readin' time

the gay march in bucharest was ok in the end, in spite of some incidents and aside from the continued problems with opposition from the orthodox church, right extremist groups and some unsavory public figures and the overall unfair (discriminatory and sensationalist) media coverage. [various news and commentary in romanian on the accept site and on the imc romania newswire]

meanwhile, in the states, bush tried to push for a gay marriage ban. and didn't succeed! there was some excellent - and hilarious as usual - stuff on the topic on both the daily show (the analysis: "Wake up people! If gay people can get married, we'll have to change all the legal forms!" and the total destruction of the conservative p.o.v.: "Bill Bennett debates the issue of gay marriage with Jon.") and on the colbert report ("The fact that other people are gay-married undermines Stephen's marriage.").

by the way, i cannot believe it took me such a long time to warm up to stephen colbert. he really is brilliant. the commencement speech he gave at knox college is more proof of this:

... And when you enter the work force, you will find competition from those crossing our all-too-poorest borders. Now I know you're all going to say, "Stephen, Stephen, immigrants built America." Yes, but here's the thing -- it's built now. I think it was finished in the mid-70s sometime. At this point it's a touch-up and repair job. But thankfully Congress is acting and soon English will be the official language of America. Because if we surrender the national anthem to Spanish, the next thing you know, they'll be translating the Bible. God wrote it in English for a reason! So it could be taught in our public schools.

So we must build walls. A wall obviously across the entire southern border. That's the answer. That may not be enough -- maybe a moat in front of it, or a fire-pit. Maybe a flaming moat, filled with fire-proof crocodiles. And we should probably wall off the northern border as well. Keep those Canadians with their socialized medicine and their skunky beer out. And because immigrants can swim, we'll probably want to wall off the coasts as well. And while we're at it, we need to put up a dome, in case they have catapults. And we'll punch some holes in it so we can breathe. Breathe free. It's time for illegal immigrants to go -- right after they finish building those walls. Yes, yes, I agree with me.
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(note: this passage seems lifted straight out of planet moldova's legamant1[ro], which is one of my favorite things ever! i really wonder if stephen colbert knows moldavian. :)) disclaimer to note: i don't support p.m. nowadays, as they are big sell-outs on friendly terms with pulafashion & co. booo)

changing the topic but sticking to brilliance, i think that one should listen to alternet about "The Tall Blonde Woman in the Short Skirt With the Big Mouth" (You know who I'm talking about. I urge you, I challenge you, I beg you: Ignore this woman!). so ignore, with one exception first - please, go read angryblackbitch's WONDERFUL "beware false prophets":

... Ann Coulter is a false prophet. The Bible gives great insight into the Ann Coulters of the world who wear the symbols and speak the language of tremendous faith yet demonstrate little to none of the behavior the Bible calls upon the faithful to participate in.

The Book of Matthew goes into detail about the false prophets and how they will appear...that they will cloak themselves in the apparel of the faithful to hide the beast beneath…they will bear rotten fruit despite their apparently healthy leaves…they should be known by those fruits and not their appearance...by their actions and not their words.

And so we have Ann Coulter…and her fruit…neo-conservatism and the fruit of that movement. Ann utilizes the language of faith and the liberal should not shy away from speaking of her in that tongue. This bitch is not afraid to be judged by my actions...by my labor and the fruits of that labor.

Know me through my actions...as my ass knows you through your actions.
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and last but not least, a couple more things to read and know about:

a group of hiv-positive women in vietnam have gotten together to help one another in living with their illness and the discrimination they have to face in society. and also from feministe, racism at the world cup. (here i must recommend reading the whole blog on a daily basis, as it's consistently great)

joining the european union will very likely mean more trafficked children for romania, and our politicians can't be bothered to say anything about it (very informative post by luiza). see antitrafic.ro

the video "america's #1 terrorists" gives the basic info on the shac7 - activists who have been convicted (as "terrorists") for protesting against an animal research facility. this sentence sets a frightening precedent for denying activists their first ammendment rights at any time they interfere with the financial interests of businesses. (the video has some very graphic footage, be warned. i cried.) terrorists. right. can anyone say judi bari? (link to video from food fight!)

see hotel rwanda!! i finally did, and it's as powerful as i thought it would be and even better than i expected. the site has links for further information and resources. people should know this piece of history, the full horror and injustice of it. this text is particularly useful, as are znet's africa watch and human rights watch: africa.