Playing with the family cat, waiting for my grandaughter to wake up, thinking about coffee coffee coffee.
Then off to visit my mom. More later.
A digest of questionably informed commentary on events, art, literature, beekeeping, and other cultural pursuits by a Midwestern transplant.
Scientists at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., say global climate change can be at odds with regional climate patterns.Arggghhhh! Permanently sentenced to flying south for the winter!
It's hard to tell which is the chicken and which is the egg, but conservative Saudi clerics are calling for a turnabout from progressive moves in a letter published yesterday:The report highlighted violations by the powerful Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice which runs the religious police and accused it of "infringing individuals' rights."
People detained by the religious police have been "interrogated and sometimes assaulted and made to confess under duress to acts they did not commit," the report said, adding that in some cases this has led to deaths in custody.
"In commenting on the incidents, the commission leans toward denying them, belittling their importance or saying they are individual acts," said the report.
Currently there are efforts to retrain members of the religious police through workshops, but the report said these do not go far enough.
It remains difficult to tell who will prevail. King Abdullah can't afford the upheavel the clerics would bring - or can he? Slow progression would seem wise, except for one thing: At the current rate, women may be able to doff the chador in favor of the hejab sometime in the 25th century. Then we can talk about marriage choice, intermingling and other "privileges".A group of Saudi clerics urged the kingdom's new information minister on Sunday to ban women from appearing on TV or in newspapers and magazines, making clear that the country's hardline religious establishment is skeptical of a new push toward moderation.
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The clerics include several professors from the ultra-conservative Imam University, Islamic research scholars, a judge in a court in the resort of Taif and some government employees.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, in town for meetings with Saudi officials, told a news conference that during lunch he sat between a female Saudi surgeon and a female journalist. He said while one woman is allowed to perform surgery and another is allowed to teach, neither is permitted to drive.
"I find that bizarre," he said.
Wisconsin’s exports increased by 11.8 percent to $20.6 billion in 2008, ranking the state as the 18th-largest exporter in the nation.
Armed with a checkbook, students went through a series of real life "stations," such as taxes, housing and transportation, writing checks and watching their money disappear.
Other stations collected money for utilities, insurance, clothing, groceries and gas.
Then students had to navigate through a variety of optional stations, including entertainment, family activities and dining out. Other options included charities, spa services and pets.Finally, "fate" visited students, doling out financial surprises in the form of unexpected expenses or windfalls.
To make everything a little more complicated, a wandering police officer and health official doled out tickets and health-related events. Run through a stop sign? Pay a ticket. Strep throat? Pay the doctor.