BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

First, a warning! Any of you who find this subject triggering or upsetting, or have a problem with personal posts of a highly-charged nature - please scroll on by for the usual blog fare. However, its my blog and I'll post if I want to. In 7th grade my English teacher, Mrs. Fisher, asked us to write an Op-Ed piece on a current issue in the news. I'm giving away my age but I chose Roe v. Wade. Mrs. Fisher called my mother when I turned it in and told my mother that what I had written was A++ material but the subject might be too controversial for the small, right-wing town we lived in. My mother, in a moment of clarity, told her to "grade the paper on the English merits, not the subject." She did. I got my A++. Foreshadowing. I've had 2 abortions. I am not counting the clinical D&Cs I had to have because of my PCOS; which sometimes only let me have 2 - 3 periods a year. I had the latter to avoid cervical and uterine cancer. No these were abort...

The New Agenda invites you to join us in sending a loud and clear message that CHILD RAPE IS WRONG AND PERPETRATORS SHOULD BE PUNISHED. We are asking organizations, blogs and individuals to sign our petition. In doing so you are expressing your displeasure with the signatories of Free Roman Polanski and therefore agreeing to BOYCOTT films that such signatories have directed, produced, acted in or otherwise participated. Don’t go to their films. Don’t rent their films. YOU MUST CLICK ON THE LINK IN THE EMAIL SENT TO YOU AFTER YOUR SIGN ONLINE FOR YOUR SIGNATURE TO SHOW. 444 signatures as of 11:45 p.m. on October 3rd. WHEN WE REACH 1000 SIGNATURES WE WILL COMMENCE PRESS RELEASES. CLICK HERE TO SIGN

Torture widespread in Palestinian jails By KARIN LAUB and DALIA NAMMARI One detainee told of being beaten with pipes and having a screwdriver rammed into his back. Another said interrogators tied his hands behind his back then lifted him into the air by his bound wrists. Two human rights groups on Monday decried widespread torture of political opponents by bitter Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah, and Associated Press interviews with three victims and a doctor backed the reports of abuse. The findings emerged as the two sides carried out fresh arrest sweeps in the West Bank and Gaza — highlighting deep tensions in the Palestinian territories after a flare-up in violence over the weekend. In the West Bank on Monday, the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rounded up more than 50 suspected Hamas supporters, including mosque preachers and intellectuals, in retaliation for a similar sweep of Fatah loyalists in Gaza, set off by a bombing that killed five Hamas members Fr...

This is so beyond explanation other than the depraved indifference of Islamic society. And we want to be politically correct with them? Spare me. What sickens me even more -- is that I have heard American men who abuse make SIMILAR EXCUSES FOR THEIR ABUSE. However, at least a raped woman here doesn't end up in jail. Right? No -- if her abuser's got money, friends in high places or pull with the courts, she's not believed either. Abused Afghan women end up in jail A woman fleeing domestic violence or rape often ends up guilty Trafficked across the border from Pakistan with her 3-year-old son, Rukhma was handed to an Afghan who raped and abused her, then beat the toddler to death as she watched helplessly. He was jailed for 20 years for murder, but Rukhma ended up in prison too. Rukhma, who doesn't know her age but looks younger than 20, had put up with her mistreatment for three months last summer before seeking protection and justice from authorities. Instead she wa...

OH MY GOODNESS!! STOP THE INSANITY!! THEY'RE DATING!?!? (cringe) Pardon while I hurl!! I really feel bad for the exes and the children. I wonder if Amy's parents are still around for this naseau-fest. I believe in reparative justice but didn't that girl shoot his wife? And wasn't he sleeping with her? Denying it? and then did time for sex with a minor? WHAT MESSAGE IS THIS SENDING? Joey Buttafuoco and his Long Island Lolita, Amy Fisher, reloaded their relationship last night on their first date in 15 years. Their big night out in Port Jefferson, L.I., was caught on tape, which will air on tonight's edition of "The Insider." A torrid affair between the auto mechanic and his underage lover dampened in 1992 when Fisher shot Buttafuoco's then-wife, Mary Jo, in the head, but recent circumstances made Joey's heart grow fonder for Fisher, she told the TV show. "We started talking when Joey was in jail," she said. Buttafuoco, 53, recently ende...

HE'S OUT - BUT THANK GOODNESS HE'S ON THE LEFT COAST! The guy is the same age as me and can't seem to grow up long enough to stay away from underage girls, prostitutes, guns, insurance fraud, ammunition and other stuff that might sound fun when you're 11. He did time for statutory rape, Baruch Hashem. He denied everything (typical). Grow up Joey! Unless you feel like joining that other paragon of honesty and manhood - Scott Peterson . Let's just hope, ladies - he didn't learn new tricks in jail. Let's really hope. And if you have a daughter under the age of 23 - make sure she reads this: SAN FERNANDO, Calif. -- Joey Buttafuoco, whose 17-year-old lover shot his wife in the face more than a decade ago, was released from jail after serving three months for illegally possessing ammunition, authorities said. Buttafuoco, 50, walked out of Los Angeles County Jail just before 9 a.m. Saturday, according to the Sheriff's Department Web site. His release was ...