In an article that shows that greed and the need to keep the working poor down are motives that not confined to the uber-conservative political machine in America, The Daily Mail reported today that Irish Gangs have been luring unemployed men throughout Britain with promises of high-paying jobs and then forcing them into slavery; trafficking them abroad in Norway and Sweden.
Apparently the gangs are forcing the men to work for less than 10£ a day and kenneling them in substandard camps. They are kept working 10 to 12 hours a day paving driveways and other small paving jobs, leading the Swedish authorities to call them ‘Tarmac Cowboys’. The mafia-style press-gangs coerce the men with threats of violence against their families. Several suspicious deaths among their captives have at last drawn the attention of Swedish authorities.
Unlimited numbers of captive workers, paid little or nothing, fed poorly, and denied medical care and their very existence denied by those who reap the profits – it’s a dream come true for the secret finance committee backing the puppet congress these days in America. Dick Cheney must be salivating in his spider-hole, trying to figure out a way to make it so.
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In what can only be called a landmark decision, Reuters today reported that Saudi Arabia will give women the right to vote. In an historic move, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud announced today that "Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote."
"This is great news," said Wajeha al-Huwaider, a Saudi writer and women's rights activist. "Women's voices will finally be heard.” She also said, “Now it is time to remove other barriers like not allowing women to drive cars and not being able to function, to live a normal life without male guardians."
This is, we hope, only the beginning of equality for the human race in the Middle East.
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And now for the news from San Francisco – Bringing new meaning to hanging out on a street-corner:
Several dozen men and at least one woman took part in a naked protest Saturday in an area of the Castro District neighborhood that has become known for its nude visitors. Several carried signs that read, "Nudity is Not a Crime" and "Get Your Hate Off My Body," as they milled around, undeterred by the brisk weather and light mist.
San Francisco generally allows public nudity, but a city supervisor has proposed regulating the practice. Supervisor Scott Wiener's proposal would require the clothing-averse to cover up in restaurants. It would also require nudists to put a cloth or other barrier under their bottoms if they take a seat in public.
Mitch Hightower, the organizer of the ‘nude-in’, said it was not intended as a protest against the proposal. The goal, Hightower said, was to promote acceptance of the human body no matter what shape or form it comes in. "The people out here believe there is nothing indecent or offensive about the human body," he said.
Mitch Hightower, the organizer of the ‘nude-in’, said it was not intended as a protest against the proposal. The goal, Hightower said, was to promote acceptance of the human body no matter what shape or form it comes in. "The people out here believe there is nothing indecent or offensive about the human body," he said.
It’s often a bad sad world, but events like this give me hope that no matter how serious the rest of the world gets, someone will always have a cause that is 'so much more important'.
In view of all of this important, time-consuming political stuff, I say it's time to pull out a good book and read yourself to happiness! I have read and re-read some of the best books ever, and I regularly blog about what I read on my book review blog called 'The Best In Fantasy Blog'. You can read my reviews of many of these fine books that are listed below, and I will tell you straight-up, they truly are some of the best books I have recently read.
