If there was a single argument for the absolute separation of church and state, this fits.
bq,, Amid Abuse of Girls in Brazil, Abortion Debate Flares
The doctors' actions set off a swirl of controversy. A Brazilian archbishop summarily excommunicated everyone involved -- the doctors for performing the abortion and the girl's mother for allowing it -- except for the stepfather, who stands accused of raping the girl over a number of years.
"The law of God is above any human law," said José Cardoso Sobrinho, the archbishop, who argued that while rape was bad, abortion was even worse.
...
In more than 80 percent of the cases, fathers or stepfathers committed the sexual abuse, doctors at the clinic said.
Muppets are, without a doubt, one of my favourite things. Combine them with Tina Fey and it's hard to describe the sheer joy of the moment.
An agreement to share information seems unlikely to stop people from shooting each other in the streets of Vancouver. Presumably, the information to be shared was relevant several months ago.
"Oppal and Mexican officials join forces to fight gangs": http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090324.wbcgangs24/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090324.wbcgangs24
DIRK MEISSNER, The Canadian Press, March 24, 2009 at 3:52 AM EDTVICTORIA -- Criminal gangs don't pay attention to international borders, a fact that spurred a meeting yesterday between the attorneys-general of British Columbia and the northern Mexican state of Baja California looking for ways to fight the transnational gang network.
Baja California's Rommel Moreno Manjarrez and B.C.'s Wally Oppal signed a statement of intent pledging to share information to fight drug-trafficking gangs who kill to protect their turf.
The information-sharing statement could ultimately lead to B.C. justice officials working in Mexico to help catch and jail gang members, they said.
It's been a long time since cycling's been covered in the New York Times, and an even longer time since any even outside of Le Tour has been mentioned (with the occasional North American event garnering coverage.)
I blame the Guinness.
Every once in a while when I refer to my car as the Swedish Rocket people ask me if I have a "Saab"http://www.saab.com/. Another reaction I get on rare occasions is that it sounds like a foreign exchange girlfriend.
The most common reaction, of course, is just one of confusion. I'm used to that though (and frankly, it's not only when talking about my car...)
Sweden is somewhat wisely deciding not to bail Saab out. This may result in a bankruptcy, but it does seems more rational than the American strategy of propping up businesses that have a failing history.
I do hope Volvo doesn't die. I like that new XC60.
Sweden Says No to Saving Saab, a National Icon
By SARAH LYALL, Published: March 22, 2009TROLLHATTAN, Sweden -- Saab Automobile may be just another crisis-ridden car company in an industry full of them. But just as the fortunes of Flint, Mich., are permanently entangled with General Motors, so it is impossible to find anyone in this city in southwest Sweden who is not somehow connected to Saab.
Which makes it all the more wrenching that the Swedish government has responded to Saab's desperate financial situation by saying, essentially, tough luck. Or, as the enterprise minister, Maud Olofsson, put it recently, "The Swedish state is not prepared to own car factories."
Nerts. The sad thing is this guy is part of the Republican leadership. People actually look up to this guy. I'm especially fond of his warming being part of the cooling process logic. That's just brilliant.
Michael Steele: 'We Are Not Warming'
March 20, 2009, 11:39 am, By Kate GalbraithThe Republican National Committee Chairman, Michael Steele, has weighed in on climate change.
In a March 6 radio appearance that is only now percolating through the blogosphere, Mr. Steele apparently fielded a skeptic's question about global warming. As transcribed by the liberal blog, the Huffington Post, Mr. Steele thanked the questioner and replied this way:
We are cooling. We are not warming. The warming you see out there, the supposed warming, and I am using my finger quotation marks here, is part of the cooling process. Greenland, which is now covered in ice, it was once called Greenland for a reason, right? Iceland, which is now green. Oh I love this. Like we know what this planet is all about. How long have we been here? How long? No very long.
Dame Very Lynn turns 82 today, my mother another year older in her early 60s, it's the first day of spring and the anniversary of Einstein's publication of his theory of relativity.
Battlestar Galactica goes off the air in one last finale and apparently tonight's episode of Dollhouse
It really is quite a day.
This move makes sense. It's always better when politicians represent the ridings they live in, or as close as possible. It's a loss for Vancouver though. Wally was a good MLA.
Oppal to run in new riding in May
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | 7:03 AM PT, CBC News
Attorney General Wally Oppal made it official Tuesday night that he would be running as a Liberal candidate in the Delta South riding during the May 12 provincial election.
Oppal's move from his current riding had been anticipated, since Delta South's current MLA Val Roddick said she would not seek re-election.
There's not much information here so it's truly hard to know what happened. That's done little to ease rampant speculation on the part of the media.
Nonetheless, you should always where a helmet when you ski. You're probably wearing a hat anyway--why not wear one that just might save your life?
Natasha Richardson, Actress, Dies at 45
By BRUCE WEBER, Published: March 18, 2009Natasha Richardson, a Tony Award-winning actress whose career melded glamorous celebrity with the bloodline of theater royalty, died Wednesday in a Manhattan hospital, where she had been flown suffering from head injuries after a skiing accident on Monday north of Montreal. She was 45 and lived in Manhattan and Millbrook, N.Y.
