The saga/history/thoughts of two gay partners and their 4-footed child picking up stakes in the US and immigrating to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
You've got to put yourself in the journalist's shoes (pardon the expression, please) to appreciate the emotions of the moment.
Per McClathchy's report today on the trial of the Iraqi charged with assaulting a foreign head of state:
Iraqi shoe thrower angered by Bush's 'icy smile'
McClatchy Washington Bureau Feb. 19, 2009Trenton Daniel | McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD — When Iraqi journalist Muntathar al Zaidi took the stand Thursday, he said that he hadn't planned to hurl his shoes at President George W. Bush, but the sight of the smirking leader at a Baghdad news conference got the best of him.
"He had an icy smile with no blood or spirit," said Zaidi, who was enclosed in a wooden pen. "At that moment, I only saw Bush, and the whole world turned black. I was feeling the blood of innocent people moving under his feet."
_______________
Since the December news conference, many Iraqis have hailed Zaidi a hero. An artist built a monument in his honor and lawyers throughout the Arab world volunteered to represent him. _______________
When guards escorted Zaidi into the courtroom, his brother Dhergham jumped to his feet and applauded. Zaidi's other siblings and their supporters began chanting, "May God be with you!"
_______________
When it was Zaidi's turn to speak, he recalled the day with clarity, speaking for about 90 minutes. He said that Bush wasn't an Iraqi guest when the U.S. commander in chief boasted of his administration's accomplishments."I don't know what kind of achievements he was talking about," Zaidi said. "I just saw seas of Iraqi blood."
Personally, I think Muntathar al Zaidi speaks the truth, unlike members of the bush administration . . . .
While I'm not normally a CanWest reader, a copy of The Province newspaper was available for perusing at lunch today. The piece below was on the Opinions Page, and it is worth sharing in it's entirety here:
Woman marries dog
The ProvinceFebruary 11, 2009
The "slippery slope" argument is often used by opponents to non-traditional marriages. Their point being that any legal admission of a union outside "adult male/adult female" opens up the possibility that wedded bliss might soon be granted to a man and his dog.
This line of argument has been easy enough to ignore.
Until now, that is.
In late January, in India's eastern Jharkhand, villagers "married" off a young girl to a stray dog.
We can hear the anti-gay-marriage lobby now: "See, we told you . . . let the gays wed and next thing you know your sister's walking down the aisle with Rover."
Thank you for that, Anita Bryant.The truth of the matter is this: The locals at Munda Dhanda village performed the ceremony to overcome any spiritual curse that might fall on the family.
To the best of our knowledge, gay marriage is still not permitted in Munda Dhanda. Therefore, the "slippery slope" to "man marries dog" appears not to be gay unions, but rather, religion.
Lots going on, but I wanted to document that today is the one year anniversary of "drf" and I actually performing the physical landing as Permanent Residents of Canada.
The "Four Footed Child" didn't make it 'til June, but our family was and is very happy about the whole experience. We highly recommend it.
With all the world economic turmoil, it's easy to forget about corporate intrusion into Canada's sovereignty. Go see our friend Alison for all the details on the preview below.
"He had an icy smile with no blood or spirit," said Zaidi, who was enclosed in a wooden pen. "At that moment, I only saw Bush, and the whole world turned black. I was feeling the blood of innocent people moving under his feet."
