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Wednesday Reads: TR-6? I prefer to think of her as… Elaine.

Posted: April 22, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: abortion rights, Congress, court rulings, Discrimination against women, immigration, misogyny, morning reads, racism, Refugees, War on Women, Women's Rights |27 Comments

5116b9018bff112970689c3d9157ac0b Good Morning

Well, they sure are creepy, yes?

——————>

Sort of like a Twilight Zone nightmare.

I don’t know why I decided to adorn today’s thread with images of mannequins but so it goes. There has to be some hidden meaning behind it, if I was feeling better I probably could figure what that was…

Hey, if corporations are people…and a clump of cells are an unborn child (which would of course bring with it murder for miscarriage) then this latest ruling should come as no surprise: Addicting Info – Two Chimpanzees Given Legal ‘Personhood’ Rights In Landmark Court Decision

eb42cf59f07170d4e53aa1c89c77699cManhattan Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jaffe made a historical court decision on Monday. Judge Jaffe ordered that two chimpanzees have the legal writ of Habeas Corpus. The two chimpanzees, Hercules and Leo, were undergoing biomedical experiments at the Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York.

The Non-Human Rights project is the group responsible for the lawsuit. It is just the latest in a serious of legal attempts to grant personhood rights to non-human animals. Stony Brook University is now required to go into court and argue that they have a legally valid reason for keeping Hercules and Leo in captivity.

41e4887c28994eea0a4697fbea97f10cThe Non-Human Rights Project is requesting that the chimpanzees be released to a sanctuary for chimps.  In a previous lawsuit by the Non-Human Rights Project, a writ of Habeas Corpus was denied for the chimpanzee, Kiko, under the grounds that the chimpanzee would have been released to a sanctuary, rather than be freed. Under Habeas Corpus, prisoners can challenge their imprisonment, though they cannot use it to challenge the conditions of their imprisonment. That decision is being appealed by the group, and is to be brought before the New York State Supreme Court.

a239d514e8f09ede6512dce7fe89c37aNatalie Prosin, the Executive Director of the Non-Human Rights Project, said:

“This is a big step forward to getting what we are ultimately seeking: the right to bodily liberty for chimpanzees and other cognitively complex animals. We got our foot in the door. And no matter what happens that door can never be completely shut again.”

Okay, I have a problem with this. With women’s rights being fucked left and right all over the US, don’t tell me that one day an ape will have more rights than a human female.

10a4adc80ef337d918ac4f5944bb55a1But the article continues:

However not everyone feels that non-human animals have a right to laws traditionally reserved for humans. Richard Cupp, a law professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California told Science:

“The judge may merely want more information to make a decision on the legal personhood claim, and may have ordered a hearing simply as a vehicle for hearing out both parties in more depth. It would be quite surprising if the judge intended to make a momentous substantive finding that chimpanzees are legal persons if the judge has not yet 744dbc79bcab8e357be134b6bfb79b49heard the other side’s arguments.”

According to Science, Pristine plans to use this win for future lawsuits. She says:

“We have the scientific evidence to prove in a court of law that elephants, great apes, and whales and dolphins are autonomous beings and deserve the right to bodily liberty.”

You know what, I think Women deserve the right to fucking “bodily liberty.”

fe5fd28d7ef893f84d9e7cca3db12948Tennessee lawmaker tables abortion bill exceptions because rape and incest are ‘not verifiable’

Uh, I think I made my point. Sorry, it just pisses me off.

A few more angry stories coming up, so be prepared.

10662aed6fad94fe454f0f8ef36f807eYou all must have seen this: Missouri police officers resign after black mayor elected – NY Daily News

Five of the six cops in a tiny Missouri city quit after voters elected their first black female mayor.

Two full-time and three part-time officers in Parma resigned shortly before Tyus Byrd was sworn in on Tuesday, KFVS reported.

Outgoing Mayor Randall Ramsey told the station the cops gave no notice and were joined by the city attorney, clerk and water treatment supervisor.

b5de8f12a2f1482f903a60b294a3335eThey cited “safety concerns” in their resignation letters, according to Ramsey.

Byrd, who had previously worked as the city’s clerk, has declined to comment about the rash of walk outs but said she wasn’t able to find the letters.

Since that story was written more city employees have quit.

Missouri Town Elects Black Female Mayor, Police and Gov’t Officials Resign | Mediaite

According to KFVS, three city officials — “the city attorney, the city clerk, 43a1774dc64b96dd671664a59d7ae16cand the waste water treatment plant supervisor” — turned in their resignations as well. In their letters to the outgoing mayor, Randall Ramsey, they cited “safety concerns”.

Tyrus Bird, the black woman in question and the former city clerk, narrowly beat Ramsay, who held the mayorship for nearly 37 years, and said in a speech that she had no idea what these “safety concerns” were.

It is just ridiculous. Video at the link. And if you really want to get ill, read the comments on that Mediaite thread.

More Police Brutality in the news:

31d7804c15b2c2a54b7e67335ebe028eCourtroom erupts after judge finds Chicago cop not guilty in Rekia Boyd fatal shooting trial

Freddie Gray in Baltimore: Another City, Another Death in the Public Eye – NYTimes.com

Hundreds of protesters march in Baltimore as Justice Dept. announces probe of Freddy Gray’s death

Freddie Gray Is Only the Latest Apparent Victim of Baltimore Police Violence – The Atlantic

Oklahoma reserve deputy pleads not guilty to manslaughter in shooting black man | Reuters

Officials Investigating After U.S. Marshal Rips Phone From Hands Of Recording Bystander

e988fccc180db10709b964c4e15d376fCalifornia county to pay suspect $650K over deputies’ beating

Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, stories to get you angry.

Michael Brown: Tree planted in Ferguson park in memory of slain black teenager vandalised within 24 hours – Americas – World – The Independent

A tree that was planted in Ferguson in memory of slain black teenager Michael Brown has been vandalised – one day after it was placed in the ground.7941a8a80ef96d2be7db8fd3804cce8e

Reports said the tree planted in the city’s January-Wabash Park was chopped off at the trunk and the concrete and metal plaque at the base of the sapling was stolen.

“If it was intentional then they know they were wrong for doing it,” local resident Raynetta Godfrey told the KTVI television channel.

 

https://twitter.com/SoulRevision/status/590032437297582080

 

“At the end of the day someone lost their life.  It could have been them. It could have been one of their family members. I just think it wasn’t right. People feel with freedom of speech they get to do whatever they want to do. I think they abuse it.”

e8503d54db8958b3ccfad569955b476bAfter reading about that town in Missouri, something like this is exactly what I would expect from those racist assholes.

The next story is truly Horrifying, as Josh Marshall explains:

One of the couple dozen survivors of that migrant ship that sunk on the way from Libya to Italysays the smugglers locked hundreds of people in the hold before it went under. Estimates of the dead, all based on survivor accounts, range from 700 to 950 people aboard, with only 28 survivors found so far. As this article notes, the lack of bodies – only 24 have been found so far – makes more sense if they’re all contained locked inside the ship.

46a158e48701762d259dd55f2734c3f1So here are some updated links on that.

U.N.: As many as 850 migrants killed in shipwreck | Tampa Bay Times

2 arrested after migrant boat capsizes off Italy – CNN.com

At least there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Senate, Clearing Hurdle, Sets a Thursday Vote on Loretta Lynch – NYTimes.com

After weeks of difficult negotiations, the Senate on Tuesday reached an agreement to clear the way for a long-delayed confirmation vote on Loretta E. Lynch to replace Eric H. Holder Jr. as the attorney general.

The vote was scheduled for Thursday morning after senators announced a compromise on the main debate in legislation to help victims of sex trafficking, an unrelated bill that entangled Ms. Lynch’s nomination after Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said he would not schedule a confirmation vote until the Senate passed it. Ms. Lynch has f2c8072b58ff8312f88a4b66c21d03f3been waiting more than five months for the Senate to vote.

“I’m thrilled we were finally able to come together to break the impasse over this vital legislation,” said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, the main sponsor of the bill. “I look forward to swift passage in the Senate so we can ensure victims of human trafficking receive the resources they need to restore their lives.”

acc1b42c45fb4c1516d055b2c3f21172Perhaps I spoke too soon.

Y’all been following the Blue Bell roulette? I call it that because we still have been buying the stuff in our house and eating the little tubs of Homestyle Vanilla…in a sort of Russian Roulette, ice cream style. Now they are recalling the entire lot.

More listeria illnesses linked to Blue Bell products after recall – LA Times

Federal officials have linked two more listeria illnesses to Blue Bell Creameries products, a day after the Brenham, Texas-based company issued a nationwide recall of all of its products due to an ongoing outbreak of the potentially fatal foodborne illness.

Holy Rocky Road! That is something else!

Blue Bell’s Hometown Showing Support During Massive Recall « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

For the first time in its 108 year history, the company has issued a total recall.

e8309514511b7042b7fe900ed7b12af8Blue Bell is voluntarily pulling all products from store shelves worldwide after more tests came back that more ice cream tested positive for the listeria bacteria — which can make children, the elderly, and pregnant women sick.

Joe Robinson, a company spokesman says, “We’re serious about this and we will find this.”

The company has a team from the FDA, state and local health inspectors, and a microbiologist helping figure out why some of their products contained the listeria bacteria.

5d4aa97ae792b3593254bc2a1921ded0The company is still making a limited amount of ice cream in Brenham, and is having the products tested, before they can be sold.

Robertson says, “We want to come back and at some point, go from crawling to walking and then hopefully earn the people’s trust back.”

Joanne Kasten agrees, “Blue Bell has been a pristine company for a long time.  I think this is a bump in the road, I really do.”

The company hopes to have some of its products back in stores by early next week, and if all goes well, have store shelves re-stocked within two to three weeks.ec6fe752fe9fe4fe69f95fb58bc7f4e6

Blue Bell won’t say how much this is costing, other than to say the recall involves eight million gallons of ice cream.

I love Blue Bell, I could probably eat all that eight million gallons myself.

The post is getting long so lets do the rest of the links in dump fashion.

Money spent cleaning up BP’s mess skipped those who needed it most | Grist

DEA chief to step down, Congress probes sex party leaks | Reuters

a6a32e8ee7920f3e9e3287bb967c5358Hyper-precise atomic clock detects tiny changes in the fabric of time – LA Times

History News Network | Capturing History as it Really Happened in October 1962

Winning SCRABBLE and the Nature of Expertise – Scientific American

Mindfulness therapy as good as medication for chronic depression

10 Adult Coloring Books To Help You De-Stress And Self-Express

And to end the post, a little explanation on the title from daily seinfeld :

 

RICKY’S BOSS: Ricky, we’ve been getting a tremendous response to your TR-6 mannequin.RICKY: TR-6? I prefer to think of her as… Elaine. (via The Pie)

RICKY’S BOSS: Ricky, we’ve been getting a tremendous response to your TR-6 mannequin.
RICKY: TR-6? I prefer to think of her as… Elaine.

(via The Pie)

Have a wonderful day and please post links to things you find interesting…yeah, I guess you could say it is an open thread.

27 Comments on “Wednesday Reads: TR-6? I prefer to think of her as… Elaine.”

  1. JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    April 22, 2015 at 6:53 am

    Morning, just a few more links that I think you will appreciate:

    I am a cook in the US Senate but I still need food stamps to feed my children | Bertrand Olotara | Comment is free | The Guardian

    I work 70 hours a week doing two jobs but cannot make ends meet. Presidential hopefuls must make profitable federal contractors pay living wages

    Every day, I serve food to some of the most powerful people on earth – including many of the senators who are running for president: I’m a cook for the federal contractor that runs the US Senate cafeteria. But today, they’ll have to get their meals from someone else’s hands, because I’m on strike.

    I am walking off my job because I want the presidential hopefuls to know that I live in poverty. Many senators canvas the country giving speeches about creating “opportunity” for workers and helping our kids achieve the “American dream” – most don’t seem to notice or care that workers in their own building are struggling to survive.

    I’m a single father and I only make $12 an hour; I had to take a second job at a grocery store to make ends meet. But even though I work seven days a week – putting in 70 hours between my two jobs – I can’t manage to pay the rent, buy school supplies for my kids or even put food on the table. I hate to admit it, but I have to use food stamps so that my kids don’t go to bed hungry.

    I’ve done everything that politicians say you need to do to get ahead and stay ahead: I work hard and play by the rules; I even graduated from college and worked as a substitute teacher for 5 years. But I got laid-off and I now I’m stuck trying to make ends meet with dead-end service jobs.

    American voters should ask themselves: if presidential candidates won’t help the workers who serve them every day, will they really help the millions of low-wage American workers who they don’t know or see? I’m a Bible-believing Christian, just like a lot of the candidates. Scripture says to “Love your neighbor” and “Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you”. It’s a shame too few candidates follow the guidance of the book in which they say they believe.

    Well, I won’t touch that last paragraph, you know all to well where I stand on that one.

    On the hunt for the presidency, Jeb Bush adopts a ‘caveman’ diet

    So not only does he think like a caveman, he eats like one too.

    New South Wales storms: Sydney train tracks turned into river captured in timelapse – Australasia – World – The Independent

    Migrant crisis: smuggling or trafficking? Politicians don't seem to know | | Global development | The Guardian

    Delays on M74 after dog takes control of a tractor – Home News – UK – The Independent

    Delays were caused today on one of Scotland’s main motorways “due to a dog taking control of a tractor”.

    Traffic Scotland said it was “not joking”, after reporting delays near Junction 13 of the M74 “due to dog taking control of tractor”.
    The tractor ran on to the motorway after the dog, reportedly named Don, leaned on the controls as the tractor drove through a nearby field.

    The vehicle broke through a fence and veered on to the main road at around 8:15 this morning.

  2. bostonboomer says:
    April 22, 2015 at 7:12 am

    Wow, what a post! You must be feeling a little bit better. There’s so much to explore.

    I read the scrabble article yesterday and sent it to my mother, who is a scrabble fanatic. Maybe that’s why she’s still so with it at nearly 90 years old.

    At least the Justice Dept. is investigating the Freddie Gray case. I can’t understand why the cops were even justified in chasing him in the first place. Is it illegal to run in the streets now? Will they be breaking joggers’ spines?

  3. bostonboomer says:
    April 22, 2015 at 7:14 am

    I want one of those adult coloring books!

  4. ANonOMouse says:
    April 22, 2015 at 9:05 am

    “Tennessee lawmaker tables abortion bill exceptions because rape and incest are ‘not verifiable’”

    And notice the gender of the person tabling exceptions for rape and incest. I’m very familiar with this woman and her motivation is nothing more or less than her backwoods religious beliefs. She thinks her conscience should be the arbiter of what other women should believe and how other women should behave. Again this tells me more about why women’s issues are relegated to the margins than about how the GOP is undermining women’s autonomy over their own body. In the State Houses and in the U.S. Congress the GOP uses women to carry these anti-woman tropes to legislation. There are a significant number of women, especially in the South, that do not support Choice, and therefore do not support autonomy over our own bodies. If women can’t support a woman’s right to individual freedom of choice and personal autonomy, what else matters? We can’t win these arguments until we can win a consensus among women. Even a lot of the women I’ve known over the years who support Choice, will not support it openly because they fear the backlash of the church ladies. It’s a damned shame, but it’s time we began pointing the finger at those women among us who are mules for these anti-woman messages in our State and Federal Legislatures and in society at large.

    • Pat Johnson says:
      April 22, 2015 at 9:41 am

      Though I will never see it in my lifetime but ridding the tax exempt status of these religious organizations would be one step forward for women. As long as these ignorant preachers and charlatans can claim that women are no more than vessels there will always be those who agree.

      This also goes for those nitwits who claim that homosexuality is a “sin” and are supposedly acting on “god’s behalf” when they deride a biological event. Take away their money and most will find a real job instead of preaching hate.

  5. Fannie says:
    April 22, 2015 at 9:38 am

    For you JJ: https://youtu.be/F75XjckWRcQ

  6. Fannie says:
    April 22, 2015 at 9:43 am

    Shelia Butthead from Tenn. and Cherly Rios Selfworth from Texas are full of stupid. Saying Hillary Clinton, or anywoman for that matter, shouldn’t be president because her harmones might create another war, is about as stupid as a GOP woman can get. They believe in the Bible more than the constitution when it comes to governing and leading. It is really really really wrong.

    • gregoryp says:
      April 22, 2015 at 12:46 pm

      So we should vote for the Republican men who are guaranteed to start another war? Some serious disconnect with these people.

  7. Pat Johnson says:
    April 22, 2015 at 9:48 am

    O/T but I just want to add a personal observation to today’s discussion.

    Spent 12 days in the hospital, 10 days in rehab, and enjoyed the services of VNA twice weekly for 4 weeks. The total bill for this unscheduled event was $75,000! My portion was a mere $1,800 which is manageable.

    For those morons wishing to cut more from Medicare please consider the options. Without this entitlement I could have easily lost my home and belongings in order to pay this huge bill.

    Single payer would be the best option if these fools in DC would just consider it but this is almost as good because my co pay is not unreasonable considering.

    • bostonboomer says:
      April 22, 2015 at 10:31 am

      I’d like to see Medicare expanded to everyone.

    • ANonOMouse says:
      April 22, 2015 at 12:14 pm

      I hope you’re doing ok Pat. And you’re so right about Medicare. It literally is a life saver and a quality of life saver for most seniors. I had 2 corneal transplants in the last year. Without Medicare I wouldn’t have been able to afford the surgery.I was legally blind in both eyes when the first surgery was performed. In other words without Medicare I would have had no recourse for vision correction and would have spent the rest of my life blind. The other lesson I learned was how wonderful the cornea, organ, bone and tissue donor programs are. For anyone who hasn’t done that please consider it. It is the greatest gift you will ever give.

  8. Fannie says:
    April 22, 2015 at 10:19 am

    Wow, Pat, glad you are doing better, and yes that cost is manageable. Good Lord.

  9. Fannie says:
    April 22, 2015 at 10:23 am

    Here’s something to go with today’s post, and it too is really really wrong: San Bernardino County settles ($650,000) and includes “no wrong” doing on their part, with 10 officers beating the shit out of the man! This is how they roll:

    http://rt.com/usa/251789-suspect-sheriff-beating-payout/

  10. jackyt says:
    April 22, 2015 at 11:05 am

    Since the Supremes declared corporations qualify for personhood, I’ve been expecting the same honor to be conveyed to worms and cockroaches. Why is it such a stretch to consider that status for chimpanzees? (Of course, it’s worth noting the ‘male’ names of the chimps… and I wouldn’t hold out any hope for the little lady worms and cockroaches either.)

  11. janicen says:
    April 22, 2015 at 12:15 pm

    I’m going to start watching Inside Amy Schumer on Comedy Central. I had no idea how awesome it is. Check out this article and be sure and watch the two short sketches included.

    http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2015/04/22/3649528/clear-eyes-full-hearts-dont-rape-inside-amy-schumer-writers-tell-story-behind-sketch/

  12. dakinikat says:
    April 22, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    http://www.rawstory.com/2015/04/amy-schumer-destroys-footballs-rape-culture-in-friday-night-lights-spoof-clear-eyes-full-hearts-dont-rape/

  13. JJ Lopez Minkoff says:
    April 22, 2015 at 8:52 pm

    I had not heard of this one:

    Cops Kill Man for Refusing to ID as He Dropped Off Stray Cat to Animal Shelter, Police Remain Silent | Alternet

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