Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Pediatricians Promote Moderate Female Mutilation
Moderate Female Mutilation Encouraged
“[W]e must adopt a more nuanced position that acknowledges a wide spectrum of procedures that alter female genitalia,” they wrote. “Acceptance of de minimis procedures that generally do not carry long-term medical risks is culturally sensitive, does not discriminate on the basis of gender, and does not violate human rights. More morbid procedures should not be performed.”
The authors of the article said they don’t believe the term “female genital mutilation” is the appropriate name for the minimal surgical “nick” they said should be legalized in the West, comparing the procedure to braces.
The minimalist genital procedures “are equivalent or less extensive than orthodontia, breast implantation or even the elective labiaplasty for which affluent women pay thousands of dollars. Furthermore, a nick that heals completely is not mutilation in that there is no morphological alteration,” they wrote.
The doctors noted that the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the American Academy of Pediatrics all classify female genital mutilation as a human rights violation and that the practice is outlawed in the U.S.
“We are not arguing that any procedure on the female genitalia is desirable,” the doctors explained and pointed out that in arguing in favor of allowing families to conduct a limited symbolic procedure they don’t condone the oppression of women.
Additionally, they said they were not sure believers in genital mutilation would even accept any compromised smaller procedure, “rather, we only argue that certain procedures ought to be tolerated by liberal societies.”
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Populism, Free Silver Movement, William Jennings Bryan
Populism, Free Silver Movement, William Jennings Bryan
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Friday, February 19, 2016
Milo Yiannopoulos
Milo Yiannopoulos
i-deserve-an-apology-college-students-gather-to-share-wounded-emotions-after-conservative-writers-lecture/
Closing Statement at the University of Bristol
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
Ian Hunter Mott The Hoople Dale Griffin Buffin Funeral
Fans of Mott the Hoople will be welcomed at the funeral of drummer and founder member Dale Griffin in Usk later this month. Dale, who was known as Buffin, was born in Ross and launched the glam rock band with his school friend Pete Overend Watts and Mick Ralphs from Stoke Lacy. He also produced up to 2000 sessions for John Peel in the late 70s and 80s. His funeral will take place at St Mary's Church in Usk on Mon Feb 15th at 2 o'clock.
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/bbcherefordand ... =3&theater
Sunday, February 14, 2016
SNL: Beyonce Popularize Hatred of Police
Whitey
While it is certainly acceptable to poke fun of a supposed unanimity of whiteness and stereotype white people, the sketch does not deal with the issues that Beyoncé herself addresses in the original video; it does little good for an uber rich popstar to popularise hatred of police since it may indeed harm the struggling minority kid who deserves protection in crime-ridden neighbourhoods.
Critics-boycott-Beyonce-after-anti-cop-song-Super-Bowl-show/
While it is certainly acceptable to poke fun of a supposed unanimity of whiteness and stereotype white people, the sketch does not deal with the issues that Beyoncé herself addresses in the original video; it does little good for an uber rich popstar to popularise hatred of police since it may indeed harm the struggling minority kid who deserves protection in crime-ridden neighbourhoods.
Critics-boycott-Beyonce-after-anti-cop-song-Super-Bowl-show/
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Precedent or Obama Power Grab?
How the Supreme Court interprets cases about the War on Terror is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. Justice Scalia saw this clearly.
In the case of Boumediene v. Bush a liberal majority decided that terrorism suspects being held in Guantanamo Bay had the right to seek their release in federal court.
Scalia delivered a scathing dissent pointing out that for the first time the Supreme Court was conferring constitutional rights to non-Americans in a decision that would cost American lives:
http://komonews.com/news/nation-world/sri-srinivasan-who-is-he-scalias-possible-replacement
-justice-scalias-most-memorable-dissenting-opinions
The last confirmation in the eighth year of a presidency was Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whose 97-to-0 vote in February 1988 came after two failed nomination efforts by President Reagan in the face of a Democratic-controlled Senate in late 1987. Kennedy is seen as a traitor among conservative activists, who view his rulings on abortion and gay rights with the liberal bloc as an example of GOP leaders choosing political expediency over ideological rigidity.
The only other attempt to fill a vacancy during a presidential election year came in 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson tried to elevate Abe Fortas to be chief justice. The Senate blocked Fortas. Subsequently, the other nomination to fill Fortas’s spot as associate justice was withdrawn during the final months of Johnson’s presidency.
http://wpo.st/NmOB1
In 1960 the Democrats passed a resolution to stop Eisenhower.
In the case of Boumediene v. Bush a liberal majority decided that terrorism suspects being held in Guantanamo Bay had the right to seek their release in federal court.
Scalia delivered a scathing dissent pointing out that for the first time the Supreme Court was conferring constitutional rights to non-Americans in a decision that would cost American lives:
The game of bait-and-switch that today's opinion plays upon the Nation's Commander in Chief will make the war harder on us. It will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed. That consequence would be tolerable if necessary to preserve a time-honored legal principle vital to our constitutional Republic. But it is this Court's blatant abandonment of such a principle that produces the decision today.In a 2008 speech discussing America's war with radical Islamists, Scalia remarked:
War is war, and it has never been the case that when you capture a combatant, you have to give him a jury trial in your civil courts. It's a crazy idea to me...If he was captured by my army on the battlefield that is where he belongs.Scalia also made profoundly important remarks on the topic of "torture," the left's favorite bad word for any effort used to extract life-saving information from jihadists. With the common sense that was his intellectual hallmark, Scalia noted:
We have laws against torture. The Constitution itself says nothing about torture. The Constitution speaks of punishment. If you condemn someone who has committed a crime to torture, that would be unconstitutional...Listen, I think it's very facile for people to say, "Oh, torture is terrible." [But] posit the situation where a person that you know for sure knows the location of a nuclear bomb that has been planted in Los Angeles and will kill millions of people. You think it's an easy question? You think it's clear that you cannot use extreme measures to get that information out of that person?
http://komonews.com/news/nation-world/sri-srinivasan-who-is-he-scalias-possible-replacement
-justice-scalias-most-memorable-dissenting-opinions
The last confirmation in the eighth year of a presidency was Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, whose 97-to-0 vote in February 1988 came after two failed nomination efforts by President Reagan in the face of a Democratic-controlled Senate in late 1987. Kennedy is seen as a traitor among conservative activists, who view his rulings on abortion and gay rights with the liberal bloc as an example of GOP leaders choosing political expediency over ideological rigidity.
The only other attempt to fill a vacancy during a presidential election year came in 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson tried to elevate Abe Fortas to be chief justice. The Senate blocked Fortas. Subsequently, the other nomination to fill Fortas’s spot as associate justice was withdrawn during the final months of Johnson’s presidency.
http://wpo.st/NmOB1
In 1960 the Democrats passed a resolution to stop Eisenhower.
Strategic (Obama vs. Alito) vs. Political Opposition (anyone other than Obama)
Phoenix Islamist Mosque
Pamela on Fox & Friends
—-Simpon’s friend Courtney Lonergan remembers Elton Simpson would never waver from the teachings he picked up in the mosque and elsewhere.
“He was one of those guys who would sleep at the mosque,” Lonergan said. “The fact that he felt personally insulted by somebody drawing a picture had to come from the ideological rhetoric coming out of the mosque.”
—-when he sought a Muslim wife, Simpson turned to the men in the mosque to find a suitable woman, and his way of earning their respect was to show his devotion to Islam by quoting teachings verbatim….
—Mosque president, Usama Shami, tried to downplay the ties of the two Garland would-be mass-murderers. This included Shami’s claim to the press that neither was a regular member. In fact, Elton “Ibrahim” Simpson had been featured in a mosque fundraising video posted on ICCP’s YouTube channel in 2012 identifying him as a member.
—Two other previous mosque attendees — Hassan Abu-Jihaad and Derrick Shareef — are currently in federal prison on terrorism-related charges.
—Mosque president Usama Shami claimed the mosque did not raise money for Elton’s Simpson’s legal defense. But point in fact the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix posted $100,000 cash bond to release him from custody, Sitton said.
- See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2015/05/video-pamela-geller-investigate-phoenix-mosque.html/#sthash.NHR4ftuj.dpuf
Friday, February 12, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Holy Virgin Mary in Elephant Dung
Holy Virgin Mary
The eight-foot-high depiction of a black Virgin Mary, encrusted with a lump of elephant dung and collaged bottoms from pornographic magazine.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Friday, February 5, 2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Presidents on Religion
Leaders from both political parties joined more than 3,000 pastors, faith leaders and individuals representing 130 countries for the 64th annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, 4 February.
The signature faith-based event in February of each year is traditionally attended by sitting presidents, first ladies, members of Congress and well-known speakers who collectively come together to discuss the power of faith and to encourage audiences to embrace prayer.
Before the event, organizers placed a small booklet at each attendees seat; it included text from some of the most memorable prayer breakfast speeches that presidents have delivered since the event first kicked off back in 1942.
Included in the booklet was an address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in which he made his views on the importance of religion in society more than clear.
“You can’t explain free government in any other terms than religious,” he said. “The Founding Fathers had to refer to the creator in order to make their revolutionary experience make sense; it was because ‘all men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights’ that man would dare to be free.”
He continued, “They wrote their religious faith into our founding documents, stamped their trust in God upon the faces of our coins and currency, and put it boldly at the base of our institutions.”
President John F. Kennedy also expressed his belief that U.S. presidents find themselves appealing to the Almighty to deal with all of the elements that comes along with their complicated position.
“No man who enters upon the office in which I have succeeded, can fail to recognize how every president of the United States has placed special reliance upon his faith in God,” he said. “We must recognize that human collaboration is not enough, that in times such as these we must reach beyond ourselves if we are to seek ultimate courage and infinite wisdom.”
In yet another separate speech, President Lyndon B. Johnson added his belief that man’s embrace of God has helped sustain the nation.
“Since the United States first stood on it feet among the nations of the Earth, the men who have guided her destiny have had the strength for their tasks by going to their knees,” Johnson said. “This private unity of public men and their God is an enduring source of strength for our nation and for our cause.”
President Gerald R. Ford once said during a National Prayer Breakfast speech that “man’s wisdom and strength are not sufficient,” and said that he attempts to practice the words of Proverbs 3:5-6, which he recited as follows: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path.”
President Jimmy Carter implored the audience to hold on to the elements in life that offer consistency and sustenance, saying that, in a “rapidly changing world, we need to cling to things that don’t change — to truth and justice, to fairness, to brotherhood, to love and to faith.”
Citing ideas that are present in the Christian scriptures, President Ronald Reagan said during his address, “I’m convinced more than ever that man finds liberation only when he binds himself to God and commits himself to his fellow man.”