, I am still in the hospital by the way, and probably will remain so for another month).
I know that some of my benefactors would like to remain anonymous, so I'll just leave notice of my appreciation on my blog where I know you will find it (you know who you are, and you can reveal yourselves, or not, as you wish).
Gifts that I recently received are books (ooo, lots of beautiful books) and a DVD;
Books of poetry and prose by one of my two favorite living poets, the amazing and gifted Mary Oliver…
grrlscientist | October 13, 2006This is a big surprise (not): human homosexuality cannot be viewed as "unnatural", according to the Oslo Natural History Museum.
"We may have opinions on a lot of things, but one thing is clear -- homosexuality is found throughout the animal kingdom, it is not against nature," an exhibit statement said.
Homosexuality has been observed in more than 1,500 animal species, and is well documented for 500 species. However, that said, the reason that homosexuality exists remains elusive is because it appears to be a genetic dead-end.
But nonetheless, there are some hypotheses; males can…
grrlscientist | October 11, 2006
The title says it all.
tags: surveillance, politics, gays, humor, sarcasm
grrlscientist | October 9, 2006
Even within the +/- 3.2% margin of error of this poll, I have to ask;
What is wrong with 22.8-29.2% of Americans??
GrrlScientist Poll Question; (below the fold)
What's wrong with twenty-six percent of Americans?
they think that our congresscritters are above all laws
they think that rethuglicans can do no wrong
they don't think
they have double-digit IQs
they blame Al Gore for losing the election
another answer of your choice (please leave in comments)
According to a recent CNN poll data, a clear majority (52%) of Americans think Hastert should resign (Also, a Bloomberg story).…
grrlscientist | October 8, 2006Okay, dear readers, I finally figured out one way to circumvent computer security on the hospital computer. Since I am currently in the hospital, this crappy computer of theirs is my only link with the blogosphere, so this is truly good news. YeeHAW! As a result, and starting with this image, I now can share a few things with you that I know you will truly enjoy!
Image moved below the fold due to slow download times ..
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This picture lacks something ...
(Orphaned image)
tags: republicans, TIMEmagazine, Bush, politics, satire, humor
grrlscientist | September 8, 2006
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American melting pot
The great Anerican melting pot.
What good ingredients,
Liberty and immigrants.
They brought the country's customs,
Their language and their ways.
They filled the factories, tilled the soil,
Helped build the U.S.A.
Go on and ask your grandma,
Hear what she has to tell
How great to be an American
And something else as well.
Have Americans forgotten our beginnings?
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tags: schoolhouse rock, education, teaching, streaming video