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Popular UI packages. Look here before you ask about someone's UI.
Download at WoWInterface
I use my UI in 1920x1080. You can try it with any other widescreen resolution.
I am a tank, so the add-ons are...
Allsøme UI v1,0
This UI is designed for 1440 x 900, but can be retooled easily for other resolutions.
In fight
I've been a UI junky ever since I started playing this game shortly after release. The standard Blizzard look just didn't appeal to me. I...
I've tried to keep this installation as light weight as possible. I've included only the addons that are...
My addons:
Sexy map
Here is the UI I assembled for my Fury Warrior.
I took things that I liked from a few of the UI's on here and put something together that worked...
This is Bati UI, the original version and is what I use on priest. For download and more info Click
This is my paladin UI. I use it both for...
Download Link
Hello everyone this is Yozka @ Twisting Nether.
And i got something to share with you :) My UI
Dont know what else to say :)
Just thought I'd put up my UI to see what people thought and I'm ready to load up for download if enough people are interested.
Currently this is...
reposingthis here beacuse I cant move the origional post
Ok my Ui is not nearly as flashy as others but I go for max screen space and simplicity....
Hello there, I was wondering if I should upload my UI to Wowinterface so people could download it, I was going to make a tanking UI and a Healer UI...
Welcome to Fusik's UI Compilation!
Inspired by many other UI's while throwing in the flares that I have always searched...
Welcome to Fusik's UI.
This setup has been set for 1680X1050. If using for other settings scaling down may work but may not fix any problems. ...
My current UI is LUI but I moded it just alittle. :p
I made an addon compilation that looks alot like ciderhelm his UI
Great for tanking, leveling and raiding!
I made an addon compilation that looks alot like ciderhelm his UI
Great for tanking, leveling and raiding!
Pro Gaming Addon Compilation...
So I decided to release my UI to people to try out since I had a few friends wanting to use it. If you'd like to try it out I have put it online...
Ok so heres the UI from my lovely tankadin Ámarinth. I find it a little messy at the moment but with some good cleaning up it will be a very...
Krenian's UI : WoWInterface Downloads : Generic Compilations
This would be the latest UI version that I'm running with. Add-ons are on the...
Addon List
Atlas Loot
Bartender 4
Button Facade
Button Facade: Caith
Cowtip 3.0
Fubar 3.6
Here is my UI comp for my tank. Palli on Vek'nilash server. Hope you all like and find it useful.
Azhealz UI : WoWInterface Downloads : Graphical...
Quse UI
Quse UI was created to be as minimal as possible while maintaining extreme...
Updated for 3.1 so only download if your previous setup refuses to work or a new user
Thanks to all who helped me accomplish a 1,000 mark download...
Ok Finally got it working. Seems i frogot to scrub some of the files before wowinterface would upload it. Zeruels UI Layout : WoWInterface Downloads...
So i did my UI comp and uploaded it to wowinterface. Check it out an tell me what oyu all think, i hope some people like it an want to download it....
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Date: 2 years ago
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Featured news
Unix engineer takes RFID implant in hand
Thursday, 5 January 2006, 5:18 PM EST
Mikey Sklar opposed RFID. Then, he requested that the technology be implanted in his hand.
He's now among a small, but apparently growing, group of hobbyists who have voluntarily implanted themselves with RFID chips.
At InternetWeek.
[ Read more ]


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Written by Troy residents and Troy business owners, with additional posts by Times Union reporters
Posts by Author
Free Concerts This Week
As has been the case most of the Summer, the city's offering two free concerts this week as part of the Rocking on the River and Powers Park concert series. This Wednesday, August 11th, Super 400 headlines Rocking on the River starting at 5:00pm at the Hedley Riverfront District (next to the Green Island bridge). […] [Read More]
Inferno on the Hudson
(Original story from TU reporter Kenneth C. Crowe, II; which includes further testimonials and some amazing images.) As boats docked and people from around the area congregated for the city's weekly "Rocking on the River" concert series yesterday afternoon, a fire that claimed a vessel and very nearly the lives of a retired Putnam County […] [Read More]
Show More


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Six hedge funds are seeking to sue JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and other banks for their role in a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme. The hedge funds claim that they lost a combined $177 million to Tom Petters, the Minnesota-based CEO who was convicted for the fraud and sentenced to 50- ... More >>
At around 4:30 p.m. last Thursday, a man in a dark Miami Marlins cap, a gray long-sleeve shirt, and blue jeans walked into a Chase bank in New Rochelle. He handed the teller a note, demanded money, and claimed he had a gun. The man walked out with $3,000 in coins. On Tuesday, the FBI announced th ... More >>
Shock and duh.
"In the 21st century, almost all of our daily activities are linked to the internet - from banking to shopping to using our telecommunications networks and physical infrastructure systems," Governor Cuomo said, announcing the creation of an all-star New York cyber security advisory board last week. ... More >>
If you're gonna clamp down on Wall Street, it's probably best that you choose someone who's been doing it for years. In 1993, Mary Jo White became the first woman to ever become a Manhattan attorney at the federal level. During her nine-year tenure in the Southern New York district, she went after ... More >>
The theft of a few million articles from academic journals can carry a sentence of 35 years in prison. Meanwhile, big banks can rig interest rates affecting the entire global economic system, launder money for international drug cartels, illegally foreclose on the homes of millions of Americans, an ... More >>
Since the Citizens United decision, realpolitik has accepted the harsh reality in which a corporation has the same pedestal in our democratic elections as an ordinary Joe Schmoe. And, as a financial hub in America and abroad, New York has transformed into a politically charged Gotham; its corporate ... More >>
Good morning, and welcome to the Village Voice's liveblog of May Day 2012, as the Occupy Wall Street movement calls for a "General Strike" and a day of protests around the city. Our reporters and photographers are fanned out across the boroughs. We'll be liveblogging their dispatches right here and ... More >>
The Battle for Union Square continues. The branch of Occupy Wall Street protesters who have colonized Union Square for the past three weeks continue their nightly standoff with the New York Police Department, which each night deploys more than fifty officers to clear the park and stand guard along ... More >>
Mitt Romney was in town this morning for a fund-raiser at the Waldorf Astoria, and a crowd of about 200 Occupy Wall Street protesters, activists, and union members were there to welcome him. The Romney event was hosted by Gristede's billionaire John Catsimitidis, and guests were encouraged to donat ... More >>
The movement takes back foreclosed houses after leaving the park
Earlier today we wrote of what appeared to be an Occupy Wall Street-related bank boycott planned for November 5th. We've spoken to Kristen Christian, the 27-year-old creator of the event, who has clarified some things. For one, it's not an Occupy Wall Street-organized event, though members of the Oc ... More >>
Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. August 16, 1973, Vol. XVIII, No. 33 Son of Son of God? by Cynthia Grenier EN BOQEQ, Israel -- We're 1286 feet below sea level. Total night, with a paring of a new moon and a sprinkle of fiercely bright stars. Suddenly day happens as if ... More >>
The comedian/writer/rapper is on a collision course with stardom
When Aaron Barr, a computer security expert for the firm HBGary, announced his plans in a Financial Times article to talk to the FBI about Anonymous, the worldwide collective of hacker activists, the group quickly lashed out, publishing personal information (like his social security number) a ... More >>
Bonus babyOne major theme of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's State of the City Address yesterday was his call for belt tightening in light of spending cuts and tough economic times. The mayor specifically brought up one example of spending that he hopes to eliminate: the $12,000 annual Christmas b ... More >>
Teasing a forthcoming interview with Julian Assange, the New Statesmen has published excerpts online in which the WikiLeaks founder claims to have "insurance" files on both government and media, including one "broadcast organization" and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Assange is no strang ... More >>
Eric SchneidermanEric Schneiderman will inherit one case from Andrew Cuomo that may come to haunt the new attorney general. The AG who owes his election to the New York Times will soon take over the case against Steve Rattner, the lifelong friend and financial adviser of Times ow ... More >>
In an odd week in the gubernatorial campaign, the oddest moment was Roger Stone's NY1 appearance on Tuesday, when he appeared to be trying to put miles of distance between himself and Carl Paladino, whose September primary victory Stone engineered. This grew even odder when Palad ... More >>
Memo to bank thieves: It may be time to cultivate a new profession. It seems that a number of bank tellers are not just "handing over the money" to robbers who pass them notes requesting them to do so. Earlier this week, we had this attempt, during which a bank teller refused to grant the wou ... More >>
So it's hot, and maybe you don't have air conditioning. We've already told you how to keep cool without it, but there will most certainly come a time when you need to get out of your baking apartment and into the oppressive sunlight. There are tons of conventional public places in the city th ... More >>
Debrahlee Lorenzana says her no-account bosses fired her over her looks
Police are looking for this chipper fellow wanted in connection with a bank robbery on the Upper East Side (He smiled just like he knew the camera was watching, didn't he?). Yesterday at about 10 a.m. he entered the Bank of America at 65th Street and 3rd Avenue, approached a teller, and deman ... More >>
The Mayor remembers the Titans, at any cost
All is not bully for Bouley.David Bouley's been traveling quite a trail of tears for the past several months: The chef can now add foreclosure to his roster of woes. The Post reports that Bouley is facing foreclosure on his $2.5 million three-bedroom condo in Tribeca. To add insult to injury, ... More >>
A Prince of Darkness turns White Knight
Volcker: He told Obama so.Finally, Barack Obama today unveiled a proposed major curb on Wall Street that would revive the "spirit of Glass-Steagall" — the Depression-era law that would have prevented last year's Wall Street meltdown if it hadn't been abolished during the Clinton administration ... More >>
Congratulations to Robert Morgenthau, who has joined the prestigious law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz at the age of 90. Wachtell Lipton was one of the sponsors of the Annual Vera Institute of Justice Benefit at which Morgenthau was the guest of honor this year. The firm specializes in cor ... More >>
courtesy of Katrin Tucker Max is a douchebag. Just ask him. The infamous blogger, "author," and self-proclaimed "raging dickhead" -- the latter most often in the form of objectifying and degrading any woman he comes in contact with -- is also the recent subject of the autobiographical film I Hope T ... More >>
The New York Times notices a great number of shuttered shopfronts in Manhattan and, after consulting with experts, decides it's because "New Yorkers have drastically cut back" on the things they buy from the stores, such as "expensive shampoo at 24-hour drugstores, cheese plates at sleek wine bars a ... More >>
Just when you think things in Crown Heights couldn't get any stranger, they do. Last December, we chronicled the tale of the powerful Rubashkin clan -- the Crown Heights Lubavitch family that practically ran the kosher meat-processing business in America, until they were brought down by a huge immi ... More >>
Nobody fucks with steamroller Cuomo! Not only has AIG given up the names of its controversial bonus recipients, for which Cuomo subpoenaed them -- Bank of America has just agreed to give Cuomo the names of the Merrill-Lynch bonus-takers who absconded with $4 billion just before bailout basket case B ... More >>
While everyone was freaking out over AIG bonuses, Andrew Cuomo won a victory in his attempt to get justice on the $4 billion in Merrill Lynch bonuses that were outraging us back in January. A judge has ruled that Cuomo may disclose the names of the Merrill bonus execs whom he has subpoenaed in the c ... More >>
[HARKAVY is now blogging at The Smart Asset]Your Saturday New York headlines... Madoff to plead guilty on Thursday. Court struggling with how to keep so many victims informed of proceedings.Dwyer: Two "mafia cops" continue to draw pensions even after life sentences upheld.Bloomberg doesn't like the ... More >>
The Congo War: a report by Al Jazeera from this past November. The deadliest war since World War II — the slaughter in the Congo — drags on and on amid relatively little notice. Arabs and Jews are still killing each other, and Israel's about to elect an even harder-line government. ... More >>
Harkavy Plans are moving apace to purposely set up a "toxic bank" full of poisonous assets to further bail out those banks that had greedily and recklessly accumulated them. Call it Shitibank. And give it the naming rights to the new baseball stadium for the New York Mets, taking the moniker awa ... More >>
The Taliban conduct a night ambush against U.S. troops on January 24. A commenter on this YouTube video wrote: "holy cow, tracer rounds are so cool!" Yeah, really cool. What a Sunday in sports and terror: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer fought to the death in a Grand Slam final, and so did the Pit ... More >>
Eire on the side of the new president: There's no one as Irish as Bearach O'Bama. Too short to be an oratorio, Barack Obama's inaugural speech (video) proved nevertheless that as an orator he's got handle. That guy can speak. Notwithstanding our gratitude to George W. Bush for the past eight yea ... More >>
Burnt schoolkids don't affect his travel plans, but today Mayor Bloomberg cancelled a west coast trip to be close to Financial Ground Zero, says the New York Sun. With Lehman Brothers going bankrupt, AIG in freefall, and Bank of America buying out Merrill Lynch, it looks to be a lively Monday on Wa ... More >>
Provincializm #17: I'm Not There, Too, Either, Again by William Bowers Three other Voice typists have done pieces related to the new Todd Haynes prism about a certain awesome Jewish male performer whose most ebullient song about marriage is tellingly entitled "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere." Bu ... More >>
Animal rights activists move beyond fur and the circus
Hip-hop mogul helps young and broke get refundsfor a price
Kicked out of the garden? Unconventional approaches to protesting the GOP convention
It's Time to Call for New Black Leadership


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Book your Winter getaway at the Holiday Inn Basingstoke.
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The Holiday Inn Basingstoke hotel is a modern hotel located within easy access of the M3 & M4. The hotel provides a perfect wedding venue in Basingstoke.
Holiday Inn Basingstoke is the only hotel in Basingstoke to offer air-conditioned bedrooms and has easy access to the M3, M4, Basingstoke town and Festival Place Shopping Centre. With free car parking for all guests, our Holiday Inn hotel is ideally located for business and pleasure.
You'll find we're close to the business parks of Viables, Daneshill & Chineham. Our hotel lounge is the ideal venue for informal meetings and our Academy Conference and Training Centre has 7 air-conditioned suites for 2 to 150 delegates, with Wi-Fi.
There are numerous leisure attractions close to our Basingstoke Hotel. To the East are Legoland, Windsor, Thorpe Park and Ascot Racecourse. To the South are Jane Austen House, Winchester and Marwell Zoo. To the West is Newbury Racecourse and Stonehenge, and in Basingstoke itself are the Anvil & Haymarket theatres and the Milestone Museum. We also offer complimentary passes to the local leisure centre. In the evening after a hard day's sightseeing, come and enjoy the international food in our hotel restaurant or relax in our bar.
Our Holiday Inn hotel is the perfect wedding venue in Basingstoke. We offer a £999 wedding package* that includes red carpet on your arrival, hotel toast master, free room hire, complimentary bedroom for the bride and groom and finger buffet for up to 50 guests. Parking is provided for all wedding guests.
Call our wedding specialist on 0871 942 9004 to book your Basingstoke Wedding Venue at the Holiday Inn.
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The perfect destination for a family break filled with fun.


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Director Josh Boone On THE STAND, Fidelity to the Novel, Script Status, and Whether He'll Direct LESTAT
by Tommy Cook Posted 77 days ago
Josh Boone is far from the obvious choice to direct a feature length version of The Stand; but The Fault in Our Stars filmmaker is an ardent Stephen King fanatic, a whole subplot in Boone's debut Stuck in Love is dedicated to the prolific writer's output. A bevy of filmmakers have tried and failed to bring King's seemingly un-adaptable post-apocalyptic novel to the big screen. George A. Romero, David Yates, Ben Affleck & Scott Cooper have all been attached at some point or another. But it seems Boone has finally done the seemingly impossible – the writer/director is now gearing up to direct a "three hour version with an A-List cast across the board."
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Boone, in anticipation of the Blu-ray release of The Fault in Our Stars, about the status of The Stand. In the following interview with Boone, he discusses Stephen King's reaction to the finished screenplay, when he hopes to start filming, how closely it will stick to the novel and what he had to excise from the 1000 page book for the film adaptation. In addition, Boone briefly touched upon recent reports that he is in talks to direct Lestat, the second in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Hit the jump for the full interview.


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Smock discusses the "new American family" on NPR
Pfeffer and colleagues re-examine impacts of community college attendance
Frey explains the minority-majority remapping of America
Apply for 2-year NICHD Postdoctoral Fellowships that begin September 2015
PSC Fall 2014 Newsletter now available
Martha Bailey and Nicolas Duquette win Cole Prize for article on War on Poverty
Michigan's graduate sociology program tied for 4th with Stanford in USN&WR rankings
Monday, Dec 1
Linda Waite, Health & Well-Being of Adults over 60
Lesthaeghe, Ron J., and Lisa Neidert. 2009. "US Presidential Elections and the Spatial Pattern of the American Second Demographic Transition." Population and Development Review, 35(2), 391-400. DOI. Abstract.
Lesthaeghe, Ron J., and Lisa Neidert. 2008. "Voting and Families: America's Second Demographic Transition." New Geography, December 11.
Lesthaeghe, Ron J., and Lisa Neidert. 2006. "The Second Demographic Transition in the United States: Exception or Textbook Example?" Population and Development Review, 32(4): 669-698. DOI. Abstract.
Geronimus, Arline T., John Bound, and Lisa Neidert. 1996. "On the Validity of Using Census Geocode Characteristics to Proxy Individual Socioeconomic Characteristics." Journal of the American Statistical Association, 91(434): 529-537. Abstract. Licensed Access.
Neidert, Lisa. 1996. "Comments on the Data Access and Dissemination System." IASSIST Quarterly, 20 13-16.
Clarke, Clifford J., and Lisa Neidert. 1992. "Living Arrangements of the Elderly: Differences According to Ancestry and Generation." Gerontologist, 32 796-804. Abstract.
Neidert, Lisa, and Reynolds Farley. 1985. "Assimilation in the United States: An Analysis of Ethnic and Generation Differences in Status and Achievement." American Sociological Review, 50(6): 840-50. Abstract.
Tienda, Marta, and Lisa Neidert. 1984. "Converting Education into Earnings: The Pattern among Hispanic Origin Men." Social Science Research, 13 303-320.
Tienda, Marta, and Lisa Neidert. 1984. "Language, Education, and the Socioeconomic Achievement of Hispanic Origin Men." Social Science Quarterly, 65 519-536. Abstract.
Frisbie, W. Parker, and Lisa Neidert. 1977. "Inequality and the Relative Size of Minority Populations: A Comparative Analysis." American Journal of Sociology, 82 1007-1030. DOI. Abstract.
Anderson, Albert, and Lisa Neidert. 2000. "Electronic Publications and Electronic Dissemination of Census Data." In Encyclopedia of the Census edited by Margo Anderson. 173-179. CQ Press.
Farley, Reynolds, and Lisa Neidert. "The Safety Net in 1985: An Examination of the Consequences of Federal Transfer Programs." Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Social Statistics Section, 1986. Reprint No. 283.
Lesthaeghe, Ron J., and Lisa Neidert. 2006. "The "Second Demographic Transition" in the U.S.: Spatial Patterns and Correlates." PSC Research Report No. 06-592. March 2006. Abstract. PDF.
Geronimus, Arline T., John Bound, and Lisa Neidert. "On the Validity of Using Census Geocode Characteristics to Proxy Economic Status." PSC Research Report No. 93-269. January 1993. Abstract.
Geronimus, Arline T., Lisa Neidert, and John Bound. "Age Patterns of Smoking among U.S. Black and White Women." PSC Research Report No. 91-232. December 1991. Abstract.
Geronimus, Arline T., Lisa Neidert, and John Bound. "A Note on the Measure of Hypertension in HHANES." PSC Research Report No. 89-169. November 1989. Abstract.
Farley, Reynolds, and Lisa Neidert. "How Effective Was the Melting Pot? An Analysis of Current Ethnic Differences in the United States." PSC Research Report No. 84-68. December 1984.
Geronimus, Arline T., Lisa Neidert, and John Bound. 1993. "Age Patterns of Smoking in US Black and White Women of Childbearing Age." American Journal of Public Health, 83(9): 1258-64. PMCID: PMC1694982. Abstract. Licensed Access.


text: FacebookTwitterGoogle+E-mail Photo: Contest organizer Khadra Mubarak, at right, goes over information about the Miss Beautiful Morals pageant at her office in Safwa, Saudi Arabia. Credit: Nissreen Aldar / Associated Press Bismillah The term "beauty pageant" conjures up images of young beauties "strutting their stuff" before a panel of judges, a live audience, flashing cameras, and global television viewers. As a just-turned-13 teenager, I remember the flurry of excitement among my friends whenever such a pageant was to be aired. We'd all watch with envious wistfulness as each picture-perfect lass got dolled up and presented herself to be judged in several outfits and environs. The next day, in the school bus and before class, we'd express our opinions about our favorite contestant, who should have won, who not, and why. It was all very girl-girly and immature, but nevertheless, it was evidence of the fact that every young girl dreams to one day be classified as a "beautiful woman". However, as maturity set in, and the passage of years revealed just how disconcerting, and downright degrading, the presence of lustful male attention or their other obvious overtures can be, my childish adulation of models and beauty queens turned a bit into distasteful wariness. I remember going to Pakistani open-air markets with my mother (itwar bazaar, Jumu'ah bazaar….our Pakistani readers will get the drift; it gets so bad for women there, that some of my friends' mothers and cousins have even delivered spot-on punches to Eve-teasers in these markets — no kidding!!) and I remember becoming extra conscious of my dupatta doing the needful among the ludicrously lewd stares. I eventually started hating going to the market. I found myself thinking that though being beautiful is great, how could these models and pageant queens handle the unwelcome attention? How could a beautiful girl walk down a catwalk, at times half-nude, to be stared at and "judged" for her face, hair, and body, by half the world? And why did these pageant queens do so much humanitarian and ambassador work after being crowned for just their physical looks and their half-minute oration ability? So when news of a different kind of pageant started doing the rounds, I was pleasantly surprised. That this pageant is relatively new, and is based in Saudi Arabia, is something that will render it prone to its fair share of skeptical criticism and race-based media onslaught. We know that Saudis have their dedicated set of extremely vocal critics. Anyway, on to the pageant and it's details: the title is "Miss Beautiful Morals", it is open to women of ages 15 to 25, and it requires them to attend some classes and be observed for their conduct with their mothers: Sukaina al-Zayer is an unlikely beauty queen hopeful. She covers her face and body in black robes and an Islamic veil, so no one can tell what she looks like. She also admits she's a little on the plump side. But at Saudi Arabia's only beauty pageant, the judges don't care about a perfect figure or face. What they're looking for in the quest for "Miss Beautiful Morals" is the contestant who shows the most devotion and respect for her parents. "The idea of the pageant is to measure the contestants' commitment to Islamic morals… It's an alternative to the calls for decadence in the other beauty contests that only take into account a woman's body and looks," said pageant founder Khadra al-Mubarak. "The winner won't necessarily be pretty," she added. "We care about the beauty of the soul and the morals." So after the pageant opens Saturday, the nearly 200 contestants will spend the next 10 weeks attending classes and being quizzed on themes including "Discovering your inner strength," "The making of leaders" and "Mom, paradise is at your feet" _ a saying attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad to underline that respect for parents is among the faith's most important tenets. Pageant hopefuls will also spend a day at a country house with their mothers, where they will be observed by female judges and graded on how they interact with their mothers, al-Mubarak said. Since the pageant is not televised and no men are involved, contestants can take off the veils and black figure-hiding abayas they always wear in public. The Miss Beautiful Morals pageant is the latest example of conservative Muslims co-opting Western-style formats to spread their message in the face of the onslaught of foreign influences flooding the region through the Internet and satellite television. A newly created Islamic music channel owned by an Egyptian businessman aired an "American Idol"-style contest for religious-themed singers this month. And several Muslim preachers have become talk-show celebrities by adopting an informal, almost Oprah-like television style, in contrast to the solemn clerics who traditionally appear in the media. Source: Huffington Post The best thing about this pageant is that it makes its contestants compete or strive harder for becoming more pious Muslim women, i.e. by gaining knowledge that will improve their akhlaaq: character and dealings with people, their own parents in particular, and also their own personality. Also, physical looks and figure measurements will thankfully be ignored during judgement, which is a welcome change in a world that, now, truly dictates to women just how much they should weigh and what they should look like, at any stage in life. In a world of hair-color changes, false lashes, botox, liposuction, tummy-tucks, facelifts and chest-surgeries, this pageant offers a breath of fresh air. What about the age requirement? Can a woman possessing beautiful morals not be past 25? Also, as is always the case, can non-Saudis contend to participate? These questions arise naturally when one reads about "Miss Beautiful Morals". All I know is, that as a woman who felt distinctly uncomfortable amid stares and other renditions of amorous male attention, and who eventually felt the heady waves of absolute freedom and liberation by donning the Islamic hijab, any pageant that takes into account only a woman's character, Islamic conduct, taqwa and knowledge and not her beauty; that does not cash in on the display of lines upon lines of young lovelies by garnering media attention and lucrative sponsor deals; and does not use the male vote to attach tags based on hip-and-bust measurements, is a welcome change from the norm, if nothing else; one that can show to the world what the true merit of a woman should be, for others, insha'Allah. And just for the record, I now make the rare trip to Itwar Bazaar without any worries, alhamdulillah. FacebookTwitterGoogle+E-mail 45 Responses abu abdAllah Tariq Ahmed May 14, 2009 Bismillah was salamu alaykum. How about incorporating the judging criteria into Practimate? Where's Shaykh Yaser? Someone send him a link to this article. Or would that mean applying the criteria to sons, too: how respectful are they of their parents? ;) Still, alhamdolillah, it's a good article (bizarre bazaar references and all). I think Shaykh Waleed could probably use it at Fiqh of Love, too. @Omar and the other site-gurus: MashaAllah, the rollout of the new site features looks great. Keep up the good work! 0 0 Reply Hajera May 14, 2009 Subahanallah.Taking an account and judging your morals.Wow .Mashaallah. 0 0 Reply Serendipitouslife May 14, 2009 While I don't wish to comment on the 'pageant' itself, I would like to draw attention to two ummah-related issues that are reflected by this event: 1. We (some) Muslims continue to use the Western standard and model as our blueprint. There is nothing wrong with adopting & applying halal beneficial formats/application/models/ideas for our worldly or akhirah success from wherever we find them. However, the problem is that we continue to simply (& sometimes blindly & wrongly) copy others. From small brands to major business concepts, we just 'imitate'. Eg. We have KFC copycats in the Muslim world, who use the exact branding & packaging for their products – except that this KFC stands for 'Kuwait Fried Chicken'. We have Muslim-marketed soft drinks with 'Muslim' names that look exactly like Pepsi & CocaCola – the very brands they are aiming to compete against. Can imitators ever command respect? And doing that while using muslim identity. Isn't that demeaning? In our blindness to do as the West, we have even gone to the length of selling 'Champagne' in the markets of conservative Muslim cities like Sharjah! Yes, I did a double-take too when I first saw that bottle in the fruit-juice section. It said, 'Champagne' on the label affixed on the tall green bottle with the typical champagne packaging of gold foil. Close inspection revealed the tiny words: 'non-alcoholic'. SubbhanaAllah, we already use the wine glasses & now we have champagne to drink in them. How much more desperate can we get to be like 'them'. There are far too many examples. 2. Our girls and women still feel the need to find validation through other people's opinion. There seems to be a lot of (conscious or otherwise) effort in the last couple of years by muslim organisations etc. to raise the muslim woman's self esteem on a collective & individual level, alhumdullilah. Decades (& perhaps centuries) of cultural islam had reduced the worth of women in muslim societies to the point of objects or worse – subhuman! Then came women's liberation from the West. And we were left confused & feeling even more inferior about our status. As a result, with the revival of Islam in modern times, a lot of time, effort & education is employed to raise the self-esteem of muslim women as a knee-jerk reaction to the stifling repression of our cultural past & the no-hold-barred freedom of present West. So what we see now through such events is the residual effect of this reaction. We rarely see this (i.e. issue of self-esteem) in the life of the Sahabiyaat (radhiAllahunhum). And the interesting thing is that they too had grown & emerged from the repressive conditions of their jahiliyah society. They had every reason to have issues with self-esteem but they didn't. Why? For one single reason. When Islam entered their lives, they understood its core concept correctly i.e. each & everyone, male or female is to define him/herself in relation to Allah (SubbhanawataAala). Unlike us, they did not use 'Man' or another dominant culture/society as theirr measuring yardstick for anything. Look at the example of this from the hadith of Asmaa bint Yazeed ibn As-Sakan (radiallahuanhaa) that she went to the Prophet (sallallahualaihiwasallam) and said, "O Messenger of Allaah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you. I have come to you on behalf of the women. Verily Allaah has sent you to men and women. We have believed in you. We do not go out and we remain in your homes. We are your source of physical pleasure. We carry your children. A man goes out to pray jum'ah and jamaa'ah, and follows the janaazah. And if you go out for hajj, or 'umrah, or jihaad, we look after your wealth. We wash your clothing. We raise your children. Shall we not share in the reward?" The Prophet (sallallahualaihiwasallam) turned to his Companions and said, "Have you ever heard anything a woman has said better than what she has said?" Then he said to her, "Understand O woman, and inform the other women. Indeed a woman's perfection of her relationship with her husband, her seeking his pleasure, and doing that which he approves of is equivalent to all of that." Asmaa left exclaiming "Laa ilaaha illallaah. " (Adh-Dhahabee related in Sayr A'laam An-Nubalaa) Amazing isn't it! Everything is in relation to Allah & not man or the West (as we do nowadays). She is not complaining about all the work that she has to do for her husband & children. She is not complaining about not getting any 'me time'. She is not complaining about not getting appreciated by her husband or her society. All she is worried about is the chances of ajr that she feels she might be missing out on. Unfortunately, today despite our (relative) freedom & religious awareness, we still, to varying degrees, continue to have self-esteem issues and continue to use man as our defining standard. And we continue to use western/secular society's definition of strong successful woman as our yardstick. We have a long way to go. But, we can aim to be leaders, those who define the standard for others to live-by & create blueprints for others to follow & be proud of our identity & ways, inshaAllah. 0 0 Reply Amatullah May 14, 2009 Jazaaki Allahu khayran SL for your comment. 0 0 Reply Fatima May 14, 2009 Asalamu Alaykum… MashaAllah, I'm very much impressed with what you said. You just pointed out a great problem that many of the Muslims in the west as well in Muslim countries face today. It's actually kind of sad when I thought about it. May Allah revive the Umma. Amin::) 0 0 Reply Amad May 14, 2009 it will be really cool if we had a pageant for unmarried men too… and then the most "eligible" bachelor (the winner) and the winner of the women's contest (if unmarried) can have a first go at each other for being married! yeah, it seems we always find a way to link everything to marriage… probably because we have so many unmarried staffers :) 0 0 Reply Rasheedah May 14, 2009 lol….., you have 'intresting' ideas 0 0 Reply zainab June 3, 2009 YOU ARE A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT SERENDIPITOUSLIFE IS SAYING. 0 0 Reply Bint Amina May 14, 2009 BarakAllaahu feeki Serendipitous life for the insightful reflection. Wa Salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu 0 0 Reply Hidaya May 14, 2009 I was disappointed by negative feedback at aol..oh well http://news.aol.com/article/saudi-beauty-pageant/467839 0 0 Reply UmmeAmmaarah May 14, 2009 wow! and i hurrah for are the classes they take before the contest! next I'd like to see: A game show that quizzes young men on the rights on women…. mothers, sisters, wives :) ………call that wishful thinking………… 0 0 Reply Ibn Masood May 14, 2009 Assalamualaikum I first saw this a week or so ago on the Post and I think it's a fantastic thing they're doing. They should actually make it a global thing, just like the Miss Haraam competition. 0 0 Reply Zainab (AnonyMouse) May 14, 2009 When I first read about this, I wasn't impressed. In fact, I'm actually somewhat annoyed. I do recognize the "pros" to it, but as SL pointed out, the copycatting is irritating and points to a lack of creative thinking. The entire premise of the 'pageant' rubs me the wrong way as well – how do you judge the beauty of one's soul and character, anyway? That's up to Allah, after all, not us… And while the idea of the 'classes' are kind of cute, I'm still wary of it. I truly think that this serves to belittle the Deen more than it will bring people closer to it; that it reduces beautiful morals to something rather crass. If we Muslims want to reach out to our youth – and the masses in general – and draw them away from the haraam, then we can do so in a manner that makes use of the techniques employed by the media/ companies/ whoever WITHOUT copying them shamelessly. Rather than imitating a culture (which is based upon ultimately faulty principles), we should be creating our own. We have some incredible minds, talent, and creativity in this Ummah; we should be utilizing it, not undermining it. We can be as savvy and attractive as non-Muslims appear to be, we just need to know how to use what we have. 0 0 Reply zainab June 3, 2009 THE KUFFAR HAVE NEVER HAD MISS MORAL PANGENT SO WHY IS THE ISSUE OF IMITATING THEM COMING UP.THIS MISS MORALS CAN DISCOURAGE SOME MUSLIMS THAT ARE INTRESTED IN THE PANGENT STUFF 0 0 Reply Siraaj Muhammad May 14, 2009 Er, doesn't anyone see the problem with this contest – these women are being judged by the morals they display to certain judges – can someone say riyaa-on-steroids three times really fast? Siraaj 0 0 Reply Yusuf Smith May 14, 2009 Yep, a huge "me too" to Siraaj Muhammad … not just riyaa but an obvious potential for dishonest posing. 0 0 Reply anonymous student May 14, 2009 Many people are quick to point out flaws. At the end of the day, everyone needs to chill out. Its a cute idea. If you dont agree with it, dont participate. People say we are trying to "imitate" the kuffar. The "Kuffar" have never had a Miss Morals Pageant, they have beauty pageants, in which contestants are judged for completely opposite things. Plus, why would we not want to invole our young sisters in these challenging yet fun activities? Why not give them an alternative? Would you prefer if they competed in a Beauty Pagent? Sometimes, its okay to let loose, and have some clean, Islamic fun. We need to learn to be practical while living in this country. We cant just sit at home all day and study Islam. By being proactive in our communities, we not only are striving to become better muslims but we are giving our youth outlets to lean and enjoy themselves in an islamic setting. 0 0 Reply Amad May 14, 2009 I agree with anonymous. The Prophet (S) allowed open charity, as well as he preferred secret charity. Encouragement of good deeds, if the ultimate objective, is also a good deed. Giving halal alternatives and being creative about them in this day and age, is GOOD. We cannot expect the weekly halaqah to attract tons of youth…we need to improvise and use our Allah-given creative abilities to do even better than the entertainment options present (which for the most part have some element of haram in them). Also, consider that Muslim countries are indeed having beauty pageants, dressing our Muslim women in as slutty outfits (excuse the language) as their Western counterparts. So, Godspeed to this idea, I hope it spreads like wild-fire in Muslim countries! wallahualam 0 0 Reply Siraaj Muhammad May 14, 2009 Tough question – is competing on who has the best morals in front of other people the best thing to do? What's worse – a riyaa contest, or a beauty contest? I'm not saying I have an answer here, just questions because at first glance, that's what the contest looks like. Siraaj 0 0 Reply Amad May 14, 2009 You know Siraaj, that is not a particularly honest way of framing the issue. It is only riya if the intention is for showing off. Otherwise competing to give charity is riya too? 0 0 Faiez May 14, 2009 Well character does have some level of "knowing how to act" in front of others. That's kind of like the difference between a bedouin and someone who was brought up in the city. Their character is different, but for the bedouin to change he'd have to be concious of his character in front of people consistently until it becomes instilled in him. He could still be doing it for Allah but how he acts in front of these people will get him to the good character that he's looking for. You bring a good point though, changing character is a tricky situation and displaying it would be even more tricky. I think this contest just sets up models for people in society to follow, not for the contestants to show off their character. 0 0 SaqibSaab May 14, 2009 I think this contest just sets up models for people in society to follow, not for the contestants to show off their character. Agreed, br. Faiez. 0 0 Miako May 28, 2009 not true. there was something about catholic nuns, where it was to be judged mostly on morality. fwiw. 0 0 Reply bintwadee3 May 14, 2009 I'm with SL on this one. Well said sister, jazaakillaah. And as sister Zainab pointed out, come up with a new idea. With the title alone, they're trying to compete with the West AND please feminist groups out there. "Look, we can have fun too. But we're still better than you because we care about morals and not just looks." The performance will be, at the least, deception. Reminds me of this: "Aiyub Ansari travelled from Madina to Egypt to collect one hadith; similarly Jabir bin Abdullah spent one month on his journey to obtain one hadith from Abdullah bin Anas. Another collector of these traditions learned that a certain person knew one hadith. Accordingly, he journeyed long to meet the said person. On reaching his destination, he made inquiries about the said person. Somebody pointed this person who was then trying to catch hold of his horse which had strayed by showing him an empty bucket as if it had some food for the horse. The collector, seeing this person, thus decoying an animal, thought that such a person is not reliable enough, and therefore his version of the hadith cannot be accepted, and he returned home without talking to the said person." Though the above story is used as an example of the meticulous care our scholars have used to preserve the Sunnah, clearly these instances, though similar in that they both contain deception, are not of the same caliber. On the one hand, the man deceived the horse, and so his recount of the hadith was questionable. On the other hand, the women will be displaying "how well they treat their mothers", bringing with them a possibility of deceiving the judges/audience. WAllaahu A3lam. 0 0 Reply Saleha H May 14, 2009 I agree with Sr. Serendipitouslife and Sis. Zainab, my sentiments exactly. And another point to add, when I first saw it, I thought, wait, how does that even show humility in what you are doing? Where's the sincerity in your actions if all you're doing it for is some judge? Shouldn't you judge be Allah (swt) at all times and the prize be Jannah? It's great for not showing off their bodies for a change, but subhanAllah, we don't need to copy anyone or be the same, I liked the way we were without these useless contests, that teach us nothing in the end about ourselves but how to get fame, money, and how to only do that action for some judge other than Allah. 0 0 Reply abu abdAllah Tariq Ahmed May 14, 2009 Alhamdolillah, Who alone Creates without precedent. I agree that (mortal) creativity abounds in the Ummah. But is that particular mosque we all know in Cairo less beautiful because of its resemblance to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul? Are the European or American masajid less majestic which use design features common in the West? Have the westerners who copied designs from Al Andalus also committed some kind of social treason? People incorporate the ideas that they learn about. It's the reason IP lawyers have jobs. True, people also make mistakes. So Siraaj may be right that the contest runs the risk of riyaa. But so does every event that requires persons to advance themselves into the limelight in some way. Applying to become a student at Ilm Summit — why not require every student have been invited? Qur'an recitation competitions? Ilm-competitions, etc. Even letting it be known what degrees and ijaazaat a person has — all fodder for shaytanic-hubris. Give naseehah (eg, to the contest organizers) if you fear for your brothers and sisters, and otherwise expect the best conduct from them. 0 0 Reply Hidaya May 14, 2009 Those who are suggesting to come up with something creative and not imitate non-Muslims, what are your suggestions? What would be the alternative? How do we attract young Muslim women back to our Deen rather then looking up to western way of life? 0 0 Reply Zainab (AnonyMouse) May 14, 2009 How do we attract young Muslim women back to our Deen rather then looking up to western way of life? First it starts at home – parents should be instilling good morals in their daughters (and sons) from the very beginning, placing emphasis on taqwa, husn al-khuluq, intelligence, hard work, dedication to the Da'wah, etc. For girls who need to be encouraged in this, opportunities should be created in which to demonstrate and develop these values… there are a hundred and one ways to engage our youth, young men and women alike, in a way that catches their attention and keeps it. We don't need national pageants of any sort; we just need a vibrant community that can use its creative thinking skills and foster those of its youth. If parents focused more on developing their children from the beginning; and communities worked a bit harder in providing long-term, engaging activities for the youth, I really don't think we'd feel the need to have a pageant of any sort. 0 0 Reply Ahsan Sayed May 17, 2009 People are thinking too much. This is not copying the west but rather showing how we, Muslims, are different. Do we muslims always have to be so serious and uptight? We need to take our deen seriously but show me the haram in this contest. This is a clever idea that can not only inspire others but even change the hearts of the contestants themselves. I agree with Amad, I hope it spreads like wildfire! 0 0 Reply Sadaf May 14, 2009 Bismillah I agree with Serendipitous Life about the fact that this pageant concept is a smack-imitation of a Western idea that has been prevalent since decades – of having men/women compete for the coveted "title" of an alpha-male/female who becomes the object of envy and/or adulation by the masses for a year or more. As for what you said about that champagne, it reminded me of another blogger's post about it that I read recently. :-) Obviously, a debate on non-alcoholic beer-drinking ensued. I also agree with Br. Siraaj, about the aspect of riya that is fundamental in this pageant – i.e. when observing the conduct of the contestants within a time frame to see who's best with their mothers, or with others. Wouldn't that give the contestants a chance to put on a show/deceive others with feigned piety? Also, ultimately, who are we humans to judge a person's morals? However, take a bird's eye view of the pageant itself. It is providing the world, particularly the world of non-Muslims, with a refreshing alternative. It is basically doing something new — emphasizing that, in Islam, women are appreciated for their morals and character, not their physical beauty. Secondly, the physical anonimity and obscurity of Muslim women in general — the unseen heroines doing daily jihaad within their homes, by serving productive husbands, raising pious children and maintaining/nurturing clean, Islamic, spiritually-charged households, that help bring up the next generation of the ummah's leaders – are not given any public recognition or coverage, one that will inspire the younger lot, and non-Muslim women in particular, to revert to Islam. Of course, that is because most of these women are very private and chaste, shying away from public recognition because it leads to riya, and this is correct. However, who is going to inspire non-Muslim women to enter Islam, if not the Muslim women of the world today, themselves? So much is misunderstood about them — with the common notion being that they are oppressed — that we need to provide the non-Muslims with the truth: that Muslim women are strong, educated and productive women; they are just not seen or heard that much in the pubic. I am not saying that this pageant is doing this, or that there are no other ways of inpsiring non-Muslims by shining Muslim women's examples of lofty character, knowledge and chastity, but what it is doing is, providing the world with the alternative, Muslim outlook towards women's beauty — with public appreciation of their morals, over how they look i.e. without objectifying them. It is also providing the female Muslim youth with something to aspire to. When I was a teen, I read the Quran, hadith and a lot of Islamic literature in my quest for knowledge. I desperately wanted to change my average, culturally-Islamic lifestyle to embody the true Islam, and to become like the Prophet Muhammad [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] and his female companions in my actions. However, what I desperatelty wanted, as a teenager, was a living example of a Muslim woman (preferrably not of naani/daadi age, but someone who was relatively younger, living according to Islam in the current age, and incorporating all the contemporary technological and educational tools in her life) who'd inspire me to take the plunge and revert. It's anyone's guess who eventually did that, but the bottomline is, youngsters need living examples to show them how to emulate the Prophet Muhammad [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] and his companions. Women, sadly, do not have that many examples, because this requires "going public" with your Islamic way of life, as Umm Al-Mu'mineen A'ishah did with hers, and very few Muslim women have the strength and courage to do that nowadays. Another point to note is whether the serving of a husband and nurturing of a family applies to all Muslim women. We know that although these actions are a Muslim woman's tickets for Paradise (keeping in mind Fatimah Bint Muhammad [may Allah be pleased with her] as the prime example — she will be the leader of all women in Paradise, despite living a short life, but spending it in virtue, and in serving her husband and children), they are not applicable to the actual circumstances of all of them. Many sisters I know are not married, nor will they be in the future, either (illaa ma shaa Allah); they are either divorced and elderly, single by chance (i.e. couldn't marry despite wanting to), or have no inclination to get married. Also, an average married woman spends the 20 or so initial years of her life in an unmarried state. What examples should such women aspire to, if they do not have a husband and children? Should they not have alternate modes of ajar/rewards-pursuit that will earn them Allah's Pleasure? Thankfully, Allah has Himself provided shining examples of women who were not devoted wives and mothers for most of their lives — both in the Quran and sunnah. Foremost is, of course, Maryam Bint Imran, who is mentioned for her superiority many times in the Quran. She never married; she never had a normal family life, yet she is one of the most superior among women because of her virtue and chastity. Then of course, there is Umm Al-Mu'minned A'ishah [may Allah be pleased with her] who, though married for a few years of her early life, did not spend most of the rest of it serving a husband and children (Allah did not give her any) but despite that, holds a revered position in Islam to this day, due to her intelligence, narrations of ahadith, and superior level of knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence. The unIslamic aspects of this pageant, or shall we say, it's negative aspects – i.e. imitation of the West, giving way to riya, judging a Muslimah for her actions in the dunya — are definitely there; whether they are the lesser evil, or if the da'wah potential outweighs them…..? Who to decide? Allah knows best. 0 0 Reply Qas May 14, 2009 I know the best strategy. We should all stay home and do nothing. No controversy, no nothing. 0 0 Reply Algebra May 15, 2009 I agree of course pun intended 0 0 Reply Posts about Huffington Post as of May 15, 2009 » The Daily Parr May 15, 2009 [...] about Huffington Post as of May 15, 2009 "Miss Beautiful Morals" – Will You Please Step Up? – muslimmatters.org 05/14/2009 Photo: Contest organizer Khadra Mubarak, at right, goes over [...] 0 0 Reply AsimG May 16, 2009 Do we really need to imitate the kuffar in something so stupid to "fit in"? Why don't we have a wet tshirt contest too? Oh, the event will actually be about who has the most perfect wudu… 0 0 Reply AsimG May 16, 2009 I do want to say I agree with sister Sadaf and that we need more emphasis on the value of our sisters in society. There just has to be a better way to do it than following the example of Donald Trumps' businesses. 0 0 Reply American Hermana May 16, 2009 Si, Si, Señorita AsimG! The Donald is an empty shell of a business model if we wish to conduct ourselves with dignity and scruples. Our ultimate goal should be to foster appreciation and honor of womankind, as we truly are! Not how 'they' wish us to be. ~~~ My English is sometimes bad, yes? 0 0 Reply Faraz Omar May 17, 2009 I'm kinda late, but better late than never. no one pointed out about the Qur'an hifz and tajweed competitions? i do agree with what zainab, siraaj n SLife have had to say… but considering the amount of pressure that's there on (Saudi) Muslim society to adopt western lifestyles and the open invitation by (international and local) media to imitate immoral women, i think this will at least be a reminder for women as to what really matters. I hope it will insha Allah encourage good and bring to light the real role models of society. but i wonder scholars will have to say on that. will try to get an opinion insha Allah. 0 0 Reply A Principled Pageant?: Saudi Arabia's Miss Beautiful Morals « Muslimah Media Watch May 28, 2009 [...] character and that striving for attractiveness "belies our real values." Commentary at MuslimMatters praised the contest for similar reasons, describing the contest as a "welcome change from the [...] 0 0 Reply Samira May 28, 2009 Salaam aleikoum, I actually don't see the point in all of this. Everyone can act all cute and lovely in front of judges. If you act a certain way you should do it to please Allah and not some women who might give you a price. BTW wasn't this held in a shi'ite city in the KSA? 0 0 Reply zainab June 3, 2009 people, i mean the contestants can act or show off just to win the miss beautiful morals but the audience will learn positive things from this which is good.yes allah is the ultimate judge but the programme is set to encourage and make young girls understand the religion more i.e good from bad .so i personally think this is a good idea. 0 0 Reply Siraaj June 3, 2009 How about a "Miss Beautiful Mind" contest which quizzes Muslim sister on a variety of topics, both religious and secular, in a game show format. Siraaj 0 0 Reply Fatima June 3, 2009 I think your idea about the 'miss beautiful mind' is the best idea I've heard so far! I think this would encourage young women to learn more about the religion and it would also get them be more interested in our beautiful deen InshaAllah. 0 0 Reply zainab June 24, 2009 WAT DO YOU MEAN BY GAME SHOW FORMAT 0 0 Reply I Cannot Cheer You on Sister Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010: Too Much at Stake | MuslimMatters.org May 22, 2010 [...] a real alternative to a "beauty pageant," how about the Miss Beautiful Morals? Now, that's a celebration of women as humans, not a celebration of women as [...] 0 0 Reply I Cannot Cheer You on Sister Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010 : Too Much is at Stake « Words of love.. words for love… July 16, 2010 [...] a real alternative to a "beauty pageant,†how about the Miss Beautiful Morals?  Now, that's a celebration of women as humans, not a celebration of women as bodies! 0.000000 [...] 0 0 Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply


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It's hard to believe they were originally going to release Basic before bombs started falling over Baghdad; if it isn't the worst movie of 2003 so far, it's only because I haven't seen Boat Trip. Now, in the shadow of smoke rising from the rubble in Iraq, it's even more unfathomable that Sony Pictures would unleash this stink bomb on the moviegoing public, which undoubtedly will turn up its nose at a movie in which soldiers are seen killing each other – repeatedly, in Rashomon-styled alternative-version flashbacks – over a drug-running scheme gone awry. And, really, nothing says "Go America!" like a movie in which Army commanding officers are depicted as homophobic, self-loathing despots who threaten men in their command with "training accidents" that will send them home in body bags.
What's truly offensive is that Basic peddles the laziest kind of filmmaking: Its writer, recent film-school grad James Vanderbilt (responsible for the Tooth Fairy horror film Darkness Falls), has concocted a screenplay that chokes to death in a tangle of inexplicable twists and cheap tricks; you could no more follow its plot if it took you by the hand and gave you a flashlight. And you'll never convince me professionals were involved in its making; director John McTiernan, still trying to wash the stink of Rollerball out of his clothes, tumbles further into the abyss of Lost Filmmakers. The man who made Die Hard doesn't even try hard anymore. Perhaps he hopes you'll be so dumfounded by a movie in which every word's a lie and every person's a fraud that you won't notice how amateurish this endeavor is.
With a plot involving murder on a military base, Basic may remind some of 1999's The General's Daughter, which also starred John Travolta as an investigator sent to get to the bottom of a cover-up. Small changes have been made: The latter's perverse and disturbing misogyny has been replaced by a wide streak of homophobia – Giovanni Ribisi appears in Basic as a gay Army Ranger who sounds like Jimmy Stewart as voiced by Kermit the Frog. And Connie Nielsen, a grating Dane with questionable taste in scripts (see, or don't, The Hunted), steps into the Madeleine Stowe role as Travolta's reluctant partner. Fortunately, there is no nude female corpse tied to tent pegs for the camera to linger on; the (presumably) dead man in Basic is Samuel L. Jackson, an Army Ranger who keeps all his clothes on – including, oddly, his Mace Windu cape.
Basic really brings to mind a Travolta film from 2000, Battlefield Earth, in that it's so astonishingly awful it becomes a sort of kinky pleasure; just when you think Travolta has fallen to the bottom of the barrel, he pulls out a shovel and dons his miner's helmet to see what lies beneath. Sony would have done wise to market Basic as a comedy, a parody of films like The General's Daughter; audiences lured in by its ominous trailer will find themselves laughing for all the wrong reasons. Of all the abominations for which Travolta has cashed a check post-Pulp Fiction, Basic might be the worst of all – which, granted, is a risky thing to say considering the likes of Battlefield Earth, Lucky Numbers, Domestic Disturbance and Swordfish, each less a movie than a punch line. Not since George W. Bush alienated the European members of the United Nations has someone been in danger of squandering so much goodwill.
And it's almost a shame, since Travolta's having a blast as Tom Hardy, a former Ranger turned disgraced DEA agent called in by his old pal Pete Wilmer (Tim Daly) to investigate the disappearances and deaths of several soldiers during a training drill in the jungles of Panama. Hardy's a boozer and skirt chaser, the kind of guy who thinks being cocky's the same thing as being charming; he'll admit to Nielsen's Lieutenant Osborne he's drunk in the middle of the day, but only as an excuse for hitting on her. But because Travolta's just a bit too old for this part, Hardy's also kind of sad, left to shout down young men (Ribisi, Brian Van Holt) who remind him of himself before he got lost at the bottom of an empty bottle.
Because McTiernan and Vanderbilt seemed to think they were making a real mystery, as opposed to the goofy little movie they wound up with, they take themselves so seriously that Travolta can get no traction. He's sabotaged by Nielsen, affecting the "Suth'n" drawl of a junior-high Civil War reenactment; by Harry Connick Jr., as the base doctor who sings like, well, Harry Connick Jr.; by Daly, who's so white-bread they could use him for peanut-butter sandwiches; and by a cast of young actors who all look the same during rain-forest downpours (save for Taye Diggs, who's clearly not in Chicago anymore, Toto). And he's done in by Vanderbilt, who withholds key plot points for no reason – you see, but don't hear, characters exchange information that will be revealed later – other than to con you into thinking there's something going on. Don't worry – there isn't.
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Opinion pages are supposed to be provocative, but Jim Robertson, managing editor at the Columbia Daily Tribune, admits Wednesday's editorial cartoon may have gone a little overboard. Twitter erupted in fury after the Tribune ran a syndicated Gary McCoy cartoon based on the looting and riots that gr ... More >>
Last Thursday, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder sounded a wee bit paranoid while talking to conservative radio host Dana Loesch. The reason: A United Nations-affiliated group will be observing the November 6 general elections here in Missouri and several other states. Such monitors, Kinder ... More >>
Despite releasing seven albums and amassing a cult of fans through relentless touring -- its appearance at the Firebird this Sunday is their third St. Louis show in twelve months -- Electric Six is still known to most people for two songs: "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar." So while the ti ... More >>
Independent media and labels bear the brunt of the postal service raising its rates.
Unreal gets hot and bothered over a former GOP spokesman, calls up a north-county man with some James Bond-ish crap to sell and finds a local blogger with �zero redeemable qualities to speak of.�
Fonda's humiliation is only one reason this Monster is such a dog
"Pro-lifers" go warm-and-fuzzy


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Alamo Bowl
Baylor's Griffin Wins Davey O'Brien Award
Baylor University quarterback Robert Griffin III is quickly adding hardware to his trophy case.
No. 15 Baylor To Play Washington In Alamo Bowl
The Robert Griffin-led Bears (9-3, 6-3 Big 12) finished the season with five straight wins for their longest streak since 1991. The Bears' nine wins are their most since 1986.


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Pirate Party wins seat in European Parliament
The pro-internet file sharing Pirate Party yesterday scored a big win by securing a seat in the European parliament. It pulled in 7.1 per cent of votes in Sweden, which handed the party one of the country's 18 seats in the European parliament. "Privacy issues and civil liberties are important to people and they demonstrated …
"...took 6.5 per cent of the UK vote. The Pirate Party beat this, with its 7.1 per cent share. We think this tells us something significant, but we're not sure what..."
That 6.5 % of the UK voting public are arseholes, Whereas 7.1% of Swedes are a bunch of freeloaders?
BNP - how dare they...
I'm not a leftie, but the BNP getting a result like this on the commemoration of D-Day is utterly outrageous.
Shame on all of you who couldn't be arsed to vote.
I'm an accidental immigrant but always vote for the far right in my adopted country and it seems my reasoning for doing so is justified. Said reasoning being that it will give a kick up the backsides of the smug arses of the members of the main political parties. Myabe now they will start to look more seriously at why people didn't vote for them and listen to what the people want.
can you lend us a hand
only got another 40 barrels to shift
yup down there in the cellar please
@ Andy
The BNP getting a result is terrible, but UKIP even more results is fine ?
Both want to distance us from Europe, one is more overt in their aims than the other.
But only one of them is terrible.
How about the SNP ? They got the same number of seats as the BNP and have been qutie clear in wanting to break up the union that is Great Britain. Any comment on them ?
Being a proud Welshman (apparently Celt isn't the race, its the language) I can say, without a shadow of doubt, that the BNP does not represent me, nor will they ever represent me. Luckily, neither do the Lib Dems!
@Chris W
Does this mean you voted for the racist BNP then, only to prove a point against the main political parties? If you did, dont you think that it was a tad silly?
I understand the need to suffer groups like the BNP, after all we live in a democracy, but I dont see the need to throw away a vote for them. That is, of course, unless you fit their idea of what a British person looks like. After listening to the chap who leads that rabble on Sky news last night it would appear he will figure out who can stay and who can go just by looking at them.
I am not telling you that a protest vote is wrong, it isnt, but it is a great shame that it goes to muppets like the BNP instead of actual political parties like the Green Party, or UKIP, who actually want to try and make a positive difference.
Paris, because even she isnt stupid enough to waste a vote on the BNP...
Will they get their expenses paid
... in pieces of eight.
People who vote for BNP are racists, no matter what excuse they come up with.
I am horrified that the British Nazi Party managed to get two seats in Europe. A sad day indeed.
While I don't mind idiots like this kicking up a fuss, I am stunned that enough British citizens would actually take a bunch of buffons like this seriously enough to vote for them.
The continued degradation of this country that was started by the Thatcher government and gleefully continued by the Blair one is one of the most mortifying things I have the extreme displeasure to witness.
Oh, and go Pirate party! :)
Pirates 7.1%, BNP 6.5%
Arr! That be cos BNP is limited to those from a certain racial background with very limited views, whilst piracy knows no such boundaries, ye scurvy knaves! Avast behind! Splice the mainbrace, and prepare for boarders!
Oh and Chris W? It's because of this attitude that we get people elected who have one "policy" ('keep our post office open', or "no telephone mast next to our school", forex) but who don't have a sodding clue how a council is supposed to run, and then fsck everything else up by being unable to make a sensible decision on anything else. Or even worse, too many people could waste their ballot as a protest vote thinking "oh, I'll just vote for the so-and-so to give the 'big three' a butt-kick" and we end up with a bunch of racist thugs running things. Last time something like that happened was, I believe, somewhere in central Europe around 1936/37...
Lesser evil?
Well if people are disgusted with the main parties (fair enough) then I suppose I'd rather they vote for a bunch of people wanting people to give them their work for free than for a bunch of racist xenophobes. So Sweden comes out ahead there.
But yeah, yesterday's results make me ashamed of this country. If you add the UKIP and the BNP results together into a single "rude xenophobes incapable of running anything" category, then their success dwarfs the Lib Dems and the Greens (the latter usually do quite well in Europe, and our Green MEPs are very well respected in Brussels). and comes close to threatening the Conservatives.
The behaviour of the UKIP MEPs has been disgusting. They've done no work, been disruptive (including standing up and singing the Dad's Army song in a meeting) and generally making the British look like arses.
Though I disagree with the freeloading ideology of the Pirate Party, at least the people voting for them appear to have been voting /for/ something, not just trying to be disruptive, awkward and racist. And at least the Pirate Party has (I have been told) some more sensible views on government intrusion and police powers.
Shame on this country. Real shame.
Paris, because I need /someone/ to put a smile on my face.
something about pirates pwn vikings?
shame there were no ninjas
what it tells us
is that the BNP are really a minority party. It doesn't surprise me that 6% of Brits are racists, I'd have thought more. It doesn't surprise me that 7% of Swedes care more about their moviez than the rest of public policy. But these are all pretty small numbers. Trolls, the lot of them.
Pirate Politicians?
Avast me hearties, just you be waiting until THEY start rorting the old expenses treasure chest!
@Chris W
I admire your optimism but the chances of our incumbent labour overlords giving a flying fuck about what we, the people, think are still so low as to be negligible. Despite the massive electoral kick to the gonads that labour have received in the last week and the fact that it is obvious to the entire country that Brown must go, that one-eyed scottish idiot refuses to budge.
We need a general election now.
Paris, cos even she'd make a better PM than that fucking clown Brown.
Wait, how thick are the BNP?
"The BNP, which styles itself as the representative of the "Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Norse and closely related kindred peoples" it says constitute the indigenous peoples of the UK"
I assume they don't realise that none of those are "indigenous peoples of the UK" :/
BNP not far right...
..their agenda is actually far left, but with added racism.
They want centralised / nationalised pretty much everything - which makes them far left. It is just their racism that folks equate with the right...
Chris, you may want to look at the history of the Nazi party. It may sound a little familiar.
Note: It's from a Year Nine publication, so should be ok for you get get the general idea, but you may struggle lifting your knuckles of the floor.
Chris W and all other racists
Dear Chris W and all other backward racist simpletons,
Voting for the BNP isn't a protest vote. It simply shows you're a racist and too cowardly to admit it.
If you want to protest, turn up and spoil your vote or get involved in the bloody process.
Not sure which is more worrying...
900K BNP voters or 230K Christian Party voters.
Always remember the Christian Right is rarely Christian and never right.
AC as I don't want to be nailed to anything.
@Dave Ross - use of 'buffon'
Boris Johnson is an example of a 'buffon'.
The BNP are actually a bunch of 'cnuts'.
30% (ish) turnout
Can we conclude that over 2 thirds of the populace just want the politicians to FOAD ?
Re : Andy
"Shame on all of you who couldn't be arsed to vote"
With the disenfranchisement that had taken place over the last 12 years, and now hearing Browns speach on how he must 'stay on for the good of the party' (what about the good of the people?) I am not surprised that huge numbers didn't vote. It could well be that their apathy prevented an even greater defeat for Labour and more seats for the BNP.
When we see the distance between Government and governed increasing daily, the feeling that your single vote won't matter, and would probably be ignored anyway, will increase.
And I didn't vote. I was working. Left home at 06:15 and got back at 21:30.
@Andy - Vote for who exactly?
"Shame on all of you who couldn't be arsed to vote."
Not really. There's nobody to vote for.
• Labour - doing a useless job under Brown, yet he's too stubborn to go.
• Tory - would never ever vote for the Tories and toffs Cameron and Osbourne.
• Lib Dem - used to be good under Charles Kennedy. Completely lost their way now though. Too many green policies.
• Green - eco lefties who have fallen for global warming propaganda. No thanks
• UKIP - too right wing. Nothing against being in Europe.
• BNP - bunch of racists
and then you have the tiny parties that aren't worth bothering with.
Now Andy, who was I supposed to vote for in that bunch?
Re: BNP
Chris W: "I'm an accidental immigrant but always vote for the far right in my adopted country and it seems my reasoning for doing so is justified. Said reasoning being that it will give a kick up the backsides of the smug arses of the members of the main political parties. Myabe now they will start to look more seriously at why people didn't vote for them and listen to what the people want."
Given that immigrants of whatever nature are generally the unrepresented in any country, unless they've acquired citizenship and can actually vote to change the policies of the nation, it's hard to see how supporting parties that are hostile to immigrants is in any way a smart idea. If you can get a chance to influence immigration policy and make it somewhat more humane - many non-immigrants have no real idea about such matters, since they only know what they read in the papers or see on the television - voting for bigots is like taking a bullet in the foot, not only for those who have to suffer the inept, unaccountable and often degrading immigration and employment bureaucracy, but also for everyone else in society who, after all, have to live together with their new co-residents without one party or the other feeling like they're being mistreated, marginalised or victimised.
Although one might wish that Labour and friends might consider the election of high-profile racists as a "wake-up call" or "a kick up the backsides", one should bear in mind that swathes of the political establishment (as well as many of the Britards) still regard a vote for the Liberal Democrats as a "protest vote", so the most you'll get from the ruling elite is what you've already been hearing: the Cage of the Britards has been shaken and stupid has voted for stupid. And they'd be right because even though their contempt for democracy has been demonstrated repeatedly, voting for a party merely to spite some other parties, without actually bothering to choose a party (or person) who might make a constructive difference, shows an even greater contempt for democracy than simply spoiling the ballot paper with a doodle of a penis.
Given that a couple of Britard xenophobes will now be off to Brussels to vote away on all sorts of stuff on behalf of people following your supposedly "justified" reasoning, we can see votes on such reasoning for what they are: the Tactical Vote of the Britards. It's like a genie offering three wishes, but instead of being grateful, the average Britard, displeased at the supposedly meagre offer, takes a crap in the magic lamp with a stupid grin on his/her face, only to see the offer withdrawn. Remember that when your racist representatives are riding roughshod over your actual wishes and ideals.
Am I missing something?
The BNP are big fans of "Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Norse and closely related kindred peoples". (They didn't mention picts, though did they?)
...but let's get this straight. If you violently invade a country and hang around for 1000 or more years then the BNP think you're a "nice" foreigner. If on the other hand, you have something positive to give to society but your parents were invited here 40 years ago, they want you out?
...and the fact that we all started out in Africa and share the majority of genes with every other human being on the planet counts as nothing. We are all humans, regardless of everything else. Race, colour, creed, parentage, religion, the place you happen to have been born; they're all artificial subdivisions. It's idiots like the BNP that make me ashamed to be British - they actually make me feel like leaving these islands - and I will if they ever manage to gain any serious power.
I wonder how the BNP stand on emmigration? I mean they're a little bit down on foreigners coming here, do they feel just as strongly on behalf of foreign nations when British workers go overseas? I doubt it very much (which speaks volumes about double-standards and nimbyism, doesn't it?)
I think you mean 'buffoon', zedee. Buffon is the Italian national goalkeeper, a task for which I feel Mr. Johnson would not be ideally suited.
Now that there are more pirates, does this mean the end to global warming?
...if we choose to see a silver lining it's that whilst labour lost 7% of vote share the tories only increased their share by 1% so perhaps we could just view this 7% as protest votes (unfortunately resulting in loony MEPs), rather than a genuine Labour-Tory swing.
Now all labour needs to do is get their arses in gear and remember who they work for and who their core supporters are!
calm down, it's only an EU election
The BNP are a fringe party and serve no purpose other than to help guage the complex political barometer of UK politics. They had fewer votes than last time they stood in the EU elections and only got in because people now know that they can use these insignificant polls to register their protest vote or abstention. We are not being over run by facists and the next five years of EU politics will be very similar to the last five so let's all just calm down a little.
The mainstream parties could do with looking at the coherent parts of the BNP manifesto though, the lucid parts actually appeal to many of middle england and a party could gain a lot of votes if it could address the fears of middle england without dipping too far into abject racism (the Daily Mail reader, for example).
That aside, to put it in perspective the Monster Raving Looney have held more seats than the BNP ever have.
Who the BNP represent
"Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Norse and closely related kindred peoples" - basically white people. Racist fuckwit BNP scum
No, we can conclude that 2/3 were watching re-runs of the Britain's Got Talent final.
I've said it once, I'll say it again, we live in the United Kingdom of Great Apathy.
Should be interesting.
With so many independants winning seats in brussels it should be an interesting few years ahead.
And yes I did vote. Though unfortunately the BNP still didn't win in my area. Maybe next time.
Interesting to see that people seem to think that saying Britain for the british makes you racist.... So all the illegals and criminals that come are free to stay? They can rob you blind and you don't care? Around my way it is always racist crimes against white people, yet nothing is ever done.
Hopefully the BNP will do better in the general election, if labour will dare call it before the last possible moment that is.
NOT AC, as I'm not afraid of the false accusations and insults
30% (ish) turnout
By Anonymous Coward Posted Monday 8th June 2009 11:09 GMT
Can we conclude that over 2 thirds of the populace just want the politicians to FOAD ?
Bingo! If you turn up and write "none of the lying, cheating, self-interested sacks of shite" on the ballot paper they don't count it.
Ballot papers need a "protest vote" or "vote of no confidence" checkbox that basically states that none of these feckers represent your position and you think they'd be better put to use as organ donors or glue.
No, it tells us that 6% of the 34%(ish) who bothered to turn out for the elections thought that voting for the BNP was a good idea at the time.
It's funny to listen to the news from this morning and last night. Apparently Labour got the blame for this as well. Now, personally I dont see how someone who has been voting for the Labour party for the last n amount of years starts voting for a far right racist party. Dont see how the swing from left to right can take place unless the BNP is actively going out and lying to people.
Which they probably are.
Last night the goon in charge of them commented that the BNP MEP's will be donating 10% of their wages to community causes and to a traditional christian christmas. Of course, I would imagine that the community causes will be things like marches, shaving heads, burning books, fearing other religions, fearing immigrants, making the public fear other things (like Europe, the single currency etc) and getting angry with anyone who appears to disagree with them.
I still maintain that people should be able to vote for who they want, but I think those who voted BNP as a protest should feel ashamed for wasting their vote. Especially when they could have voted for the Pirate Party ( or the Roman Party, Ave).
Paris, because she cant spell BNP.
@Mark Fenton
That's not far left, that's facism.
I hear that wikipedia is quite good for looking up complicated things that you don't understand.
Karim Bourouba and others
>If you did, dont you think that it was a tad silly?
No, and I'll explain why. Most people will blindly vote for the party of their fathers, note I said most. Hence we have safe seats, seats which could be won by the flower pot men if they were selected by the party members. Because of these voters a minority party will never gain overnight popularity. There was a reference by an AC to 1936/37. Hitler became leader of the NSDAP in 1921, between then and when he became chancellor in 1933 they were numerous elections. The incumbents had 12 years to take notice of the way things were going and take action, obviously they didn't but that's democracy for you.
Let's take a look at the modern day incuments and see what they have been saying about the BNP wins. "Beyond the pale", horrific, dismayed, "a disgrace" amongst other things. What are they really saying? Democracy is a disgrace. Democracy should be voting for us. Or perhaps, their real thoughts, it's a disgrace that we've been shown up to be the sponging bastards that we are and people are displeased with us. See the diference here between the disgrace that is them being sponging bastards and the one that is them being found out. They have no shame and like the sociopaths they are they truly believe that to be on the gravy train they are now riding is their God given right and we the voters shouldn't have the nerve to question them, examine what they or doing or heaven forbid vote for someone else.
A seat or two for the greens or lib-dems wouldn't evoke such emotions and a protest vote for them wouldn't be worth the trip to the polls.
So if it makes them sit up and think or even realise that they may just well have to sit up and beg then for now I feel a protest vote for the far right is not wasted.
It seems that since my starting this missive and finishing it there have been a few other comments.
NB: 10:58 – We can only live in hope
AC 11:00 and Stuart Henderson, thankyou for your comment I'm sure everyone was impressed by your thought provoking contributions.
Finally, based on past historic events, even though only one, the politicians have a tad over ten years to improve their act.
The AC got it right...
As someone else stated, there wasn't really much choice as to who to vote for in the UK... All of the parties are either corrupt and self serving (labour, conservatives, libdems), or too extreme in one way or another (bnp, ukip, green, christian)...
Is it any surprise that only 20% of those eligible to vote actually bothered to do so?
Those who support parties like the bnp will go out and vote at every chance, and they will also gain a lot of votes from people who are casting a protest vote due to being disgruntled with the other parties... The percentage of die hard supporters of the minority parties goes up significantly when there is such a low voter turnout.
If we had a pirate party i would have considered voting for them, copyright laws are ridiculous these days, they are constantly being extended while modern technological advancements should make them shorter (software becomes obsolete quickly for instance, by the time copyright expires it will be completely useless, and audio/video technologies are constantly improving)...
As for the UKIP MEPs being disrupting, that's exactly what they were supposed to do... They are an anti europe party sitting in the european parliament, their entire philosophy is anti europe and the people voting for them know that. Are you really surprised that an anti europe party would seek to disrupt the european parliament? If you truly believe in democracy, then you have to respect that a percentage of the population voted for this behaviour.
@Chris W
And while we wait for the next European election we can watch the BNP spend your money on racist propaganda and Nazi youth camps? Good job Chris! Highfive!
BNP and Politics..
I might not like what they say but I will defend thier right to say it..
IT is corrcet that the BNP are in the political arena rather than the terror arena like the IRA used to be and the Animal rights people still do.
If you dont like democracy move!
I support having the BNP on the ballot (although I would not vote for them!)
Racist thugs...
I had no idea that Reg reading geeks were such a bunch of wet, whiny, vegetarian hand ringers. I'm genuinely surprised.
I like many others voted BNP not because I'd like to see racist thugs in control, but because I see no better way to let our ruling elite know that I've had enough of their PC, H&S, Equal Opportunities, multi-cultural nonsense.
Oh and the Pirate Party campaigned predominantly on civil liberties issues, not just rights for freetards.
oh dear
It's amazing, the people that go 'oh the Pirate Party is just a bunch of freeloaders' - shows they've not bothered to read the platform.
Why did the Pirate Party get such support from the Pirate Bay decision? Might have something to do with judge corruption (biased judge), police corruption (chief cop also worked for Warner while he was suppoed to be investigating TPB), and that such a harsh sentence (a year in jail is a lot in Sweden) was passed for running a website with NO proven damage (and as yet, they've only ever claimed, with no proof, that p2p damages sales - every study says otherwise), and lets not forget where this started - A raid pushed for by a foreign government, after illegal intervention by the justice minister.
In short, the PirateBay case gave them massive support, because it symbolised the corruption in the current government, just like the expenses scandal. Essentially, that the government does what business wants, regardless of the facts, or the people, and IPRED and ACTA only make it clearer.
There are 3 main areas of policy for the Pirate Parties.
1) Government accountability and transparancy.
2) Increase in Personal Privacy
3) reform of the Copyright, Patent and Trademark systems.
You'd be surprised just how much those 3 basic points cover, including through secondary effects. Making the government accountable, means less waste, which means a smaller budget. Ditto with things like ID cards, or databases (and cut down on the surveillance society as well).
Just remember, take 30 years off the filesharing debate, and you'd have the same arguments about VCRs, and we have seen how that 'killed' the movie industry as they claimed it would. Cable TV didn't kill the networks, again it was claimed it would, and radio didn't kill the music companies. There's a pattern, and if you think all of a sudden the film/music industry execs are telling the truth, why have they YET to provide any proof of their claims?
Andrew Norton
Pirate Party International
Got arr vote..
shame they weren't on my ballot.
Boycott the UK ??
So, when will the "Boycott Britain" campaign be running - like they did with Austria?
People should vote how they choose, but people who don't vote shouldn't bitch about their leaders or the results of elections. That said I hate the BNP, they are racist scum, anyone who claims they are not should probably answer the question "Why can't black or asian people join the party?".
As for the Pirate Party, if they are formed out of the Pirate Bay (as I understand they are) they also have links to the far right (Karl Lundstrom). And they have almost no policies other than "everyone should get everything, like, for free, man." There are far mor important issues to be addressed at a European level than they or the BNP can hope to address.
I'm livid.
What's wrong with Tories?
An AC above says he won't vote for them because of inverted snobbery, well that's creditable and rational isn't it? Sound like a disenfranchised Labour supporter.
Average state salary higher than average private sector salary, more than 30% of people employed by the state, state pensions guaranteed but private sector pensions decimated ... unsustainable policy at the best of times, complete madness in these times.
The Tories will prolly get in again like the did in 1979 and have to clear up mess of a profligate Labour government, again. "Cuts cuts cuts" cry the socialist bleeding hearts, but isn't that how one balances a budget? Like a spendaholic with maxed out credit cards this country spends more than it can afford, and if we're not going to go completely down the pan we need to reduce government spending.
But the people who have the backbone to actually do this are labelled 'nasty'. Whoever cuts the most gets my vote, Im fed up of paying for it all.
The elasticity of society.
Everyone seems to forget that most people don't actually really like 'issues'. They want a peaceful life.
Over here in sunny Bristol we had two 'issues' in rapid succession. One was a Radio presenter that asked a taxi company not to send someone round in a turban as it unnerved her daughter (but why it unnerved her daughter was not gone into).
The second was a council member that said "in her culture there was a word for the behaviour" of another council member. A 'Coconut'. Black on the outside, white on the inside; a traitor to roots.
One of these lost her job. The other, nobody batted an eyelid about. Guess which one?
Well, it was the Radio presenter that lost her job to the mob. The blatant racism by a member of the council was ignored, because in her own words "she can't be racist, because she's black".
If both had lost their jobs over it, there would be no issue (upholding the same standard). If neither had lost their jobs, again, no real issue.
However, there's a big 'positive discrimination' thing going on. However, there is no such thing as positive discrimination. All you're doing by 'positively discriminating' for a minority is to discriminate against the majority.
This is the crux of the matter, methinks. What isn't really an issue (not many consider anyone of any creed or colour less able than any other; social integration is largely there) is made one by political pressure groups. These keep saying that minority groupls need special concessions (why? They're equal, and I know a good many 'ethnic' people who resent these concessions, as it makes people think they can only do their job because of quotas when they're perfectly capable of competing on a level playing field).
This environment (along with the almost witch hunt fervour that people keep screaming 'racism' over anything that may possibly be shoehorned into that catefoty.. Though sometimes even shoehorning doesn't make it that way when viewed rationally) creates a very high profile 'issue' that is blasted out to the general public, whether it's relevant or not. The premise is that "you're racist unless you try very hard to prove that you're not".
Honestly, I think people are just fed up, and are just voting to say "Enough. This is now an issue that we think you've taken too far."
Me, I'm middle of the road, and wish that people would just treat people as people without labelling them to make it easy to brush them off and put them in a category of "less than me, and therefore irrelevant what they say". Every time you scream 'racist' at someone, you're pulling the elastic a little further on someone, which makes their reaction that much stronger when they express it. Most people aren't racist.
Oh, and the radio presenter that was fired? Her close circle of friends numbered the top people in the local race relations groups who were of all races. All of them testified that she was not racist. However, she's still branded racist by the mob. What does that tell you about the mob?
@Joe Montana
we do
they are just not yet setup for thses elections at the next they will be getting my vote
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Novelty Key Chains
Wooden Cross Key Chains (1 dz)
These Cross Key chains are a great way to remind your entire parish that Jesus is always with them, and the sacrifice he made for everyone. Give these inspirational key chains out during church functions or as Sunday school rewards.
- 1 Dozen
- Measures 1 3/4"
- Wood
Metallic Aluminum Cross Clip Key Chains (1 dz)
Keep a reminder of Christ with you at all time with these Metallic Aluminum Cross Clip Key Chains. These crossed shaped clips are perfect for keys or as a backpack decoration.
- 1 Dozen Metallic Aluminum Cross Clip Key Chains.
- Key Chains Measure 2 7/8 Inches.
- Metal.
- Assorted Colors.