The tide is turning against female circumcision - aka genital mutilation - in Egypt

Horrifying story. If you weren't aware of this, you should be. From the NYT:

For centuries Egyptian girls, usually between the ages of 7 and 13, have been taken to have the procedure done, sometimes by a doctor, sometimes by a barber or whoever else in the village would do it. As recently as 2005, a government health survey showed that 96 percent of the thousands of married, divorced or widowed women interviewed said they had undergone the procedure — a figure that astounds even many Egyptians. In the language of the survey, “The practice of female circumcision is virtually universal among women of reproductive age in Egypt.”....

But now, quite suddenly, forces opposing genital cutting in Egypt are pressing back as never before. More than a century after the first efforts to curb this custom, the movement has broken through one of the main barriers to change: It is no longer considered taboo to discuss it in public. That shift seems to have coincided with a small but growing acceptance of talking about human sexuality on television and radio.

For the first time, opponents said, television news shows and newspapers have aggressively reported details of botched operations. This summer two young girls died, and it was front-page news in Al Masry al Yom, an independent and popular daily. Activists highlighted the deaths with public demonstrations, which generated even more coverage.

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Republican mayor of San Diego says daughter is gay, will support same-sex marriage

Neat story. Read the rest of this post...

Facebook bans photo of woman breastfeeding her kid, yet okay with groups promoting anorexia

You see, a woman can only post a photo of herself breastfeeding her child if the entire breast isn't visible in the photo. 99% of the breast is okay, but a full breast is apparently highly offensive to the folks at Facebook. Apparently the mommy-bloggers are none too happy about this. I tend to agree. Oh, and just to make things more interesting, Facebook has no problem playing host to 350 pro-Anorexia groups that not only encourage anorexia, but actually provide tips on how young girls can starve themselves to death.

Facebook is fine with providing a how-to guide to anorexia, but not okay with moms breastfeeding their kids. How long until this story hits the national news? More from my friend David who is dogging this fight. The previous link has David's back and forth with Facebook on this issue. And this link is his earlier post giving you more background on the story. Read the rest of this post...

Republicans block floor vote on Webb's pro-troop amendment

The Webb amendment, which would have mandated that troops spend as much time on rotation home as they do on rotation in Iraq, just failed a cloture vote (that is, it was prevented from getting an up-or-down vote on the floor; it was an obstructionist move).

I'm all for bipartisanship and compromise, it's just that you have to have willing parties *on both sides of the aisle* to compromise. Dems keep trying, and Republicans keep obstructing. Things like this vote demonstrate why there isn't compromise in Washington: there simply are not enough Republicans willing to do the right thing. Votes like this are what expose appeals to the "vital center" as complete fallacy. Republicans, with minimal exceptions (Hagel being notable -- and he's retiring), want to continue the war, and they want to do it in a way that is harming our military forces. Democrats want to end the war and do right by the military. It's really just that simple.

The vote was 56 to 44. Johnson (D-SD) added one Yes vote to the last round, while John "Respected Vital Center" Warner disgracefully changed his vote from the last time this was up, voting against it today.

UPDATE: From comments (with minor edits for length) --

"I remember well when my son in law was in Iraq for 12 long months. My wife did most of the heavy emotional lifting, consoling my daughter when the panic attacks hit. I did less, but I remember it well.

You see -- when a guy dies in Iraq they shut down all communication home until the next of kin can be notified. One unintended consequence of that is spouses know when somebody has died, but they don't know who. It's like that scene in A League of Their Own, except the tension and fear goes on for a day or two and then it happens again a few weeks later.

How many soldiers come back from Iraq to divorce?
How many broken families has this war produced?

You don't support the troops if you don't give them adequate time home. You don't support families that way either.

Neocons say, it is a way to force an early withdrawal.

I say, Bush should have thought about that when he started this cursed war.

michael | 09.19.07 - 6:23 pm |

Indeed.

[Note: I royally screwed up the initial title of this post. Reading the comments, I realized the mistake and it's now fixed. The amendment was not "voted down" as I initially -- and sloppily -- wrote, it was blocked from a floor vote by obstructionist tactics, tactics which Republicans are employing at 300% the usual rate during this Congressional session.] Read the rest of this post...

Obama and Edwards compared

I've praised the foreign policy speeches and (apparent) inclinations of both Obama and Edwards in recent weeks, and I've made no secret of my affection for their policies and their staffers. (And I should note that my lack of commentary about Senator Clinton is more because Edwards and Obama have done major addresses on foreign policy -- both speeches and articles -- rather than any specific disapproval of Clinton; there will be plenty of commentary on her to come, I'm sure.)

Some readers have emailed me asking for an analysis of the difference between the Obama and Edwards positions on foreign policy, but honestly there's not a lot of space between the two, so far as I can tell -- especially now that Obama is in the "no funding without a timeline" camp.

This diary does an excellent job of comparing Obama with Edwards, starting out trying to draw distinctions and ultimately finding mostly similarities. They each "outline a foreign policy that seeks to change the fundamental conditions that spawn terrorism, and emphasize America's soft power at least as much (if not more than) our military capabilities," and I agree that "The similarity of these potential policies is a good sign; hopefully, it indicates that [either one would bring] a major shift in emphasis for American foreign policy, one that would go after some the basic reasons for terrorism (poverty, lack of education, lack of hope) instead of propagating the idea that only by military force can we make the country more safe."

If and when real divisions open up, I'll be watching for them, but for the moment it's nice to have two (and perhaps three?) leading candidates who really do get it on foreign policy. I sometimes think I don't give Democratic candidates enough credit for their attention and skill regarding international issues; it's important to remember that there are plenty of people -- more than a few of them running for president under the Republican banner -- who hold absolutely crazy views on foreign policy. It's nice to not have that problem with leading Dems. Read the rest of this post...

Richardson: Troops add to Iraq unrest

Here we go with the charges that Bill Richardson hates the troops, simply because he told the truth. Read the rest of this post...

US Defense Secretary doesn't know if invading Iraq was a good idea

David Brooks in the NYT:

I asked him whether invading Iraq was a good idea, knowing what we know now. He looked at me for a bit and said, “I don’t know.”

That's not candor, it's horrifying. Nearly 3,800 American troops are dead and their chief doesn't know if the war they died for is a good idea? Read the rest of this post...

Join me at the Young Voter PAC's open-bar event on the Hill tonight

September 19, 2007
6-8pm
Top of the Hill Bar
319 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
Open Bar of Beer + Wine

In DC, our celebrities are "politicos," so come get a drink (yes it is really an open bar from 6-8pm) from one of our previously endorsed candidates and other Democratic leaders who support the youth vote. Buy your ticket today and watch for more confirmed bartenders at www.youngvoterpac.org.

Celebrity Bartenders (confirmed)
Rep. George Miller, the College Affordability Crusader
Rep. Harry Mitchell, Everyone's Favorite Teacher
Rep. Patrick Murphy, the Iraq Vet
John Aravosis, America's Blogger
Anthony Daniels, the Chair of Future Educators
Scott Kleeb, the Hot Rancher
Celinda Lake, the Goddess Pollster
Christine Pelosi, Campaign Boot Camp Drill Sergeant

Sponsor
National Educational Association

Host Committee
Alexandra Acker
Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani
David Burd
Julie Burton
Julia Cohen
Ryan Friedrichs
Ivan Frishberg
Jane Fleming Kleeb
Chris Gallaway
Andrew Gillum
Lane Hudson
Sarah Ingersoll
Brooke Lierman
Parag Mehta
Christine Pelosi
Crystal Strait
Jessy Tolkan
Simone Ward

Buy Your Ticket Today
A $50 cover charge, payable before the event at www.youngvoterpac.org or at the door, gets you into the event. All tips to our Celebrity Bartenders will also go to the Young Voter PAC's 2007 endorsements, our 18-35 Presidential Primary program and our new State Party Youth Director program. Guests must be 21 to attend the event. To become a Host or Sponsor of the event, email director@youngvoterpac.org. Read the rest of this post...

Different circus, same clowns

(Greek liberal political blogger, Panayotis Vryonis, runs Vrypan.net. Like most foreigners, Panayoti has an incredibly cool, advanced camera/phone/GPS/video/voice recorder that is lighter than a feather and fits in your pocket. The camera is 5 megapixels. The GPS is free. I am so sick of going abroad and seeing phones that are generations beyond anything we have here. I'm suspecting that our wonderful domestic-spying friends at the American phone companies are restraining trade in some way. It's really pathetic how backwards we are in some things.)

When I was in Greece two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with the chief of staff to Greek opposition leader George Papandreou. They were preparing for national elections held this past Sunday (the left lost). I got to meet with a number of senior media staffers, including their blogger, and it was surprising to what degree the Greek blogosphere reflects our own. Certainly, the US blogosphere, and especially political blogosphere, beats out most (if not all) countries in the world in terms of its size and import in national (and local) politics. But what I found funny, and interesting, were a few key points.

1. The liberal political blogosphere in Greece is more powerful than the conservative blogosphere.

2. Liberal blogs, while anti-conservative, don't necessarily identify with a particular party, or at least with the lead liberal party, PASOK. In other words, the liberal bloggers can be a bit bitchy with their own party (those are my words).

The funny thing is how closely this mirrors the US. The liberal American political blogosphere is more powerful than the conservative. When the media and politicians talk about "the blogs" they're using talking about us - about Markos, about Atrios, about Arianna. They're not talking about Michelle, Hugh and John. Whether this is because conservatives prefer talk radio as their unifying outlet, or the fact that liberals are more independent-spirited, something that lends itself to the Internet and political innovation, who knows.

The second, and even funnier thing, in my view, is that the left is often a bit critical of its own lead party. Sound familiar?

Greece only has 25% of its citizens online, or so I was told. While in the US, over half the population has broadband Internet access (e.g., cable or DSL). But there's still a lot you can do by organizing a key cabal of supporters, who then disseminate your message to the offline community. It's what many of us had to do in the late 90s in the US. With email lists of only a few thousand people, and Web sites that only got a few thousands visitors a day, we still wreaked havoc. And France was way behind in terms of blogs, and even its online presence wasn't quite up to the European par years ago. France now leads Europe in its blog presence. Read the rest of this post...

Romney hates Republicans who act like Democrats

What's Mormon for chutzpah? Read the rest of this post...

Arnold Schwarzenegger's lesbian chief of staff, Susan Kennedy, called on to resign

Robin is a long-time lesbian activist. She joined me as a co-founder of StopDrLaura.com, among other ventures.

For Immediate Release
Robin Tyler, plaintiff, California same-gender marriage case, robintyler@robintyler.com

A CALL FOR SUSAN KENNEDY, LESBIAN, CHIEF OF STAFF TO GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, TO RESIGN

GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER said today, that he will veto the bill legalizing same-gender civil marriage because 61% percent of California voters favored Proposition 22 in March 2000. Ms. Kennedy agreed with the Governor's decision using Prop 22 (which only bars California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside California), when he used the same excuse to veto the bill in 2005. He says he will never sign this bill. In 1948, if California voters had been allowed to vote on inter-racial marriage when the California Supreme Court struck down the anti-miscegenation law and found in favor of inter-racial marriage, over 72% of the voters would have voted against it.

Even though I, a plaintiff, am going to the California Supreme Court next year, (and the Governor has said he will "abide" by the CA Supreme Court's decision), I am not only extremely disappointed in the Governor's lack of courage, but am especially disappointed in Susan Kennedy, his chief of staff, whose "same gender wedding" I attended in Hawaii several years ago.

Since I attended Susan's wedding, why is she so against attending mine? Both Arnold and Susan know that it is unconstitutional for the majority to deny a minority equal protection under the law. To hide behind that [Prop 22] as an excuse, is cowardly and unforgivable, for both the Governor and especially for Ms. Kennedy, a lesbian. Rather then backing the Governor's decision with unacceptable excuses, I ask that Ms. Kennedy resign as Chief of Staff. If not, shame on you Susan, to side against your community, and deny civil marriage to your friends.

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Jim Webb speaks -- listen and act. Today.

UPDATE: The Webb amendment could come up for a vote as early as today. So please call your Senators now. Senate switchboard: 202-224-3121.

A major battle is shaping up in the Senate over Jim Webb's pro-troops amendment. Webb's colleague from Virginia, John Warner, is prepared to screw over the troops -- and Webb. Call your Senators today. Crooks and Liars has a target list with numbers:
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Wednesday morning open thread

What do we need to know? Read the rest of this post...

Baghdad - the bank robbery capital of the world

Let's throw more money into Iraq since it's going so well. Two of the largest bank robberies in history have occurred in Iraq with one happening only a few months ago.

Firas Ali Suleiman, a driver for the Bank of Baghdad described how a van carrying $1.6m from its Hilla branch to Baghdad was ambushed. "It was a Kia van and it was not armoured, but we had four guards with the money inside," he said.

"We were stopped at a checkpoint in Audiya run by the Ministry of Interior commandos. They ordered the back door to be opened and saw the money. The guards were called out and then put in handcuffs and hooded. I could hear them talking about the money and then they took the money out. I was told to drive away and I called the manager on my mobile and told him what happened.

"The next roadblock was by the Mehdi Army (Shia militia). I think they, too, were expecting to get some money but, by then, of course, it was gone. The police were called later but they did nothing."

Khalid Mohammed, the manager called by Mr Suleiman, is convinced most of the robberies take place with inside help. "I have been at a bank branch when the men with guns came. They knew exactly where the money was and, when they left, they went straight past all the checkpoints, no one searched their cars or asked any questions.

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Buddhist monks continue protests in Myanmar

Perhaps the only people in the country formerly known as Burma that can get away with public protest are standing up to to the military junta with public protests. They are not completely untouchable - they have had issues with the security forces - but they are about as untouchable as it gets in the country. I recall being horrified a few years back when I saw photos of the Buddhist monks together with the junta leaders in the annual festival on Inle Lake, raising the question of their coziness with the brutal regime though that relationship appears to be frayed and deteriorating.

The Yangon march and rallies in other cities Wednesday were to protest hardship brought on by the government's economic policies, especially a sudden, major hike in fuel prices last month that first sparked the persistent demonstrations — first by pro-democracy activists and now primarily by monks.

In the central city of Mandalay, more than 1,000 monks marched, while about 100 others in dark saffron robes staged a peaceful march in the western Yangon suburb of Ahlone.

More than 100 Buddhist monks from some monasteries in South Okkalapa township in Yangon's northern suburbs also marched early Wednesday, later returning to their monasteries without incident.

"The monks are telling the public not to take part in the protests. They told onlookers that this is the monks' affair and that they would handle it themselves," a witness contacted by phone in Ahlone told The Associated Press. The person asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals.

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August foreclosures up 115% from 2006

Republican "let industry self regulate" economics in action. Where are all of the GOP members of Congress who allowed the mortgage market to go unchecked these days? They had no problem allowing this new system to discard decades of common sense so they should have no problem stepping up and explaining themselves today. There's no rush though, since this problem will not be going away any time soon.

"The jump in foreclosure filings this month might be the beginning of the next wave of increased foreclosure activity, as a large number of subprime adjustable rate loans are beginning to reset now," James Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive, said in statement.

The number of bank repossession filings rose dramatically, pumping up the month's foreclosure numbers, Saccacio said.

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Harry Reid is refusing to water down Iraq legislation

A Democrat with balls. There's hope for America yet. More on this tomorrow. Read the rest of this post...