"My duty is to save the world....."

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaahaahahahaha.

What a complete twit.

God save the Queen. May she live long and prosperous.

Don't burn the Quran plus We Heart Hitler

What publication could this be?

Protesters Raise Mexican Flag Outside Phoenix Jail

Soooooo.....can the Sheriff's department go out and start asking these traitors for ID?

It's a short walk to the inside.

Squirrel anyone?

As someone who, growing up, put lots of fat sassy tree meat (squirrels)
in the pot, I can tell you that Squirrels taste like what they eat. I discovered this the first time I took some stew squirrels from a pine bush and the resultant fricassée tasted like biting into a car air freshener.

Mmmmmmmm.

Friday Afternoon Musings...

This week has been quite busy so the posting has been a bit skewed.....deal with it. Nobody pays me to do this : )

There have been a number of things I wanted to write about, but unfortunately SMW just has not found the time yet. As a result, I am trying to synthesize a number of things in one post. Indulge.

******

Earlier this week SMW was dining with some American friends (all women) and one of them announced (with disgust) that Barack Obama was going to be appearing on the view. This woman (who I believe is a Democrat) relayed the information with disgust, asking "is this what the Presidency has come to???" Everyone at the table (Republican, Democrat, Independent) was equally displeased by the news, even those who for the first 30 seconds could not believe it was true. The Presidency has turned into a popularity contest - and the President is losing. Here I was at a table of all American women (except myself) between 25-45, some married, some single, some mothers, from the East and West Coasts, all of them with well established professional careers, and they were all telling me they believed Obama going on The View was a joke. Presidential candidates go on talk shows, not presidents. Unless of course you view "The Presidency" as one big, long popularity contest. Do you ever get the impression that Barack Obama has picked on as a child, adolescent or young adult? It's hard to say since so few details are actually known about these times, except of course what Obama himself has written (and yes, I've read it). President Obama reminds me of a child who went through a bit of teasing, maybe felt like he didn't fit in as a kid, who felt like he was never getting what he deserved, what he was entitled to and vowed that one day he would 'show them'. And now he can say "look at ME ME ME, I'm the PRESIDENT. BOW DOWN America." The condescending tone, the smirk expressions, the viciousness of attacks launched by Obama's people, the "I won" attitude, the incredible amount of time devoted to golf, holidays and partying since he has taken office; all signs that the role of President is not nearly as important to Obama as the title, the perks, and the popularity. For Obama it is all about being President, not acting like one.

*****************************

This week people have been talking about Britain's capitulation being complete. From a political standpoint maybe, but the masses have not yet reached that point (although they are close). SMW has been seeing more and more people in unexpected places indicating they are not happily skipping along the path to dhimmitude. Last night SMW was dining out in a neighbourhood where a woman without a niqab is the exception and I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. Although there were multiple men's bathrooms I had to walk to the far end of the restaurant to find the single woman's toilet. As I was washing my hands another infidelista came in and said to me (a complete stranger): "Do you not find it odd that there are 15 men's toilets and only one for women?" SMW smiled and laughed and then the lady added, " I guess that is because women in this neighbourhood are not supposed to be seen. How dreadful." I must admit I was very surprised that a British woman would say this to me, a complete stranger, in the middle of one of London's most notorious neighbourhoods. Perhaps there is more brewing beneath the surface here than I realize.....?

*******************************************

Chelsea Clinton's a vegan? Huh. All the jokes about Bill staying away from the bridesmaids are wearing a little thin.....

***************************************
BP establishes $100M fund to help displaced oil workers.

BP today announced that it will establish a $100 million charitable fund to support unemployed rig workers experiencing economic hardship as a result of the moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed by the United States federal government.

The Rig Worker Assistance Fund will be administered through the Gulf Coast Restoration and Protection Foundation, a supporting organization of The Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF).

This voluntary donation fulfills the commitment BP announced on June 16 to provide $100 million in assistance as a gesture of good will for the people of the Gulf Coast region.

****************************************************************

Alright that's all for now.

Victoria Beckham on the cover of Turkish 'Vogue'

Personally I don't think this cover is nearly as nice as the previous four Vogue covers on which she has appeared, but it has a certain group talking.....

Victoria pushed back by heading out to Notting Hill in a smokin' hot, sinfully short, red dress.

Smart women like to have fun and look good.

Obama and The View

This isn't really worth me writing about - really is anyone surprised at this point???

Nonethless - I enjoyed reading what the boys at Hillbuzz had to say, since it sums up my own feelings rather well:

Interestingly, Governor of Pennsylvania and fellow Democrat Ed Rendell told MSNBC that “The View” was more like “The Jerry Springer Show” than a real news outlet and suggested maybe the President of the United States should demonstrate a little more dignity than that.

As for me, I’m not surprised about either “The View” or the Jamboree. Whoopi and Friends will no doubt give Øbasm the ego stroking he feels he so richly deserves and, since I don’t watch the show anyway, I couldn’t care less.

Treason

There is no other name for this.

Sweden is an absolute disgrace (and I didn't need the current story to figure that out).

Michigan University Student Expelled over Beliefs on Homosexuality

U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Ward’s lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. She was removed from the school’s counseling program last year because she refused to counsel homosexual clients.

The university contended she violated school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics.

“Christian students shouldn’t be expelled for holding to and abiding by their beliefs,” said ADF senior counsel David French.

“Furthermore, the university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values,” he wrote in a portion of his ruling posted by The Detroit News. “In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.”

Ward’s attorneys claim the university told her she would only be allowed to remain in the program if she went through a “remediation” program so that she could “see the error of her ways” and change her belief system about homosexuality.

Well this is interesting. The university dismisses her claiming she is imposing her beliefs on others - then tells her she can come back as long as she lets the university impose its beliefs on her. Get it?? You cannot have your own beliefs unless they conform with ours.

I could see this having merit if she agreed to take on homosexual clients, and then in therapy sessions tried to proselytize or tell them that they can be 'cured' of their homosexuality - that would definitely fall into the 'imposing your values' category, but based on the report this was not the case. If this were a medical student refusing to treat homosexual patients (or Hindu, or Muslim, or transgendered) one would completely understand the school's decision to remove her from the program. However, when it comes to providing psychological counselling (particularly if it is relationship counselling), the counsellor becomes active in encouraging and repairing the relationship which goes directly against his/her moral beliefs. If I went to a hospital and they refused to treat me because I was white, I would sue. If I went to a therapist who then suggested I go elsewhere because he/she felt they were not the best person to treat me due to conflicting belief systems I would shrug my shoulders and then take my business elsewhere.

Team Pelosi Handbag .....

Puke.

Renowned fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, apparently not content with leaving the wrap dress as her lasting contribution to the progress of humankind, has entered the political arena this season with a bold new act of haute couture: a tote bag inspired by, and intended to raise money for, House Speaker and San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

Canadian Dhimmi: Subscribe Today

Click here!!!

Over half of Canadian back Burqa Ban

Well, well, you don't say.....

The Leger Marketing online poll found 54% of people surveyed said the government should follow France's lead and not allow women to wear burkas in public for safety and transparency reasons.

Good News: Anti-Israel boycott calls FAIL

A call to boycott Israeli-made Ahava products in a Maryland beauty supply store backfired last week when pro- Israel activists countered by purchasing the shop’s entire Ahava inventory.

When the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington found out that the pro-Palestinian group Sabeel DC had organized a protest and boycott call at Ulta in Silver Spring last Saturday, the organization sent out an action alert urging supporters to visit the store and buy Ahava.

“They cleaned the shelves out. It was the best Ahava sales weekend the store has ever seen. They had to order an expedited shipment” afterward, said Arielle Farber, director of Israel and International Affairs for the Community Relations Council. “The greater Washington community is not going to stand for this campaign to delegitimize Israel.”

Rona Kramer, a Maryland state senator, was among those answering the Community Relations Council call. When she heard of the boycott, she though “it’s a good opportunity for the community to show its support for Israel.”

Though in the midst of a re-election campaign, Kramer pushed back her schedule to hit the store on Saturday morning. When she got there at 10:15 a.m. the store had already sold out of many Ahava lines, but she managed to tally up a $200 bill.

It was the first time she had ever bought Ahava products, a brand that uses Dead Seaminerals in hand creams, body lotions and other beauty products. “I’ve been using them since I bought them and they’re wonderful,” she said.

Things are getting a little uncomfortable...

The level of vicious hatred of Jews floating around Europe and elsewhere has me feeling very uneasy. Very uneasy.

While the Israeli military helicopter crash in the heart of Romania was not widely reported in the European country, any reports on the incident in local websites were swamped with anti-Semitic talkbacks.

*****

Among the incidents detailed in the report were:

-- the taunting of a Jewish teacher at a Los Angeles middle school by students chanting "Hitler, Hitler'' during a class, and drawing swastikas on their folders and desks;

-- a man approaching a group of people outside a Los Angeles synagogue and saying, "(expletive) you Jews. I'm going to kill you. Just wait and see. I'll be back to kill you'';

******

Israeli author Esther Orner could not believe it when the organizers of an important literary conference in the south of France told her she could not participate in the event because she is Israeli.

*****

Olympia’s Food Co-op has grandly announced its intention to boycott Israeli products unless that country disbands itself as a Jewish state.

To earn a place for its products on co-op shelves, Israel must forfeit its right to defend itself by tearing down its security fence and must bring back the Arab refugees who, in an entirely self-inflicted calamity, fled in 1947-48 rather than accept the U.N.’s two-state solution.

*****

It has been 60 years since they imposed the Zionist regime [on the world], which has threatened us repeatedly over the past 30 years. They repeatedly make threats to assassinate Ahmadinejad. [The Zionist regime] is treated like an spoiled child who does everything he wants. I am surprised that the US nation with a population of 300 million people has been sold to a few Zionists. It is against the US interests. Some European governments have also sold themselves to the Zionists. Why should they have all the power, wealth and the media in their hands?

*****

Standing alongside Cameron, Erdogan compared Israel to the "pirates of Somalia" and added that people in Gaza "are living under constant attacks and pressure in an open air prison." That was fairly mild stuff for the Turkish PM, who regularly accuses Israel of "state terrorism" and last month called it an "adolescent, rootless state."

*****

Whereas during the Nazi era "the so-called 'Jewish question' was the non-partisan tape holding Germans together, today it's the 'Palestine-question' that gives them a feeling of national unity", he wrote.

Meanwhile, German national security police are investigating an attack on two Israeli tourists at a Berlin discotheque on the night of June 27. Police categorised the attack as antisemitic.

*****

Anti-Semites struck for the second time in two weeks Friday and attacked the synagogue in the Swedish city of Malmo, which has suffered a steady exodus of Jews because of anti-Semitism.

*****

Why is Canadian Living promoting Halal credit cards? *Updated*

Updated: See below

First, SMW has to say that overall she likes Canadian Living. Especially their new and improved layout and Food is Love section. Now - back to the topic at hand:

In August's issue, there is a column dedicated "No Interest" halal credit cards (p. 87). It does not appear yet to be online so here is an excerpt:

The first halal payment card is now available across Canada. While the initial need to design the iFreedom Plus MasterCard came from the Muslim community (under Islamic law, paying interest is not halal, and so is a perceived sin), this prepaid, no interest card is ideal for everyone. Holders load their own money (up to $6,000) onto the card, then spend it when they need to. "A lot of people view this as more stress-free shopping because they're actually using money they have rather than ringing up their credit card and getting a huge bill," says Omar Kalair, the president and CEO of UM Financial, which launched the card with MasterCard.

Alright hold on a minute - what is the point of this card again? Swiping a card to buy something with money that you already have - hey doesn't that sound like a debit card???? Or a gift certificate????? Aside from the fact that I do not see what the point of this card is, it begs further investigation.

This card was released in 2009 at Toronto's "Reviving the Islamic Spirit Conference" (a conference which has featured speakers like Zakir Naik, Yusuf Islam, Tariq Ramadan, etc.). In the press release, MasterCard stated that amongst the cards various benefits, "In addition, for every transaction of over $20 billed to the card, one needy child in a developing country will be fed for a day through RS Foundation."

Having never heard of the RS Foundation SMW did a bit of research (since if you buy this card promoted in Canadian Living and use it you will be giving money to the RS Foundation). Regular readers will no doubt be shocked (shocked) to learn that the Director of the RS Foundation, Shujaat Wasty is a 9/11 Truther who has written and posted various online articles about the evil Americans and the "alleged" abuse of women in Afghanistan. In his online critique of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 Wasty wrote:

The second criticism was the absence of the most important player in the grand scheme of events: Israel. There is no doubt that the Zionist movement occupies a primary role in the WTC attacks, international anti-American sentiment, terrorism, and plunging the entire world into the chaotic time that we live in. Such a major character being excluded from the movie is simply unfair.

In 2005 Wasty appeared in a panel at Concordia University where he said the cartoon drawings of Mohammed should not be part of freedom of expression, that Evangelical Christians belong to the "worst form of fudamentlism" and are responsible for a "genocide in North America," that Islamic governance is the only true form of democracy and where he argued for Shariah based arbitration to be allowed in Canada. Oh and guess what.....according to self-listed credits he works for the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Hmmmmmm. Why is Canadian Living promoting this? Nobody pays me to do this and it took all of 10 minutes for me to find this information.

UPDATE: I am rushing around today but will try to keep this coherent. I believe that Canadian Living made a silly mistake in promoting this product, while attempting to be cool and oooze multicultural goodness. I think it was foolish, poorly researched, and even if it weren't Halal - even if this was the MessiahMastercard - I just think the product is silly. We already have prepaid cards and debit cards and gift certificates, this is just renaming the wheel. However, I cannot say the same for MasterCard which is allowing a portion of proceeds from this card to fund the charity mentioned above. It's called Due Diligence you morons. Do it!!!

Elsewhere on the net:

Blazing Cat Fur: Master Card Canada Offers Halal Credit Card Supporting Jew-Baiting 9/11 Truther

Moose and Squirrel: Canadian Living Goes Halal

Ghost of a Flea: Dear Canadian Living

Jay Currie

Israeli Helicopter Crashes in Romania

Globe and Mail has a hard time monitoring all the commenters who logged on to cheer for the deaths of Jews.

Cameron will fight for Turkey to join the EU

Europe. Is. Doomed. Really, can we count on France to veto this again????

Turkey has begun the slow process of accession talks with the 27-member EU, but the bloc is deeply divided over whether it should be given full membership. France has taken the strongest stand against Turkish entry.

On his first visit to the country since becoming prime minister in May, Mr. Cameron will say Turkey would bring greater prosperity and political stability to the bloc thanks to its vast economic potential and growing influence in the volatile Middle East and central Asia.

“So I will remain your strongest possible advocate for EU membership and for greater influence at the top table of European diplomacy. This is something I feel very passionately about,” Mr. Cameron will say, according to excerpts from a speech provided in advance by British officials.

Obama Boosts the PLO

Caroline Glick:

Yet before the ink on their proclamations had a chance to dry, Obama demonstrated that their enthusiasm was misplaced. Late last week the administration decided – apropos of nothing – to upgrade the diplomatic status of the PLO mission in Washington.

From now on, the PLO will be allowed to fly its flag like a regular embassy.

Its representatives will enjoy diplomatic immunity just like diplomats from states.

Indeed the PLO delegate in Washington Maen Areikat claimed that the administration’s move equates the PLO’s diplomatic status in the US to that of Canada and states in Western Europe.

Hey I remember reading about another, er, 'political entity' that allowed the Palestinian Territories to change their nameplate to "Palestine" sans objection in order to boost it's legitimacy (and to detract from Isarel's legitimacy): the UN.

Britain is beyond screwed: Government repatriates terror suspect

Last week he appeared relaxed as he went shopping with his wife in Manchester.

When confronted outside his family's £300,000 home in the affluent Heaton Mersey suburb of Stockport, Dr Mostafa insisted he had done nothing wrong - and thanked the Government for getting him back. "I'd like to thank the British authorities who have been very helpful and nice," he said. "My arrest was politically motivated and part of the war against Islam."

Dr Mostafa, a father of three, has been linked to a series of terroristrelated offences in the last 14 years. In 1996 he was acquitted of planning to cause explosions with other Manchester University students, but found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm bought from a gangster in Moss Side and jailed for four years.

In 2000 he was charged with fellow Bangladeshi Moinul Abedin of planning to cause explosions after police in Birmingham recovered a large cache of chemicals and detonators. He was cleared when it was accepted he was planning to open a fireworks shop but Abedin was jailed for 20 years.

In 2008 Dr Mostafa was given a two-year suspended jail sentence and 100 hours' community service for trying to board a Bangladesh-bound plane at Manchester with a pistol and bullet parts in his suitcase.

Wyclef Jean to run for President of Haiti?

Don't even know where to start with this one.....

Israel's Enemy Within: Zaobi says Third Intifada Possible

"It took us 40 years for us to admit that we were even Palestinians. Another 15 years passed before we realised that the peace process started under Oslo had been a disaster. The Zionist project was to domesticate its Arab citizens as the hewers and drawers of water. But the carrot-and-stick approach failed, and now we see Israel is prepared to throw away its liberal side to control us. We were passive once and now we are becoming active about our national identity,"

Yes, her "national identity" which she clearly does not consider to be Israeli.

Man of the Week: Captain

For obvious reasons we will not be mentioning him by name.

A loving husband and father of three young children, Captain has recently deployed to Afghanistan.

These young people are exceptional in their unselfish service, and the service of their families who support their efforts with their love and devotion.

Please keep Captain, and the brave young men and women serving under him, in your prayers during the weeks ahead.

Shrinking the US Navy

This is not cool.

83% of UK girls have lost their virginity by age of 18

Depressing numbers for a Friday morning:

The first survey of its kind found that 83 per cent of girls have lost their virginity by this age and 18 per cent of these youngsters have been pregnant at least once.

About half chose to keep their babies and more than a third had an abortion, according to the Government survey.

Worryingly, more than 1,300 18-year-old girls have been pregnant three times.

The average Briton in the 16 to 24 age group has already had nine sexual partners.

Of course images like this, or this, or this do not in any way encourage the hypersexualization of young girls.

Having sex advice columns in magazines geared to teenagers also has nothing to do teen girls feeling like they need to jump into bed with every hormonally charged teenage boy who crosses their path.

A popular tv show like "Gossip Girl" featuring a threesome as part of a "must-do" college experience does not make kids feel like they are on the outside if they are not experimenting with their sexuality.

Teaching kids that sex is ok as long as they use protection (because then it has like zero consequences) has absolutely nothing to do with the explosion in girls who are putting themselves out for the taking.

Let's not fool ourselves; teenagers have always been having sex. However, there was a time when this was something to be ashamed of - not something you would be writing to a magazine about. There was a time when parents (who were generally married to each other) impressed on their kids the importance of waiting and the enormity of the consequences if they did not. Society has removed all incentives for kids to wait to have sex. Promiscuity is rewarded. If you get pregnant you can have an abortion. If you have the baby you can get benefits. If you have another baby you can get more benefits. If you're lucky enough to get pregnant by a footballer you can make a fortune. Emotional scars? What emotional scars? Generation BecauseI'mWorthIt does what it wants, when it wants, with no consequences. And society lets them.

Not a big animal rights person....

but even I think this is gross. Maybe even a little disturbing.

G20 Ringleader turns herself into Police

Hours after police announced they were “aggressively looking” for a Guelph woman they say is the ringleader of vandalism and mischief at Toronto’s G20 summit last month, she turned herself in to Peterborough police.

Kelly Pflug-Back, 21, pictured, is alleged to have trashed such businesses as Urban Outfitters, American Apparel and McDonald’s and is facing six new charges.

Police said Ms. Pflug-Back, originally from Norwood, was known to them “with regards to her involvement as a demonstrator, as an activist.”

Ms. Pflug-Back was charged late last year for assault during Guelph’s Olympic Torch relay and is a self-described anti-poverty activist.

What police did not reveal is that Ms. Pflug-Back had already been arrested on June 27, during the G20, and was released on strict bail conditions. Since then, the young woman was to be in her parents’ care.

Maybe the police didn't check mommy's Facebook Page, it appears the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Kelly's Facebook page also contains a variety of informative quotes. I have screenshots of all, just in case they mysteriously disappear.

Some highlights:

The fact that our rights were violated by the police and the prison system was not a crime against us as individuals...it was an assault on our ideas and our freedom of speech. This is how dissenters and activists are treated in any nation state, and KKKanada is no different. We need to speak up about how we were abused, but we also must be prepared to go through it again and again until we've won our freedom.

Freedom from what exactly? Oh right, we need to free ourselves from the "nation state." No borders, no government - that's the solution. Clearly she was not happy with police actions at the G20:

it's also an expression of how people who are non-status, homeless, racially profiled, or working in the sex trade are treated EVERY DAY by police. I am surprised that a lot of activists who talk about oppression were shocked by this treatment.

t's hard to enjoy the freedom when others are still locked up and isolated. My heart is still behind bars with all of you ♥

Don't worry dear, if there is any justice soon you will be locked up and isolated too. Unfortunately it's more likely you will end up doing community service.

This is one of my personal favourites:

Generally, I think that homophobia and transphobia are a construct of the capitalist patriarchal society we live in, which is epitomized by the G20 summit :)

Kelly posted a link to the Pride Shame Awards, slamming them for banning Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (which as we all know was later reversed), and directly beneath this she linked to an article claiming the CIA was conducting medical experiments comparable to Dr. Mengele's.

No doubt you will be shocked to learn that she is also an anti-Semite. On May 25 she changed her status to "Genocide & juice." She also posted several anti-Israel items following the fauxtilla, and promoted the protest of Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Toronto.

She also posted tips for her "comrades" on dealing with law enforcement:

If CSIS comes to your house unnanounced, consider it harassment! Don't give them ANY info, just take their names so you can sue them if they continue to give you trouble. Then I recommend laughing at them and slamming the door.

Well we do agree on one thing, albeit for totally different reasons: PRIDE should ditch the corporate sponsors.

As far as I know, Xtra! is the only mainstream GLBTQ publication that talks about how things like the G8/G20 or the Vancouver Olympics try to push queer communities under the carpet and out of the public eye. Come on, Toronto Pride committee...ditch your corporate sponsors and remember your radical roots!!!

Kelly also promoted an event featuring famed anarchist Peter Gelderloos and his book "How Nonviolence Protects the State."

These are but a few snippets from many. Although I am glad she has been arrested this has not improved my opinion of police performance during the G20. In fact, I find it somewhat disturbing that this girl was arrested and then released on bail to wreak havoc on the city. Havoc that could have easily been stopped by police but which, for whatever political reason, they were ordered to stand by and watch.

Halal Makeup

Yes, it's for real.

The cosmetics - which includes everything from lipstick to eyeliner and blusher - are made in strict accordance with Islamic law, using plant extracts and minerals instead of alcohol and animal products.

Samina Akhter says she set up Samina Pure Make-up because she felt uneasy praying while wearing non-halal make-up.

Hey, this really is Bush's fault!

But nobody wants to blame him for good deeds. By the way, when does his book come out?

George W. Bush made an impressive commitment to the international fight against AIDS when he formed the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program. ... Since 2004, the AIDS-related mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa has dropped 18 percent."

More Boycotting of Israeli Goods in the US

Debbie Schlussel has details on the US Co-Op boycott of Israeli goods.

Just what the RCMP needs, another idiot

Who is going to sit with this guy in the lunchroom?

So, who cares that we will have (another?) moronic officer with bad communication skills who can't make good decisions or properly and safely handle a firearm?

That's not what's important. The important thing is that this new recruit is brown and can't speak English and that his feelings are not hurt.

Of Men and Muppets

In Europe, chivalry is dead. It might even have rolled over in its grave. In North America it is dying a slow death. The boy taking your daughter out for dinner tonight does not have your daddy's manners.

Several weeks ago I was riding the tube, when an elderly man came on and stood in front of a young couple (mid twenties) who appeared to be on a date. Almost immediately the girl stood up to offer the man her seat and, brace yourself, as she was standing up her date grabbed her arm and tried to stop her from giving up her seat. The elderly gentleman politely declined the offer, saying he was getting off at the next stop. In the meantime this young man turned to his date (a lovely looking girl who had a Yorkshire accent) and said: "um.....we do NOT do that here." He then laughed a bit, as if he was embarrassed that his date was naive enough to offer an elderly man her seat on the tube. Hopefully that was their last date.

Today in London it is rather hot. My uneducated guess would be that it was 35C in the tube carriages this afternoon. They were a bit busier than normal due to a person under a train at one of the station. A man who appeared to be in his late eighties shuffled onto the tube and moved towards some seats, clearly hoping someone would give up theirs so he could sit down. A teen-aged couple sat nearest to him; the girl looked at the boy, the boy looked at the girl, then as if realizing that her boyfriend was useless - the girl jumped up and offered the man her seat. And there this boy sat, beside the elderly man his girlfriend had just given her seat to, while his girlfriend stood in front of him dripping with sweat.

When I was a teenager a local boy picked me up for a date. Like any good small-town woman my mother and one of her friends were spying from inside the house as we got in the car. However they revealed themselves when the boy did not open the car door for me, shouting out "hey what are you doing? Open the door!" This was in North America not so long ago. When I moved to the UK and started working in Canary Wharf grown men in suits were pushing me out of the way so they could get a seat and read the Financial Times on the Jubilee Line.

There was a time when not opening the door for a woman was a sign of very bad manners, when allowing your girlfriend to give up her seat would have been cause for embarrassment. Gender roles have been bended and twisted so much over the past 40 years that these traditional signs of decorum have all but ridden off into the sunset. As men become increasingly effeminate, and women increasingly masculine the traditional signs of courtesy and respect between the sexes disappear. Feminists have put the ultimate taboo on men opening doors for women, saying it implies women are not able to open the door themselves. My how insecure are these women?? When a man opens a door for me, or lets me off the elevator first, or offers me a seat - it is not an insult - it is a courteous sign of respect. I know (as does he) that I am perfectly capable of opening any door and equally capable of slamming that door in his face.

So what is the big deal? It is just a door. Except it is not just a door. Simple signs of courtesy towards women have long been a symbol of respect. It is a hint that this man has likely been taught to treat women with respect, that women have value, that they deserve a certain standard of treatment, that he is prepared to protect you. Spare me you guffs and guffaws - when push comes to shove (literally or figuratively) women want to know that a gentleman will protect them. I don't need someone to protect me, I just want to know that if some guy tries to feel me up in a bar the guy I'm with will step in (and join me in teaching the douchebag a lesson) and not cower in the corner or pretend like he didn't see it.

Men who show they value women through their actions are setting a clear and positive example, not just for boys but for little girls. (As are women who value men but that's another topic for another time). When little boys see men treating women with respect and courtesy they learn from example that women are to be valued. When a little girl sees the men in her life treating women with respect she learns that women are important and should be cherished - she learns a standard of treatment she should expect to be given.

Chivalry is puttering in North America but it is still around, particularly in rural areas where it tends to be en force. But this will change if people do not support the strong men in their life who value women, and if mothers do not raise daughters confident enough to have a man open the door for them without feeling insecure. Recently I was out for drinks with a friend from France who spent several semesters of her university career in Texas. She told me it was the first time in her life men, strangers, held the door open for her. Will Texas be the last place on earth where men hold the door open for a lady?

Of course the "door issue" is a symptom, not the cause, of a much greater problem. The Gender Bender: a society in which traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity are being eroded, where relationships are being devalued, and where the idea of valuing others over self is quickly disappearing.

Ladies, if someone opens the door for you today flash them a smile and say thank you.

If your boyfriend is a muppet who sits around doing nothing while you give up your seat for an elderly man/woman/pregnant woman: DUMP HIM. You can do so much better.

Obama signs Wall St. Overhaul Law

No more bailouts, I'm ok with that. It's everything else.

Sweeping reforms. More government agencies. Exactly what the US economy does not need.

The new bill aims to usher in a new era of consumer protections and banking restrictions. The law assembles a powerful council of regulators to be on the lookout for risks across the finance system and creates a new agency to guard consumers in their financial transactions. It places shadow financial markets that previously escaped the oversight of regulators under new scrutiny and gives the government new powers to break up companies that threaten the economy.

Large, failing financial institutions would be liquidated and the costs assessed on their surviving peers.

Government agencies liquidating major financial institutions and shoving the costs onto other businesses......what could possibly go wrong?

Flea on Lockerbie

Instead we chose to treat an act of war as a criminal act with all the attendent consequences of that decision. Freeing the "Lockerbie bomber" is not a miscarriage of justice, it is the logical telos of a miscarriage of civilization.

Dear Ladies,

When you walk around with your underwear sticking out the top of your shorts and your bra strap (not the one that goes over your shoulders) sticking out the top of your shirt you do not look mysterious or sexy. You look like cheap trash.

Recommended solutions: Buy bigger clothes, buy smaller undergarments, cover yourself.

Jews Quit Austria's Social Dem Party

The anti-Israeli resolution coupled with rising anti- Semitism in Austria triggered Stern and other Jews to pull the plug on their party memberships.

Samuel Laster, the editor-in- chief of the Vienna-based online Jewish news site Die Jüdische, first published Stern’s resignation letter on his Web site. Stern has been a leading member of the Social Democrats since the 1970s.

After the letter appeared on Die Jüdische, the daily Die Presse newspaper headlined a story, “SPÖ loses Jewish members.”

Stürzenbecher told the Post that Stern “overreacted” to the criticism of Israel, which is “balanced and in the mainstream of Europe’s reaction” to the raid on the Mavi Marmara.

“Our Jewish friends were not enthusiastic about the resolution,” Stürzenbecher added. He declined to comment on how many Austrian Jews have left the party.

“Each resignation is too much,” he said.

Stern wrote in his resignation letter: “We find it to be a scandal when ‘comrade” [Omar] al-Rawi and other Social Democratic [city] council members introduce such a resolution, which promotes solidarity with the sworn enemies of Israel – the FPÖ [Freedom Party of Austria] and neo-Nazis, and not one voice of reason is raised against the resolution, at least from our own ranks.”

More on this later.

How Journolists Buried the Wright Scandal

Hayes urged his colleagues – especially the straight news reporters who were charged with covering the campaign in a neutral way – to bury the Wright scandal. “I’m not saying we should all rush en masse to defend Wright. If you don’t think he’s worthy of defense, don’t defend him! What I’m saying is that there is no earthly reason to use our various platforms to discuss what about Wright we find objectionable,” Hayes said.

Gotta protect The Cause.

Prosecutors having a hard time convicting Ecoterrorists....

The law's first major test came in February 2009, when four animal-rights activists — Adriana Stumpo, Nathan Pope, Joseph Buddenberg and Maryam Khajavi — were arrested and later indicted under the AETA, for incidents at the homes of several University of California system researchers in 2007 and 2008. The group, with other protesters, wore bandanas over their faces and wrote messages such as "Stop the Torture", "Bird Killer" and "Murder for Scientific Lies" on the pavement with blue and purple chalk, according to police reports. The protesters allegedly burst through a researcher's door and one of them hit her husband with an object.

But on 12 July, a federal judge dismissed the indictment for being too vague: prosecutors did not say which of the activists' alleged actions violated the law. However, prosecutors are free to re-indict if they can show how particular actions crossed the line.

Maybe I'm oversensitive but I think breaking into someone's house and assaulting their spouse is crossing a line. These people are out of the minds they don't have. Also not sure why the judge is saying that this covers a freedom of speech issue - yeah ok chanting and giving out pamphlets - but I think once you are on private property (and damaging it) it becomes a private property issue. Not that I'm a lawyer or anything.

Just wondering how long it will be before US judges follow the UK's example and say that the activists should be acquitted because they were preventing further crimes against animals.....?

White Workers Need Not Apply

Oh Canada, where all people are equal unless you're white, then you're just an unwanted splash on the cultural mosaic.

A stay-at-home mother trying to re-enter the workforce after nine years away says she can’t understand why the federal government would stop her from applying for a job simply because she is white."

"Let's reclaim our country from the terrorists and the communists"

Words spoken by South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene, also known as the black guy nobody has heard of who came out of nowhere and got himself nominated to Senate candidate.

No wonder they are trying to say he is a Republican plant.

File this whole story under "You Can't Make This Stuff Up."

How the world saved Hamas

One of the more cynical left wing talking points is that Israel was responsible for Hamas. Looking back to 1992, when the current Hamas leadership were sitting outside their Red Cross tents in Lebanon and the left was pounding on Israel's door, demanding that they be let back in-- it is all too clear who was and is responsible for Hamas. The people who saved Hamas 18 years ago, are responsible for it today. The media and the diplomats who 18 years ago were claiming that deporting Hamas would somehow "radicalize" the Palestinian Arabs insured that the Hamas leaders would return to radicalize all of Gaza and the West Bank. Go and read it all.

Hey people are burning cars in France!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

So common it's not news anymore.......

Happy 10th Anniversary Five Feet of Fury!!!!

Kathy Shaidle has been eviscerating people who think they know better with her snark and wit since SMW was barely old enough to drive. She writes what you have been thinking and what years of growing up in politically correct Canada have made you too scared to say out loud. Kathy runs a blog that gives people a little more confidence to say what they actually think (outrageous!) and she constantly challenges preconceived ideas and notions on a variety of subjects (she makes you wonder if you have been indoctrinated!). In short, this woman not only makes people think - she makes them talk about what they are thinking and for this she deserves thanks.

Happy 10th Blogversary Kathy!

Attention Shoppers: Ahava Alert at Ricky's NYC

SMW is a huge fan of Ahava products, not because it is an Israeli company (which is a really nice bonus) but because Ahava products are incredible. As you have read on this site numerous times over the past year Ahava is frequently targeted by anti-Israel groups, in particular the moonbats at Code Pink, as part of their efforts to delegitimize and isolate Israel.

Now Code Pink has put Ricky's NYC, a New York based beauty supply chain, in its crosshairs and is pressuring them to stop carrying Ahava products.

Well readers, what say you? I say shop!

You can visit Ricky's NYC website here and order Ahava products online for delivery by UPS. After you have placed your order click on the Contact Us icon (bottom of screen) and send Ricky's a little note telling them how much you love, love, love Ahava.

Alternately there is an online letter to the CEO you can sign here encouraging Ricky's to continue carrying Ahava products. Just remember - money talks. Buy something nice for yourself and send them a note. This will speak volumes.

Smart women like to have fun and look good. (Which is why SMW uses Ahava!)

Life in Gaza is so rough....

But alas some good news.........Gazans can now stroll through their brand new shopping mall!!

She's 18!!!!!!!! Skin lightening and Botox for Glee Role

Filipino teenage singer Charice Pempengco says she prepared for her debut on the hit TV show "Glee" by getting Botox and an anti-aging procedure "to look fresh on camera."

The 18-year-old Charice, whose singing career rocketed after appearing on Ellen DeGeneres' and Oprah Winfrey's talk shows, underwent a 30-minute Thermage skin-tightening procedure and Botox to make her "naturally round face" more narrow, celebrity cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo told ABS-CBN television.

The pressure to look "perfect" is out of control.

Politicizing the Courts

This is an update regarding the British court case in which the judge ruled activists who damaged private property should not be found guilty because they were preventing future'Israeli war crimes.'

Jonathan Hoffman has an excellent (and detailed) write up based on the court transcripts over at CifWatch. If you can spare a few moments to read even part of the text I highly recommend it.

Warning: This may make your head explode.

The Judge is clearly telling the Jury that he regards Osmond as a hero. He compares him to the suffragettes, clearly identifies him with Burke’s “good men” and admires the way that Osmond “puts himself in harm’s way to protect others” (Osmond was formerly in the disputed territories with ISM). He even suggests that Osmond deserves the George Medal (this ranks second to only the Victoria Cross in awards for bravery in the UK). This is a highly confused analogy. Is Bathurst-Norman suggesting that someone who attacked a British armaments factory during World War Two deserved the George Medal? Or rather someone who threw themselves in the path of a British tank? Or maybe in the path of a German tank? Whatever the Judge meant, it has no place in a British Court of Law, because it is a deliberately emotional statement designed for one reason and one reason only: to vilify Israel.