Fucking & Feminism

Ladies, be warned: Your pussies are causing the downfall of society. If we keep posing for nude photos, sucking cock (and enjoying it), and getting Brazilian bikini waxes, our hard-won feminist gains will disappear, according to the latest generation of scolds and alarmists.

Writers like Ariel Levy (Female Chauvinist Pigs), reality show rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Hating Women: America's Hostile Campaign Against the Fairer Sex), and Pamela Paul (Pornified).

To them, fucking freely is bungling our climb toward equality. These well-intentioned prudes proffer a false choice: Be the next Jenna Jameson or support Hillary for president.   more »

If the United States were to back off its defense of the Kurds now, it would throw its entire Iraq strategy into chaos. It is more than just a question of the Kurdish role in the Iraqi government.

If the United States went so far as to abandon the Kurds in favor of maintaining good relations with Turkey, the signal to all groups in Iraq would be that American guarantees will last only until other U.S. interests take precedence.

Many in Iraq have been making that argument anyway, but a shift in U.S. support for the Kurds would confirm it. The Sunnis and Shia who have been considering alignment with the United States would certainly have to reconsider their position.

On the other hand, if Washington simply backs up the Kurds, the Turks are apparently prepared to reconsider not only their relations with the United States, but also their relations with the Iranians.   more »

The ouster of Stanley O’Neal as chairman

and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co.,

the giant investment bank and brokerage house,

is another indication of the deep crisis

gripping major US financial institutions

and contemporary corporate culture

   more »

Keywords: brokerage, investment, bank, capitalism

As for Bush, one of his confidants assured me two years ago that he would never leave the White House with the Iranian issue "unresolved".

That still appears to be his position. Such is his strange brand of serenity that he is unmoved by slumping opinion polls and foreign policy disasters.

He believes that Iraq could still be redeemable, if the Iranian "terrorists" are checked. His military advisers tell him that air strikes would not destroy Iran's nuclear project, but could delay it by five years.

Six months hence, when it has become plain that sanctions have failed to move Tehran and his own departure from office is imminent, there must be a real prospect that he will launch Stealth bombers.   more »

One in three adults in the US regularly contends with extremely high levels of stress, resulting in problems with their health, relationships, and work, according to a new national survey.

Economic troubles are the driving force of stress for ordinary Americans, who reported money, workload, and housing expenses among their most stressful concerns.

The survey, Stress in America 2007, released October 24 by the American Psychological Association, indicated that nearly half of all Americans are living with more stress than in the past few years.

It is no surprise that the rising cost of living, stagnating wages, and poor job market figure heavily into the worries of working families.   more »