American Thinker:

She is the biggest loose cannon in either campaign. She’s got a chip on her shoulder the size of a redwood and an overweening sense of entitlement that makes her one of the more unattractive advocates for Barack Obama – despite the fact that she’s his wife.

Michelle Obama is a disaster waiting to happen. Unless Obama sends her on a very long cruise or tries hiding her in a closet until after the election, there is little doubt in most observer’s minds that she will eventually, detonate a bomb or two that will require major damage control.

the blog québécois

the blog québécois

Saskatoon StarPhoenix:

Despite a growing gender gap on Canadian campuses, universities are balking at a fledgling movement in the United States to make special efforts to attract more men, such as adopting affirmative action initiatives that favour male applicants over female ones.

Campus recruiters and admissions managers from Memorial University of Newfoundland to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver say they are taking no extra steps to target male students.

Nor do they consider it a problem—at least not yet—that female university students outnumber men by about 60-40 on average nationwide.

If the situation were reversed—men had a 20% numerical advantage in seats, you’d better believe it would be a “problem.” The feministas would be howling from the rooftops that this constituted “systemic” discrimination.

It doesn’t at all surprise me that institutions that display an almost pathological hostility (for examples too numerous to go into here, check out Christina Hoff Summers’ The War Against Boys) towards boys and young men would wind up with such screwed-up demographics.

Since the only numbers that these bean-counters seem to understand are simple percentages and government dollars, the solution is evident: Until the universities can show good-faith efforts to recruit males until they achieve a more equitable balance, funding should be chopped to reflect the disparity. If they really need the money, I’m sure they can find it by shutting down some of the innumerable basket-weaving courses that infest critical faculties like Women’s Studies.

Barbie was right: Math is hard! But arithmetic is easy.

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I’m thinking that this could be an invaluable resource in the year ahead: zombietime’s Gallery of Unflattering Hillary Clinton photos.

*

the blog québécois

Back in the days of the Mulroney Government, a report on women and the criminal justice system was commissioned. The purpose of this was to funnel a few million in salaries to the otherwise-unemployable feminist hacks who wrote it.

The report is lost in the mists of the pre-Internet age; but allow me to summarize the authors’ conclusions: No woman should ever be sent to prison, for any reason whatsoever. Fraud, arson, murder—women would never commit these crimes unless they had a very good reason to do so, and a man made them do it anyway.

So everyone had a good laugh about it, and the report was shelved. But O happy day, they’ve blown the dust off just in time for this horrendous child-abuse case in Edmonton:

Darcy Bannert, 26, was handed an eight-year prison term this morning on convictions of sexual interference, unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon, common assault, uttering threats and two drug charges.

“This was not a circumstance of poor parenting skills,” said Court of Queens Bench Justice Darlene Acton. “Mr. Bannert was the player in control of this case and the focus in this particular case can only be on Mr. Bannert.

“This was not a momentary act or an angry outburst of a person who loses control because a child has misbehaved,” continued Acton.

“This was a systematic plan and an abusing and controlling pattern of behaviour within an environment where Mr. Bannert chose to focus his attentions on (the girl) in a physically abusive as well as sexually abusive manner.”

I had seen this picture of Jayne Mansfield before, but it was cropped to show her alone. Maybe because an unamused Sophia Loren, Evil Eye ablaze (I hope I, or rather Google, got the translation right), detracted from her charms.

Doing a bit of research, I found it was taken in 1957, at the Romanoff restaurant in Beverly Hills. Apparently Mansfield was notorious for these publicity stunts. At left, another photo from the same encounter.

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Salon: (You need a “site pass” —by clicking on the featured ad—to read the article in full.)

Free from handcuffs, but under the watchful eye of guards, the two brides wore street clothes during the ceremony, which was performed by a minister. The Mrs. and Mrs. inmates’ names were not released, but one is serving a 34-month sentence for breaking and entering, assault with a weapon and aggravated assault, while the other has been doing six years hard time for manslaughter, assault and assaulting a peace officer. The wedding night was reportedly chaste, since the prisoners must continue to sleep in separate cells. But both brides are scheduled to be released by the end of this year, on Nov. 18 and Dec. 6, respectively.

Not everyone involved in the wedding shed tears of joy. The Canadian prison guards’ union opposed the match. “It’s the value and ethics of getting married in jail while they’re serving time together in the same institution,” said Kevin Grabowsky, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers. “It’s not Club Fed, where you go and meet your spouse.” He raised theoncern that the union might cause security problems; for instance, if the couple had a “marital spat,” or if one spouse had a dispute with a guard, the other might try to exact revenge. Talk about a killjoy. C’mon, Grabowsky, lighten up, it’s a wedding! Also, haven’t you ever heard the one about how love will find a way?[emphasis mine]

Edmonton Sun:

Two female inmates, who married in a quiet ceremony in January at the Edmonton prison – the first time a same-sex marriage was held inside a women’s prison – have endured a stormy relationship right from the very beginning, said Grabowsky.

And when the pair get into squabbles, like the one that left one of them suffering a swollen eye, the other takes out her frustrations on the guards, he said.

Guards have had a door slammed in their face and have had profanities hurled at them, he said. The inmates have also smashed up appliances and broken windows.

CSC offered the women counselling to get through their rough patches and the warden even played Yagtzee [sic] with the pair to ease their tensions, Grabowsky said.

But nothing has seemed to work.

“These two feed off each other,” Grabowsky said. “If one does something to piss off the other, we’re the ones who take the heat.”

Separating the pair by sending one to another institution would put an end to the situation, Grabowsky said.

It was when all else failed that guards at the jail hoped one of the pair would be transferred.

But when the Correctional Service of Canada balked, 14 of 15 guards at the jail asked for transfers out of the maximum security cell block where the female inmates live in different cells.

This time of the year people start looking for ways of giving their mothers something a bit more than some after thought flowers or some lame card that one found in the supermarket. Well one could suggest you might want to check out Coca Cola Gifts from Miss Gift. They are the most popular it seems.

Of course, they have other products and they are happy to help you with their Gift Basket Ideas for those of you in need of a bit of inspiration. One of the good things about being online is ability to be creative and clever with gifts while relaxing. It would be a shame not take advantage would it not? This post is sponsored.

Well Mothers Day is approaching, as opposed to Mothering Sunday which is the UK version, my mother gets Mothers Day flowers for both as we are a transatlantic type family. I have found over the years that trying to get a present for one’s mother on her birthday is hard enough so trying anything other than just flowers on Mother’s Day is just nuts. If you really want to get brownie points it helps if you get high quality flowers from a good source that go to lengths to make sure the flowers will last as long as possible. This post is sponsored but is also a pleasure to write.

Back to the trees, Keef!

She lives!

Paul McCartney’s estranged wife Heather Mills yesterday insisted she still loved the former Beatle, despite divorce proceedings which have turned ugly in recent months.

She said she would never recover from her relationship with McCartney, 64.

“I will always love Paul. He is the father of my child but I just have to move on and deal with it.

And she’s . . . hungry!

But Mills, 39, also said in a separate interview that securing a divorce deal with McCartney was like “getting blood out of a stone”.

the blog québécois

It might become a more common description than you bargained on.

NEWS.com.au:

Mexican men who display extreme jealousy or avoid sex with their wives could be tried in court and punished under a new law.
Men who phone their wives every half hour to check up on them, constantly suspect them of infidelity or try to control the way they dress are committing the crime of jealousy, special prosecutor Alicia Elena Perez Duarte told Excelsior newspaper.

Those who stop talking to their wives, avoid sex or try to convince suspicious spouses they are “crazy” even if they are caught red-handed having an affair, are guilty of indifference, she said.

Men found guilty of jealousy or indifference could face up to five years in prison, the newspaper said. Mexico’s individual states will determine the punishments, it said.

If you have stock in Mexican wedding caterers, dump it now.

the blog québécois

Because they are nurturing and considerate of others. And pretty good actresses, too.

Background: A Carson City (Nevada?) council meeting. The black woman is identified as Vera Robles Dewitt, owner of Carson Bail Bonds; the other is Carson Public Works Commission chairman Jan Schaefer.

Warning: Sounds. Uh, make that sounds.

For the plight of women in Iran. Dymphna of the Gates of Vienna has written him an open letter and asks that others contact him about this issue. The prides himself on being the first Muslim in Congress so lets see if he can do anything to help the plight of Iranian women under Madman Inadinnerjacket. Rep Ellison took the oath of office on the Koran, which he shouldn’t have able to do in my opinion, so he needs to show us why that was a good idea and do something useful.

Reuters:

Miss Israel has been given permission not to carry her assault rifle during service in the Israeli army because she says it bruises her legs.

Reigning beauty queen Yael Nezri, a private who recently completed basic training, said the bruises were making it difficult for her to model in photo shoots.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Nezri, 18, had been granted an exemption by her commanders during her two-year army stint.

Huh? The standard Israeli infantry rifle is the M-16, which is about 40 inches in length. If it’s slung over your shoulder, unless you’ve got a freakishly-short torso, the barrel or stock is going to be clanging into your rear end at worst. If you’re carrying the rifle in “ready” mode (e.g., on patrol) and you can’t stop getting it tangled up with your legs, you’re soon going to have bigger problems than a few bruises.

the blog québécois

Because they have their priorities in order:

On Thursday, Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, compared climate sceptics to advocates of Islamic terror. Neither, she said, should have access to the media.

Well, that, and because it gives people who look like Princess Anne in drag something to do.

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what’s the hook, the twist
within this
verbose mystery?

afi

National Review Online:

Recruiting women into the organized feminist movement begins with convincing women that they are victims. Recruits are told that women suffer because of an oppressive societal structure the patriarchy which gives men power over women. Marriage lies at patriarchys core: Traditional marriage and family is a trap for women. Men are viewed with suspicion, potentially violent and looking to oppress. Salvation lies in an enlightened workplace, with generous paid maternity leave, free onsite daycare, and salaries that ignore factors like the number of hours you work or your job responsibilities, but ensure men and women are all paid the same.

Job-hunters with a degree in Women’s Studies might want to play down that fact. Personnel directors are beginning to understand that it is almost invariably the sign of at best a moron; at worst, an abrasive, combative, litigious moron.

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The Sun:

BRIDE Carly OBrien wanted a big wedding so she wore a dress weighing 25 STONE.

But the 25,000 creation, to outdo model Jordans, was 8ft WIDE and got STUCK in the church door.

It took TWENTY people an hour and a half to heave 16-year-old Carly through and up the aisle followed by her 60FT LONG train.

The 30-layer tulle dress, covered with 3,000 Swarovski crystals, diamond head-dress and train meant dad Frank, 40, had to walk in front as there was no room alongside.

Carly, who spent NINE AND A HALF HOURS getting into it, was exhausted when she got to the altar in Gloucester.

After the ceremony groom Michael Coffey, 17, and 14 relatives carried her out.

For non-UK readers, 1 stone = 14 pounds or about 6.4 Kg. So the dress clocks in at 350 pounds.

Other interesting numbers: Ages of bride and groom. The odds you could get at Ladbrokes on this thing lasting more than a year.

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