Today PIPA, the organization I work for, has released a poll of Iraqis. The
poll was conducted earlier this month in Iraq and the results are what many
may have expected. Go to our website WorldPublicOpinion.org for the
article, questionnaire and full report.
Some choice findings.
71% of Iraqis want the US to gradually withdraw its troops within one year.
This number includes a strong majority of both Shias (74%) and Sunnis (91%).
Not to leave out any major ethnic/religious groups, an overwhelming 91% of
all Iraqis support the US leaving within two years, including a majority of
Kurds (79%). Only 9% of Iraqis want the US to stay until the security
situation stabilizes.
78% of Iraqis think the US is provoking more conflict than it is preventing.
Only 21% think the US is a stabilizing force. 77% of Iraqis think the US
plans to have permanent bases and 78% think the US would refuse to leave if
asked.
In addition, 79% of Iraqis think the US is a mostly negative influence in
Iraq. worse than their impressions of Iran (52% negative) and Syria (55%
negative). More Iraqis have a favorable view of Hezbollah (62% favorable).
Iraqis are also not confident that US military forces can protect their
security, with 84% having little or no confidence in US military forces.
Only 16% have a lot or some confidence. By contrast, Iraqis have more
confidence in the Iraqi police (71% some or a lot), Iraqi army (64%) and
Iraqi Interior Ministry forces (62%).
Because they do not perceive the US as willing to leave, 61% of Iraqis
support attacks against US troops, including a majority of both Sunnis (92%)
and Shias (62%). Only Kurds do not favor attacks against the US. This
finding is up dramatically from January when 47% of Iraqis favored attacks
against the US. The big difference? Though Sunni support for attacks is
unchanged, support for attacks among Shias has risen dramatically from 41%
in January to 62% in the most recent poll.
September 29, 2006
Hollywood tackles Mexican mystery
Hollywood tackles Mexican mystery
By Chris Summers
BBC News
Mexican police have charged a man in connection with a string of murders in a border town. The so-called maquiladora murders are the subject of two Hollywood films, one of which stars Jennifer Lopez and is due out in the US next month.
By Chris Summers
BBC News
Mexican police have charged a man in connection with a string of murders in a border town. The so-called maquiladora murders are the subject of two Hollywood films, one of which stars Jennifer Lopez and is due out in the US next month.
September 26, 2006
100 best employers for working mothers
More companies offer flex hours in order to retain female employees
This is good to know we have this force working for women.
This is good to know we have this force working for women.
September 23, 2006
Women call off Colombia sex ban
The girlfriends of gang members in one of Colombia's most violent cities have called off a sex strike aimed at ending a deadly gang feud.
Didn't this work in Greek history as well? This sounds familiar...
Didn't this work in Greek history as well? This sounds familiar...
September 15, 2006
Shanghai muddle over popular name
If you are trying to track down someone named Chen Jie in Shanghai, you may need a little extra help.
According to official statistics, it is the city's most popular name and is currently shared by 3,937 people.
But while the government wants parents to choose more unusual names, they are limited to those on a list of standard Chinese characters.
Over 1.5 million people in the capital, Beijing, have the surname Wang, the Shanghai Daily reported.
China has more than 700 family names, but the vast majority of people use one of the most popular 20 names.
According to official statistics, it is the city's most popular name and is currently shared by 3,937 people.
But while the government wants parents to choose more unusual names, they are limited to those on a list of standard Chinese characters.
Over 1.5 million people in the capital, Beijing, have the surname Wang, the Shanghai Daily reported.
China has more than 700 family names, but the vast majority of people use one of the most popular 20 names.
September 10, 2006
Senate report: No Saddam, al-Qaida link
Long-awaited analysis also finds that anti-Saddam group misled U.S.
Note: I don't understand....in considering the totality of the circumstances, Saddam's connection to Al-Qaida and building up a nuclear weapons arsenal were the 2
main reasons we went to Iraq.
WASHINGTON - There’s no evidence Saddam Hussein had ties with al-Qaida, according to a Senate report issued Friday on prewar intelligence that Democrats say undercuts President Bush’s justification for invading Iraq.
Bush administration officials have insisted on a link between the Iraqi regime and terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Intelligence agencies, however, concluded there was none.
Republicans countered that there was little new in the report and Democrats were trying to score election-year points with it.
The declassified document released Friday by the intelligence committee also explores the role that inaccurate information supplied by the anti-Saddam exile group the Iraqi National Congress had in the march to war.
It concludes that postwar findings do not support a 2002 intelligence community report that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program, possessed biological weapons or ever developed mobile facilities for producing biological warfare agents.
The 400-page report comes at a time when Bush is emphasizing the need to prevail in Iraq to win the war on terrorism while Democrats are seeking to make that policy an issue in the midterm elections.
It discloses for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war Saddam’s government “did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates.”
Bush and other administration officials have said that the presence of Zarqawi in Iraq before the war was evidence of a connection between Saddam’s government and al-Qaida. Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike in June this year.
Click for related content
WP: Iraq sees record number of roadside bombs
Senate chapter on Saddam, al-Qaida (PDF file)
Senate chapter on Iraq National Congress (PDF file)
Partisan reaction
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the report was “nothing new.”
“In 2002 and 2003, members of both parties got a good look at the intelligence we had and they came to the very same conclusions about what was going on,” Snow said. That was “one of the reasons you had overwhelming majorities in the United States Senate and the House for taking action against Saddam Hussein,” he said.
--> so you knew there was no al-Qaida connection and no nukes?!!@#$
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., a member of the committee, said the long-awaited report was “a devastating indictment of the Bush-Cheney administration’s unrelenting, misleading and deceptive attempts” to link Saddam to al-Qaida.
The administration, said Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., top Democrat on the committee, “exploited the deep sense of insecurity among Americans in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, leading a large majority of Americans to believe — contrary to the intelligence assessments at the time — that Iraq had a role in the 9/11 attacks.”
The chairman of the committee, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said it has long been known that prewar assessments of Iraq “were a tragic intelligence failure.”
But he said the Democratic interpretations expressed in the report “are little more than a vehicle to advance election-year political charges.” He said Democrats “continue to use the committee to try and rewrite history, insisting that they were deliberately duped into supporting the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime.”
Divisions slowed release
The intelligence committee issued a portion of its analysis, labeled Phase I, on prewar intelligence shortcomings in July 2004. But concluding work on Phase II of the study has been more problematic because of partisan divisions over how senior policymakers used intelligence in arguing for the need to drive Saddam from power.
Last November, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada forced the Senate into a rare closed-door session to discuss the delay in coming out with the new data.
The 400-page report covers only two of the five topics outlined under Phase II. Much of the information — on the intelligence supplied by the INC and Chalabi and the overestimation of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction threat — has been documented in numerous studies.
The committee is still considering three other issues as part of its Phase II analysis, including statements of policymakers in the run-up to the war.
Note: I don't understand....in considering the totality of the circumstances, Saddam's connection to Al-Qaida and building up a nuclear weapons arsenal were the 2
main reasons we went to Iraq.
WASHINGTON - There’s no evidence Saddam Hussein had ties with al-Qaida, according to a Senate report issued Friday on prewar intelligence that Democrats say undercuts President Bush’s justification for invading Iraq.
Bush administration officials have insisted on a link between the Iraqi regime and terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Intelligence agencies, however, concluded there was none.
Republicans countered that there was little new in the report and Democrats were trying to score election-year points with it.
The declassified document released Friday by the intelligence committee also explores the role that inaccurate information supplied by the anti-Saddam exile group the Iraqi National Congress had in the march to war.
It concludes that postwar findings do not support a 2002 intelligence community report that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program, possessed biological weapons or ever developed mobile facilities for producing biological warfare agents.
The 400-page report comes at a time when Bush is emphasizing the need to prevail in Iraq to win the war on terrorism while Democrats are seeking to make that policy an issue in the midterm elections.
It discloses for the first time an October 2005 CIA assessment that prior to the war Saddam’s government “did not have a relationship, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi and his associates.”
Bush and other administration officials have said that the presence of Zarqawi in Iraq before the war was evidence of a connection between Saddam’s government and al-Qaida. Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike in June this year.
Click for related content
WP: Iraq sees record number of roadside bombs
Senate chapter on Saddam, al-Qaida (PDF file)
Senate chapter on Iraq National Congress (PDF file)
Partisan reaction
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the report was “nothing new.”
“In 2002 and 2003, members of both parties got a good look at the intelligence we had and they came to the very same conclusions about what was going on,” Snow said. That was “one of the reasons you had overwhelming majorities in the United States Senate and the House for taking action against Saddam Hussein,” he said.
--> so you knew there was no al-Qaida connection and no nukes?!!@#$
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., a member of the committee, said the long-awaited report was “a devastating indictment of the Bush-Cheney administration’s unrelenting, misleading and deceptive attempts” to link Saddam to al-Qaida.
The administration, said Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., top Democrat on the committee, “exploited the deep sense of insecurity among Americans in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, leading a large majority of Americans to believe — contrary to the intelligence assessments at the time — that Iraq had a role in the 9/11 attacks.”
The chairman of the committee, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said it has long been known that prewar assessments of Iraq “were a tragic intelligence failure.”
But he said the Democratic interpretations expressed in the report “are little more than a vehicle to advance election-year political charges.” He said Democrats “continue to use the committee to try and rewrite history, insisting that they were deliberately duped into supporting the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime.”
Divisions slowed release
The intelligence committee issued a portion of its analysis, labeled Phase I, on prewar intelligence shortcomings in July 2004. But concluding work on Phase II of the study has been more problematic because of partisan divisions over how senior policymakers used intelligence in arguing for the need to drive Saddam from power.
Last November, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada forced the Senate into a rare closed-door session to discuss the delay in coming out with the new data.
The 400-page report covers only two of the five topics outlined under Phase II. Much of the information — on the intelligence supplied by the INC and Chalabi and the overestimation of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction threat — has been documented in numerous studies.
The committee is still considering three other issues as part of its Phase II analysis, including statements of policymakers in the run-up to the war.
September 9, 2006
Spanish fashion show rejects too-skinny models
Women with very low body-mass index not allowed on runway
You go Spain!!! Hopefully the rest of the industry in the world will follow suit.
You go Spain!!! Hopefully the rest of the industry in the world will follow suit.
September 8, 2006
Women migrants 'suffer double discrimination'
By Maxine Frith, Social Affairs Correspondent
Published: 07 September 2006
Women migrants who travel to Britain and other developed countries are
put at risk of exploitation and abuse because governments "overlook and
ignore" them, the United Nations says, and there is a "dire need" for
stronger co-operation between rich and poor countries to ensure
migration around the world is better managed.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed in a report that women now make
up half of the world's 191 million international migrants, compared
with less than 45 per cent in 1960.
They contribute billions to the economies of the countries they travel
to in terms of taxes and consumption, and are also more likely than
male migrants to send remittances to help their families in their
countries of origin.
But the report warned that governments in the West were not doing
enough to protect women from forced migration in the forms of sex
trafficking, enforced marriages and employment abuses. It also attacked
countries such as the UK for stripping Aids-ravaged countries such as
South Africa of key female workers such as nurses to plug their own
staffing gaps.
When female migrants arrive in Western countries, they often miss out
on health care because they are not aware of their rights and remain at
risk of exploitation from employers.
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the UNFPA, said: "There is a
dire need for greater action to address the lack of opportunities and
human rights violations that lead many women to migrate in the first
place.
"There is an urgent need for stronger co-operation between countries to
make migration more safe and fair. We call on governments to recognise
and value the contributions of migrant women and to promote and respect
their human rights."
She pointed to a new law in Sweden that prosecuted men who were caught
with sex workers rather than the women as an example of how the
problems of sex trafficking could be tackled.
Ms Obaid said that women often suffered double discrimination from
being both female and migrants. She added that rather than the
imposition of quotas, such as those being discussed for new EU entrants
such as Bulgaria, Britain should work with poorer countries to build up
their own education and health systems so that people were not forced
to travel abroad to escape grinding poverty.
But she also upheld the rights of people to travel abroad in search of
a better life. "Migration for economic well-being is a human right,"
she said. "These people contribute a lot to economies... Countries
should discuss together how to manage migration. If it is done well,
then it is a win-win situation for both the sending and the receiving
countries."
Her view contrasted sharply with that expressed by the new director
general of the Confederation of British Industry, Richard Lambert, who
warned earlier this week that the wave of cheap labour from eastern
Europe could put social cohesion at risk.
The UN report also revealed that claims about "floods" of migrants were
exaggerated. Since 1960, the proportion of migrants has remained
stable, accounting for 2.9 per cent of the global population. The US
takes the highest proportion of the world's international migrants, 20
per cent, compared with just 2 per cent in the UK. Refugees and
asylum-seekers represent just 3 per cent of all international migrants
in Europe.
Women migrants who travel to Britain and other developed countries are
put at risk of exploitation and abuse because governments "overlook and
ignore" them, the United Nations says, and there is a "dire need" for
stronger co-operation between rich and poor countries to ensure
migration around the world is better managed.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed in a report that women now make
up half of the world's 191 million international migrants, compared
with less than 45 per cent in 1960.
They contribute billions to the economies of the countries they travel
to in terms of taxes and consumption, and are also more likely than
male migrants to send remittances to help their families in their
countries of origin.
But the report warned that governments in the West were not doing
enough to protect women from forced migration in the forms of sex
trafficking, enforced marriages and employment abuses. It also attacked
countries such as the UK for stripping Aids-ravaged countries such as
South Africa of key female workers such as nurses to plug their own
staffing gaps.
When female migrants arrive in Western countries, they often miss out
on health care because they are not aware of their rights and remain at
risk of exploitation from employers.
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the UNFPA, said: "There is a
dire need for greater action to address the lack of opportunities and
human rights violations that lead many women to migrate in the first
place.
"There is an urgent need for stronger co-operation between countries to
make migration more safe and fair. We call on governments to recognise
and value the contributions of migrant women and to promote and respect
their human rights."
She pointed to a new law in Sweden that prosecuted men who were caught
with sex workers rather than the women as an example of how the
problems of sex trafficking could be tackled.
Ms Obaid said that women often suffered double discrimination from
being both female and migrants. She added that rather than the
imposition of quotas, such as those being discussed for new EU entrants
such as Bulgaria, Britain should work with poorer countries to build up
their own education and health systems so that people were not forced
to travel abroad to escape grinding poverty.
But she also upheld the rights of people to travel abroad in search of
a better life. "Migration for economic well-being is a human right,"
she said. "These people contribute a lot to economies... Countries
should discuss together how to manage migration. If it is done well,
then it is a win-win situation for both the sending and the receiving
countries."
Her view contrasted sharply with that expressed by the new director
general of the Confederation of British Industry, Richard Lambert, who
warned earlier this week that the wave of cheap labour from eastern
Europe could put social cohesion at risk.
The UN report also revealed that claims about "floods" of migrants were
exaggerated. Since 1960, the proportion of migrants has remained
stable, accounting for 2.9 per cent of the global population. The US
takes the highest proportion of the world's international migrants, 20
per cent, compared with just 2 per cent in the UK. Refugees and
asylum-seekers represent just 3 per cent of all international migrants
in Europe.
Published: 07 September 2006
Women migrants who travel to Britain and other developed countries are
put at risk of exploitation and abuse because governments "overlook and
ignore" them, the United Nations says, and there is a "dire need" for
stronger co-operation between rich and poor countries to ensure
migration around the world is better managed.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed in a report that women now make
up half of the world's 191 million international migrants, compared
with less than 45 per cent in 1960.
They contribute billions to the economies of the countries they travel
to in terms of taxes and consumption, and are also more likely than
male migrants to send remittances to help their families in their
countries of origin.
But the report warned that governments in the West were not doing
enough to protect women from forced migration in the forms of sex
trafficking, enforced marriages and employment abuses. It also attacked
countries such as the UK for stripping Aids-ravaged countries such as
South Africa of key female workers such as nurses to plug their own
staffing gaps.
When female migrants arrive in Western countries, they often miss out
on health care because they are not aware of their rights and remain at
risk of exploitation from employers.
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the UNFPA, said: "There is a
dire need for greater action to address the lack of opportunities and
human rights violations that lead many women to migrate in the first
place.
"There is an urgent need for stronger co-operation between countries to
make migration more safe and fair. We call on governments to recognise
and value the contributions of migrant women and to promote and respect
their human rights."
She pointed to a new law in Sweden that prosecuted men who were caught
with sex workers rather than the women as an example of how the
problems of sex trafficking could be tackled.
Ms Obaid said that women often suffered double discrimination from
being both female and migrants. She added that rather than the
imposition of quotas, such as those being discussed for new EU entrants
such as Bulgaria, Britain should work with poorer countries to build up
their own education and health systems so that people were not forced
to travel abroad to escape grinding poverty.
But she also upheld the rights of people to travel abroad in search of
a better life. "Migration for economic well-being is a human right,"
she said. "These people contribute a lot to economies... Countries
should discuss together how to manage migration. If it is done well,
then it is a win-win situation for both the sending and the receiving
countries."
Her view contrasted sharply with that expressed by the new director
general of the Confederation of British Industry, Richard Lambert, who
warned earlier this week that the wave of cheap labour from eastern
Europe could put social cohesion at risk.
The UN report also revealed that claims about "floods" of migrants were
exaggerated. Since 1960, the proportion of migrants has remained
stable, accounting for 2.9 per cent of the global population. The US
takes the highest proportion of the world's international migrants, 20
per cent, compared with just 2 per cent in the UK. Refugees and
asylum-seekers represent just 3 per cent of all international migrants
in Europe.
Women migrants who travel to Britain and other developed countries are
put at risk of exploitation and abuse because governments "overlook and
ignore" them, the United Nations says, and there is a "dire need" for
stronger co-operation between rich and poor countries to ensure
migration around the world is better managed.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed in a report that women now make
up half of the world's 191 million international migrants, compared
with less than 45 per cent in 1960.
They contribute billions to the economies of the countries they travel
to in terms of taxes and consumption, and are also more likely than
male migrants to send remittances to help their families in their
countries of origin.
But the report warned that governments in the West were not doing
enough to protect women from forced migration in the forms of sex
trafficking, enforced marriages and employment abuses. It also attacked
countries such as the UK for stripping Aids-ravaged countries such as
South Africa of key female workers such as nurses to plug their own
staffing gaps.
When female migrants arrive in Western countries, they often miss out
on health care because they are not aware of their rights and remain at
risk of exploitation from employers.
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the UNFPA, said: "There is a
dire need for greater action to address the lack of opportunities and
human rights violations that lead many women to migrate in the first
place.
"There is an urgent need for stronger co-operation between countries to
make migration more safe and fair. We call on governments to recognise
and value the contributions of migrant women and to promote and respect
their human rights."
She pointed to a new law in Sweden that prosecuted men who were caught
with sex workers rather than the women as an example of how the
problems of sex trafficking could be tackled.
Ms Obaid said that women often suffered double discrimination from
being both female and migrants. She added that rather than the
imposition of quotas, such as those being discussed for new EU entrants
such as Bulgaria, Britain should work with poorer countries to build up
their own education and health systems so that people were not forced
to travel abroad to escape grinding poverty.
But she also upheld the rights of people to travel abroad in search of
a better life. "Migration for economic well-being is a human right,"
she said. "These people contribute a lot to economies... Countries
should discuss together how to manage migration. If it is done well,
then it is a win-win situation for both the sending and the receiving
countries."
Her view contrasted sharply with that expressed by the new director
general of the Confederation of British Industry, Richard Lambert, who
warned earlier this week that the wave of cheap labour from eastern
Europe could put social cohesion at risk.
The UN report also revealed that claims about "floods" of migrants were
exaggerated. Since 1960, the proportion of migrants has remained
stable, accounting for 2.9 per cent of the global population. The US
takes the highest proportion of the world's international migrants, 20
per cent, compared with just 2 per cent in the UK. Refugees and
asylum-seekers represent just 3 per cent of all international migrants
in Europe.
Does sex really sell? Perhaps not to women
Researchers gauged responses to photos of attractive women
I always wondered why they put sexy photo advertisments in womens magazines...
I always wondered why they put sexy photo advertisments in womens magazines...
September 1, 2006
Quote of the Month
If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world
but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all. -- Anna
Quindlen
****************************************************************
but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all. -- Anna
Quindlen
****************************************************************
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