Eideard

More than 200 Indian girls whose names mean “unwanted” in Hindi have been given a fresh start at a mass renaming ceremony in Maharashtra state. They had been called Nakusha by parents who would have preferred sons.

Hundreds of people committed to fighting gender discrimination attended the ceremony in rural Satara district.

Statistics show a continuing preference for boys in India. The gender imbalance has widened every decade since independence in 1947…

Female foeticide remains common in India, although sex-selective abortion based on ultrasound scans is illegal. Sons are still seen by many as wage-earners for the future.

Satara, where the ceremony took place, has one of the country’s lowest female populations, with 880 females to every 1,000 males, says the BBC’s Zubair Ahmed…

The 285 girls at the ceremony ranged in age from one to 20…

There is a comparable constant in all theocratic societies. Discrimination, social division along parameters which haven’t a damned thing to do with reality, potential character. Foolishness.

Ten days after the military dumped its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays and lesbians in the military, the Pentagon has issued new rules allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages, but only if allowed by law and the chaplain’s beliefs.

“A military chaplain may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law,” a memo released Friday says. “Further a chaplain is not required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would be in variance with the tenets of his or her religion…”

The new military rules on marriages must be in line with the Federal Defense of Marriage Act and local laws.

The latest two-paragraph memo, from Under Secretary of Defense Clifford Stanley, carefully stops short of fully embracing the idea of same-sex marriage…

Don’t wish to get too far ahead of the President and Congress. Even if the Pentagon is still leading the race to catch up to the rest of the American people.

Tomoharu and Miki Saito

Ceremonies to celebrate divorces have gained momentum in Japan after the massive March earthquake and tsunami, followed by an ongoing nuclear crisis, caused unhappy couples to reassess their lives.

The ceremony to mark a couple’s transition to being single again costs 55,000 yen, includes a buffet meal and culminates with the ritual smashing of their wedding rings with a gavel.

Tomoharu Saito, who took part in Tokyo with his wife Miki days before they were set to file for divorce, said crushing the rings felt cathartic…

The ceremony also includes a “divorce dress,” and Miki Saito chose a daisy-yellow summer dress. In Japan, daisies are believed to symbolize an “amicable or platonic relationship.”

Designer Akiue Go said he created the dress with emphasis on the back for a specific reason.

“I designed this dress so the woman’s back looks the most beautiful when she turns around and walks away,” he said.

Hiroki Terai, a 31-year-old former salesman, spotted a gap in the market and pioneered the divorce ceremony two years ago. Since then, he’s celebrated more than 80 breakups.

Requests for the ceremony have tripled since the March 11 9.0 magnitude quake set off a massive tsunami.

“The March 11 disaster made many couples rethink their priorities. Some found that work was a higher priority to them than family, and this helped people gain the confidence to decide on a divorce,” Terai said.

“Those who want an amicable divorce are doing these ceremonies.”

All my divorces were amicable. I think one of them even resulted in a celebration.

But, then, I finally found the right woman for me.

OK to pass through the checkpoint to fight a forest fire
Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

Israel’s refusal Tuesday to allow four Palestinian firefighters to cross the border from the West Bank to attend a ceremony for their role in putting out the country’s largest-ever fire has prompted a torrent of criticism.

Ahmed Tibi, an Arab member of Israel’s Knesset who helped organize the ceremony, said he was shocked when when he received a call from one of the firefighters, informing him that he and three others were being denied entry into Israel because of security concerns.

The ceremony was to salute 11 Palestinian firefighters who were among the many foreigners volunteering to help Israelis put out the worst fire in the nation’s history. The blaze killed 43 people this month.

The ceremony, which was being held in the northern town of Isifya, near where the fire began, was canceled in protest of Israel’s decision.

The Israeli government office that oversees the crossings with the Palestinian territories issued a statement expressing “regret” over the incident but asked that “a fuss” not be made.

For its part, the Palestinian Authority government was quick to lambaste Israel in a statement, asking why “the same Palestinian firemen who where permitted to enter Israel last week to put the fire out are not permitted to enter today to be honored?”

The egregious thugs in charge of the Israeli government are without peer since the days of South Africa’s apartheid dictatorship. They prattle about democracy and freedom. They open their arms to men willing to risk their lives battling the nation’s worst-ever forest fire.

Cripes, I didn’t think it possible; but, the Israelis are more corrupt than Congress.

You’ve heard of a long distance relationship but what about a long distance marriage? And by marriage, we mean the ceremony, not the subsequent relationship.

We all know how useful Skype can be for maintaining relationships that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. However, a couple in Texas took things to the next level by getting married over Skype. Though a Skype wedding is pretty remarkable in itself, there’s something else extraordinary about this marriage ceremony: It is the first legal same-sex wedding in Texas.

Mark Reed and Dante Walkup had been together ten years when they decided it was high time they tied the knot. Unfortunately, though they wanted nothing more than to get married in their native Texas, theirs is a state that does not legally allow same-sex couples to marry. However, Reed and Walkup were not to be deterred and the two came up with a way to have a legal wedding without flying family and friends to another state.

Jay Morris writes that the couple traveled to Washington D.C. back in May to receive their certificate of marriage. Fast forward five months and the two were married in Texas, with a D.C. official (accompanied by several witnesses) marrying them via Skype.

Bravo, Mark and Dante.

Take it one more step around the nutball reactionaries and the homophobic government of Texas.

Candles float in the Motoyasu River before the Peace Memorial Park
Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

The United States has confirmed that the ambassador to Japan will attend a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Hiroshima atom bomb drop for the first time.

PJ Crowley, a spokesman for the US State Department, said it would be the first time a US ambassador will attend the August 6 anniversary.

About 140,000 people were killed or died within months when an American B-29 bombed Hiroshima.

Mr Crowley would not say if US officials would attend ceremonies in Nagasaki, where 80,000 people died after the United States attacked three days later. Japan surrendered on Aug 15, ending World War II.

Embassy officials from wartime allies and currently nuclear-armed Britain and France also plan to attend the event for the first time, state broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News said, citing unidentified diplomatic sources.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will also attend the ceremony this year, becoming the first chief of the world body to do so…

Many Japanese – including survivors of both atomic bombings known as “hibakusha” – hope Mr Obama will visit Hiroshima in November when he travels to Japan for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

In a related note [does that sound diplomatic enough], I believe the people of China are still awaiting a visit from Japan’s head of state at the ceremonies honoring the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.

300,000 Chinese were murdered by invading Japanese soldiers – well before the United States entered the war in the Pacific.

Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

The nuptials at this ceremony were led by “I-Fairy,” a 4-foot tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. Sunday’s wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co.

“Please lift the bride’s veil,” the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of about 50 guests.

The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, where the I-Fairy wore a wreath of flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet (meters) away, where a man crouched and clicked commands into a computer…

“This was a lot of fun. I think that Japanese have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots near them that serve some purpose,” said bride Satoko Inoue, 36, who works at manufacturer Kokoro.

“It would be nice if the robot was a bit more clever, but she is very good at expressing herself,” said new husband Tomohiro Shibata, 42, a professor of robotics at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in central Japan.

The robot is already capable of more sophisticated activities than the average politician. Especially if it is dedicated to serving a purpose.

A toast! (Just as long as he doesn’t say, “You’re toast!”)

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the man who invented the AK-47 turned 90 on Tuesday….

At the Kremlin in a ceremony which honored his work, Kalashnikov received the award Hero of the Russian Federation. President Medvedev stated, “You’ve invented not only the famous Kalashnikov machine gun itself but also a national brand which every Russian, every citizen of our country is proud of”….

The name AK-47 came from the words Avtomat Kalashnikova and the model year, 1947. Kalashnikov invented the initial prototype of the AK-47 in the hospital during World War II when he was recovering from injuries sustained in battle. He was a Sergeant in the Soviet Army at the time, and invented it in response to the comment that Russian soldiers were using rifles to stand against German soldiers who has automatic weapons….

[Kalashnikov] stated at one time, “I created a weapon to defend the fatherland’s borders. It’s not my fault that it was sometimes used where it shouldn’t have been. This is the fault of politicians.”

Still the most durable all-rounder military assault rifle ever designed. The critter survives every kind of weather, climate and abuse – and keeps on ticking. Inexpensive to produce – which is why so many knock-offs. Lasts forever.

Works very well – even in the hands of the mentally and socially disturbed.

A man accused of performing an exorcism on a 14-year-old autistic boy has been found guilty of battery and criminal confinement by a jury in Indiana.

Eddie Uyesugi, 24, now faces between two and eight years in jail on each felony count. Prosecutors say the 14-year-old boy suffered bruises, abrasions and two black eyes as a result of a ceremony Uyesugi conducted to rid the boy of demons.

Deputy prosecutor Darcie Winkle of Monroe County told jurors Uyesugi beat the boy and restrained him against his will for hours during an exorcism that took place in May of 2007.

Uyesugi defense attorney Matt Blanton said the boy’s grandmother sanctioned the exorcism and instructed Uyesugi to help her get the demons out of her grandson.

A criminal idiot hired by a superstitious fool.

U.S. Soldiers pose for souvenir photos beneath the Crossed Sabres in Baghdad
Daylife/Reuters Pictures

U.S. officials have withdrawn from the Saddam Hussein-era palace they have occupied in Baghdad since 2003, a sign of the change of power when their troops come under Iraqi authority.

The U.S. force in Iraq, now more than 140,000 strong, has operated since 2003 under a U.N. Security Council resolution which expires at midnight on New Year’s Eve. From January 1, U.S. troops will operate with authority granted by the Iraqi government under a pact agreed by Washington and Baghdad…

U.S. and Iraqi officials are planning a ceremony for the morning of New Year’s Day to formally hand over control of the Green Zone, the heavily fortified central sector of the capital that houses Western diplomats and Iraqi government offices.

In recent weeks U.S. diplomats have gradually moved into a newly-built compound, the world’s largest U.S. embassy, leaving behind a sprawling yellow marble palace of ousted dictator Saddam, which looms over the Tigris River.

U.S. officials ruled Iraq directly from the palace for more than a year after toppling Saddam in 2003, and it has remained a symbol of what many Iraqis consider a military occupation even as their nascent elected government has gained confidence.

Some 15,000 prisoners held at U.S. military detention camps must either be charged with crimes under Iraqi law or set free, although the procedure for doing so may take many months.

Contractors working for U.S. troops will be subject to Iraqi criminal law, and U.S. soldiers can be tried in Iraqi courts in narrow circumstances for serious crimes committed off duty.

All the delights of phony independence while Big Oil sorts out the last of their own treaties.