Posts Tagged ‘ FTB ’

Arkansas police have destroyed the record

May 22nd, 2015 4:40 pm | By

Unbelievable.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas police have destroyed a record outlining a nearly decade-old investigation into reality TV star Josh Duggar, a spokesman said Friday, a day after the 27-year-old resigned his role with a prominent conservative Christian group amid reports about sexual misconduct allegations from when he was a juvenile.

“Sexual misconduct” is putting it a great deal too politely. The allegations are that he groped his younger sisters.
The reports are also that his parents did nothing about it, and that his sisters were expected to “forgive” him and leave it at that.

And that the Duggars have been telling the world how fabulous they are because Jesus via a popular reality tv show for … Read the rest

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Counting what, exactly?

May 22nd, 2015 12:06 pm | By

This thing is horrific.

The In Touch article has the details, and they’re jaw-dropping. Vaticanesque, but with the extra turn of the screw that the “girls” in question are his sisters. Maybe having 19 children isn’t such a brilliant idea after all, huh?

WARNING: Graphic descriptions contained in police report.

Jim Bob Duggar waited more than a year after his son, Josh, confessed to sexually molesting several female minors before contacting police, In Touch Magazine is reporting exclusively, based on information contained in the official police report.

The female minors were his sisters.

What’s more, Jim Bob informed the elders of his church about Joshua’s actions and they waited three months before contacting authorities. The explosive

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Wholesome

May 22nd, 2015 11:42 am | By

I have to laugh. I’m sure it’s very wrong of me to laugh, but I can’t help it – not once I spot the random guy in the back row, like Hitchcock making the cameo in his own movies.

Via In TouchRead the rest

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Get the popcorn

May 22nd, 2015 11:34 am | By

The response of The “Learning” Channel (yes it’s really called that – the channel that runs “19 Kids and Counting” along with other voyeuristic dreck uses the word “learning” in its title) to the allegations about First Patriarchal Son Josh Duggar was to run a marathon of the show yesterday. Very learning, much educational.

On Thursday, 19 Kids and Counting’s Josh Duggar responded to reports that he molested five underage girls when he was a teen.

“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” Josh, now 27, wrote on the Duggars’ Facebook page. “I confessed this to my

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Events that occurred during his teenage years

May 22nd, 2015 11:05 am | By

It turns out that having 19 or 20 or 40 children and raising them SuperChristian doesn’t guarantee that they will be good people who don’t harm other people. The Duggars are finding that out.

A son in the large Christian family featured in reality television show 19 Kids and Counting issued an apology and quit his job on Thursday after reports that he molested underage girls when he was a teenager.

Josh Duggar, 27, is the eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, whose long-running show on cable network TLC chronicles the daily struggles and triumphs of a conservative family in Arkansas.

“Conservative” is putting it too mildly. Patriarchal, backward-looking, theocratic, authoritarian – they’re all that and more.… Read the rest

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For those with the privilege of voting in such an historic day

May 22nd, 2015 10:28 am | By

The Irish vote on same-sex marriage is today; polls close in a couple of hours. Counting doesn’t begin until tomorrow.

David Robert Grimes takes a look at some of the bad science being deployed by the No side.

Catholic think-tank the Iona Institute are amongst the loudest voices on the no side. Along with other no campaigners, their main argument has been a rather cynical attempt to reframe the referendum as about children rather than marriage equality, a misconception the referendum commissioner has taken pains to dismantle. This hasn’t discouraged Iona and their fellow no campaigners from attempting to emotively and dishonestly reframe the discussion, however.

Biological parents! Better! Better for children! Never mind that the research doesn’t … Read the rest

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Reaping what you sow

May 22nd, 2015 10:04 am | By

So now it’s the Wahhabis’ turn.

The Islamic State (IS) group says it was behind a suicide bombing on a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia that killed at least 10 people.

The attack in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province is the first to be claimed by the Saudi branch of IS, which was formally established last November.

They break their eggs at the wrong end, you see.

Witnesses reported a huge blast at the Imam Ali mosque in the village of al-Qadeeh, in Qatif governorate during Friday prayers.

A doctor at the hospital told the BBC that at least 10 people were killed and about 70 injured, “some very critically”.

Allahu aqbar.

The Sunni extremists of IS have a special

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Just as a fact

May 21st, 2015 5:07 pm | By

From Shit People Say To Women Directors:

A few years ago I was working on a major (major!) big budget LA-based film production

I was one of four women (out of more than 60 people) working in the art department. One day a male colleague and I were talking about how few women were working on this production.

He proceeded to inform me that, “women are not as talented as men when it comes to the arts.” 

The weird thing: he said this with no malice, just as a fact.

Well sure. After all, there were only four women in the art department. There’s your fact right there.

I’m an Animator and Character Designer

I’m helping put together

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Almost there

May 21st, 2015 4:37 pm | By

Stewart on Obama’s Twitter adventures:

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And this attitude is infectious

May 21st, 2015 11:46 am | By

Yet another piece about how atheism got to be all full of assholes. I say “yet another” so you’ll know I realize there are a lot and I’ve probably talked about all of them, but this is a good one. (So were the others. Shut up.)

Mark Hill divides the brands of assholery into 5.

#5. The Closest Atheism Has To Leaders Are Terrible People

Yes. That’s true, and it’s a problem if you want atheism to catch on.

He starts, naturally, with Dawkins.

He sneers down on anyone who disagrees with him with such disdain that Professor Snape would be put off, he’s repeatedly gone out of his way to insult and trivialize sexual harassment, and he went

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Bigger, Better, Shinier Human Rights

May 21st, 2015 11:23 am | By

My latest Free Inquiry column is online. Usually they’re subscribers-only, so it’s fun to be able to share.

It’s about Saudi Arabia’s indignation at Margot Wallström for daring to mention human rights in her address to a meeting of the Arab League – a very mild, gentle, tactful mention.

That’s all. It doesn’t seem very confrontational or harsh, does it? In fact I would expect Saudi Arabia to go the opposite way and nod pleasantly throughout the speech by way of showing the world that of course it agrees that human rights and women’s rights are important. After all, Saudi Arabia sent a representative to the Charlie Hebdo march for freedom of expression in Paris in January, despite the

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​Shit People Say to Women Directors

May 21st, 2015 10:53 am | By

There’s a tumblr about shit people say to women directors. The Guardian says so.

The site, which launched on 22 April and is causing a storm among film industry insiders, especially women, is a catalog of anonymous stories about the sexist things that happen to women working on film sets.

One female director was asked by a male agent: “How did you get so far so fast, besides the fact that you give good head?” One male director told a female crew member: “I can’t work with someone I want to fuck. It messes with my head.” A male writer told his female assistant: “You are a terrible assistant; why don’t you go back to working in porn where

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The men get picked up by the studios and the women don’t

May 21st, 2015 10:26 am | By

Good. Let’s have more of this kind of thing. The ACLU is starting a campaign to push the US movie industry to stop treating women like the invisible half of humanity.

The so-called celluloid ceiling is firmly intact despite years of complaints about gender inequality, the American Civil Liberties Union reports. In particular, both aspiring and seasoned female directors are excluded from the vast majority of movies.

The ACLU will demand on Tuesday that both state and federal agencies investigate the hiring practices of Hollywood’s major studios, networks and talent agencies and consider filing legal charges.

The ACLU found “rampant discrimination” against female movie directors and has focused its latest investigation mainly on that sector of the industry, but also

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Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart

May 21st, 2015 9:44 am | By

It reads like an outtake from Amy Schumer’s fuckability video, but it isn’t. From the Guardian:

Maggie Gyllenhaal was told by a Hollywood producer that she was too old, at 37, to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man, the Oscar-nominated actor has revealed.

Let me explain. She’s “too old” to play the role of the woman inserted into the movie solely to show that the protagonist dude is 1. straight and 2. normal. The reason she is “too old” to play that part is that 37 x 2=74 and the man is only 55. It’s a law of Hollywood that the token woman there to show the protagonist man’s straight normality has to be no more than … Read the rest

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From the Temple of Bel to the West Gate

May 20th, 2015 4:16 pm | By

Wikipedia on The Great Colonnade at Palmyra:

The Great Colonnade at Palmyra was the main colonnaded avenue in the ancient city of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert. The colonnade was built in several stages during the second and third century CE and stretched for more than a kilometer. It linked the Temple of Bel, in the southeastern end of the city, to the West Gate and the Funerary Temple in the northwestern part. As of May 2015, the area is under the control of the Islamic State.


Wikipedia

Goodbye Great Colonnade.… Read the rest

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Goodbye Palmyra

May 20th, 2015 4:09 pm | By

Daesh has taken it. They’ll smash or sell everything.

Hundreds of Palmyra’s statues have been moved to safety but large monuments from the ancient parts of the city could not be moved.

“This is the entire world’s battle,” said Syria’s head of antiquities Maamoun Abdul Karim. He called on the US-led military coalition against IS to prevent the group destroying the ancient site.

Rising out of the desert, Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, according to Unesco, the UN’s cultural agency.

Palmyra is the last place anyone would expect to find a forest of stone columns and arches. But for anyone visiting, the

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Not too far into the future

May 20th, 2015 11:05 am | By

Raymond Johansen posted a translated transcript of an interview Ensaf Haidar did on NRK Debatt.

Dear Ensaf Haidar, here is your interview again and the following is a translation I hope do you justice. My arabic is limited so please do not feel offended. We tried our best. You are a strong woman and we wish you and your family the best of luck. You are right. Millions of people around the world stand right beside you and your husband Raif Badawi
————————————–
Ensaf is asked if she knows how her husband is doing in prison at the moment

Ensaf: Raif’s situation is not good at this moment in time – healthwise or psychologically. His situation is not

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Ensaf around the world

May 20th, 2015 10:50 am | By

Ensaf Haidar is in Norway, and keeping us posted.

Norsk PEN also updates us.

A new friend did the same:

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Ensaf Haidar, the wife of Raif Badawi who is imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for creating a website. In January he received the first 50 lashes, and ever since people from all over the world have mobilized to stop the flogging. Ensaf is an inspiring lady who is tirelessly working for Raif’s freedom. ‪#‎FreeRaifBadawi‬

http://www.amnesty.no/aksjon/stopp-piskingen-av-raif-badawi

 … Read the rest

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Must be able to handle a sword

May 20th, 2015 10:24 am | By

Job opportunity in Saudi Arabia: they’re hiring executioners.

Saudi Arabia is advertising for eight new executioners, recruiting extra staff to carry out an increasing number of death sentences, usually done by public beheading.

No special qualifications are needed for the jobs whose main role is “executing a judgment of death” but also involve performing amputations on those convicted of lesser offences, the advert, posted on the civil service jobs portal, said.

Not a bad job at all; just cutting off heads and hands. Light, healthful work in a pleasant environment.

The Islamic kingdom is in the top five countries in the world for putting people to death, rights groups say. It ranked third in 2014, after China and Iran,

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Those young women were totally unwilling

May 20th, 2015 9:20 am | By

HRW on Indonesia’s “virginity test”:

Virginity testing is a form of gender-based violence and is a widely discredited practice. In November 2014, the World Health Organization issued guidelines that stated, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity.”

Indonesia’s coordinating minister for politics, law, and security, Tedjo Edhi, acknowledged that the military requires the tests on November 18, 2014, the day that Human Rights Watch issued a report about “virginity testing” for female National Police candidates. Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya, the armed forces spokesman, said that the Indonesian military has conducted “virginity testing” on female recruits for even longer than the police, without specifying when the practice began. Human Rights Watch research

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