Bridi dies from infection

BRASILIA, Brazil -- I've some very sad news to report.

Mariana Bridi, 20, has died from the infection that caused her hands and feet to be amputated.

 

Officials said in a statement early Saturday that 20-year-old Mariana Bridi's condition deteriorated overnight. She died at 2:30 a.m.

 

The Espirito Santo State Health Secretariat said in the statement she died from complications related to a generalized infection. It was caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is known to be resistant to multiple kinds of antibiotics.

Bridi had been in the hospital in the city of Serra in southeastern Brazil since Jan. 3. She fell ill in December and doctors originally diagnosed her with kidney stones, local media said.

Bridi was twice a finalist in the Brazilian stage of the Miss World pageant.

Ms. Bridi will sorely be missed.  A young life cut way too short.  She would have been 21 later this year.

Her family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Model's hands amputated after disease

BRASILLIA, Brazil -- A 20-year-old model's hands and feet were amputated after she came down with septicemia.

In the last week, she's had both hands and feet amputated. Doctors removed both kidneys and in the most recent surgery last night removed part of her stomach.

"They say her situation is very critical and that her chances (of survival) are not really significant, but she keeps on surprising everyone," Henrique Fontes, executive director of Miss World Brazil told CNN.

"Two weeks ago the doctor gave her 24 hours to live and she's been fighting and resisting -- she's quite amazing."

Mariana Bridi is in intensive care.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Bridi and her family.

Blog for Choice

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the most important civil rights decision handed down from the Supreme Court in 19 years on this day in 1973.

As I am posting, many of you in Washington already know that earlier today, misogynists from all over the country took part in the "March for Life". I dub that march as the March for Death and Misogyny, because everyone there are rallying in support for anti-choice laws that kill tens of thousands of women.

And speaking of misogynists, Wiliam Getha of Augusta, GA is the latest misogynist to come out of his hole.

Coming up at 5 p.m., the National Organization for Women will hold a vigil at the Supreme Court's steps.

And while we no longer have to worry about anti-choice laws for the next two years in Washington, that is a much different story in Columbia and in Atlanta. Hardline misogynists still hold a majority in both states' legislatures.

In fact, South Carolina is NOT ONLY trying to make it mandatory for women to view ultrasounds before having abortions, BUT ALSO dictate where women can view that ultrasound.

The rightists want to claim that somehow that they are for less government. That, my friends, is a BIG LIE. In the past 29 years, conservatives have only given lip service when it comes to reducing the size of government.

And nowhere is that more evident than the conservatives' support for government control over women's lives.

Since the beginning of this nation's founding, conservatives have treated women as dispensable. In fact, conservatives in Washington have given dogs more rights than women. And then, conservatives all over the nation cheer the deaths of Gerri Santoro (1935-1964) and Becky Bell (1971-1988) as if the anti-choicers had won the World Series.

That my friends, is how little respect conservatives have for women.

I am pro-choice because I know that one day it could be my wife, my girlfriend, my best friend, my godsister, one of my cousins that could die because of anti-choice laws.

I am pro-choice because I oppose government intrusion into women's private lives.

I am pro-choice because I want women to have the same 100% reproductive freedom as I currently enjoy.

I am pro-choice because I oppose coercion of all kinds.

[cross-posted at Aiken Area Progressive]

Grateful Dead has unfinished music
Topic: Music

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pay attention right now, Deadheads.

There may be some unreleased material by the Grateful Dead coming near you.

"We've got some unfinished music," Lesh clarifies. "We're all still evolving in our own ways. You can always improve your playing. Let's see what kind of a goulash we can make out of it. Besides," he adds, "I just got two new electric basses."

All of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead are all in their sixties. Jerry Garcia, the band's leader, died in 1995.

Presale tickets go on sale a week from today. They will perform as The Dead under the banner "A Evening With" beginning on April 12 in Greensboro, NC. It will last for 29 days, wrapping up on May 10 in Mountain View, CA near the band's hometown.

Via.

[cross-posted from Aiken Area Progressive]

----------------
Now playing: Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey
via FoxyTunes

Divorce, Hollywood style

LOS ANGELES -- There are two high profile divorces that are in the news.  We'll get to the one that just finished up first.

Madonna has now lost $76,000,000.00 of her fortune because of a bitter split with Guy Ritchie.  I feel for Madonna and how the British media tried to tear her down.

Nonetheless, she is the third musician to lose part of her fortune to a divorce in 2008.  Former Genesis member Phil Collins lost $35,000,000.00 and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney lost nearly $50,000,000.00 respectively to their ex-wives in divorce proceedings.

Even more divorce news.  Private Practice star Kate Walsh has been served with divorce papers from her husband.

Let's hope that Ms. Walsh's divorce isn't anywhere close to ugly as the ones Mr. McCartney, Mr. Collins and Madonna experienced.

Genesis 1970-1975 review


Genesis 1970-1975 is in stores now. Here is my take.

The each of the five albums (six discs) from the Peter Gabriel era is on here -- along with corresponding DVDs and multimedia CDs. This is the progressive rock era of the band, so to speak.

Disc 1 consists of the group's second album, Trespass. This has six songs, such as "Dusk" and the two epics -- "Stagnation" and "The Knife". This disc is a decent one and one that would start the rise of Genesis. Disc 2 is a multimedia disc. Trespass was originally released on October 23, 1970.

Disc 3 is Nursery Cryme. This is when Genesis goes into even longer songs, as leadoff track "The Musical Box" shows us. "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" and "The Fountain of Salmacis" are around two minutes shorter than "Musical Box", but are just as important to the album. Disc 4 is a multimedia disc. Nursery Cryme was originally released on November 12, 1971.

Disc 5, which is Foxtrot, is what makes Genesis a worldwide name. Originally released on October 6, 1972, the disc, like Trespass, has just six tracks. The disc's lead track, "Watcher of the Skies", is a hybrid between prog and pop. As a matter of fact, the track has been a staple in the band's concerts long after Peter Gabriel left. It was included on two Genesis' live albums: their first live album, 1973's Genesis Live and 1982's Three Sides Live. Other songs on the album include "Get 'Em Out By Friday", "Horizons" and "Supper's Ready" -- the most important being the 22 minute 58 second final track. "Supper's Ready" really took advantage of the freedom that radio stations had at the time to play such material. Sadly, that freedom no longer exists in our day, whereas the short three and four minute tracks are continuing to destroy both our society and our musical talent. Hopefully, President-elect Barack Obama will allow for radio stations to play epic songs such as "Supper's Ready". By the way, Disc 6 is not a multimedia track, but rather a DVD containing the performances of Foxtrot.

Disc 7 is Selling England by the Pound. This disc, originally released on October 12, 1973, has a litany of great tracks. The lead track, "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight", is eight minutes of progressive power rock. The album's longest number (and Genesis's third longest track at the time), "The Battle of Epping Forest", is one of the most underrated tracks on Genesis's repertoire. The group deleted it from future concerts. Other important tracks include "Firth of Fifth", "The Cinema Show", and "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" -- the latter of which hit #21 on the Top 40 charts, thereby becoming the band's first major hit. Disc 8 is a DVD of Selling England by the Pound.

Discs 9 & 10 are the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which was released on November 29, 1974. The title track is another well-known track from the Gabriel era. Also, "Carpet Crawlers" and "Counting Out Time" have been included on compilations as well. In 1999, the group re-recorded "Carpet Crawlers" for their compilation, Turn It On Again: The Hits. "In the Cage" is an eight minute epic that would become the centerpiece of many of the band's future concert medleys. "Colony of Slippermen" is also another important track on this album. Disc 11 is a DVD of the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

Disc 12 contains bonus material. "Happy the Man" was finally included on Turn It On Again: The Hits 2-disc compilation on September 11, 2007 prior to this compilation. "Twilight Alehouse" was a Selling England by the Pound-era track, a b-side of "I Know What I Like". Four other tracks were released on Genesis Archive, Volume 1: 1967-1975: "Going Out to Get You", "Shepherd", "Pacidy", and "Let Us Now Make Love". The 14 minute 42 second medley on the bonus disc, "Genesis Plays Jackson", was previously unreleased. The thirteenth and final disc is a DVD of the never-before released material.

This is clearly the best compilation Genesis ever released. This is definitely worth the money. Time to reload.

FINAL RATING:

Love Your Body Day
This is for all my female readers.

In honor of Love Your Body Day, I am asking you all to masturbate.

Here are some porn shops and other stuff right here for you to get off.

1. Playboy -- the most sex-positive business on Planet Earth.


2. Vivid -- another place with an excellent sex-positive experience.


3. Adult DVD Marketplace -- another place to buy new DVDs and DVDs from the past.


4. Fallen Angel -- great BDSM videos.


5. Adult Pay Per View -- pay-per-view right from your computer.

Other stuff:

You Porn
RedTube
PornoTube

----------------
Now playing: Rush - The Fountain of Lamneth: I. In the Valley / II. Didacts and Narpets / III. No One at the Bridge / IV. Panacea / V. Bacchus Plateau / VI. The Fountain
via FoxyTunes

Vote no on ALL anti-choice amendments

Once again, women's right to control their OWN bodies are on the line in 2008. And I find that incredibly sad. We'll go from east to west.

In Pierre, S.D.; Leslee Unruh and her misogynistic ilk has managed to put the EXACT same anti-choice initiative on the ballot. It is called IM 11. Make no mistake, the antis claimed to put a health exception for the woman in the measure, but read the whole bill and you will find out that IM 11 is actually a carbon copy of the measure that was voted down by South Dakota voters by a 14-11 margin (56%-44%). If you reside in South Dakota and haven't done so, please sign the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families petition (also contact your friends and family living in the Mount Rushmore State and tell them to sign the petition).

In Denver, there is a measure whose name sounds like it is for equality, but its purpose is EXACTLY the same as South Dakota's IM 11. Amendment 48, also nicknamed the "Equal Rights for All" amendment, is ACTUALLY an amendment that would ban all abortions -- even in cases of rape, incest and, even if the woman's life is in extreme danger, she would not be allowed to have an abortion. Simply put, zygotes would have even more rights than women. Women would have no rights whatsoever in Colorado if Amendment 48 takes effect! So, Colorado voters, DON'T BE FOOLED! Vote NO on Amendment 48!

In Sacramento, Proposition 4 is on the ballot for the third time in four years. People in the Golden State should know by now that it is a measure that would require doctors to notify parents two days before vulnerable people 17 years of age or under can obtain an abortion, even if the parent(s) have been very abusive to the teen. This is another extreme measure that has been defeated twice before. So, Californians, vote NO on Proposition 4 for a third time!

Once again, South Dakotans vote NO on IM 11; Coloradoans vote NO on Amendment 48; and Californians vote NO on Proposition 4. Remember, women's lives are on the line this Election Day.

----------------
Now playing: Black Sabbath - Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B.
via FoxyTunes

Blogging about domestic violence
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

33.3% of all women and 14% of all men will become a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime. South Carolina has ranked in the Top Ten in fatal domestic violence incidences (for both genders!) for the past 14 years running. In fact, in 2006, South Carolina ranked number 2 in the nation in the number of women and men slain by their partners.

In 2007, 28 women were killed by boyfriends and husbands and 4 men were killed by wives and girlfriends -- a total of 32 people. Both numbers were a decline from 2006 totals of 40 women and 10 men.

Just Tuesday, Eloise Simmons, 40, of Ridgeland, has finally been put to jail after her eighth conviction of violence against her husband. She will spend eight years in jail.

"We were concerned ... that if we didn't do something, she would get out of jail and kill him," said assistant solicitor Meredith Bannon, who prosecuted the case.

"We shouldn't assume they're all men because they're not," Solicitor Duffie Stone said. "She is without a doubt a career criminal and she's also without a doubt a tremendous threat to her husband."

Physical abuse isn't the only type of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse has other types including verbal abuse and sexual assault.

Last year, Safe Homes of Augusta, Ga. took in more than 100 people -- women, men and children -- who were victims of domestic violence.

In my area, there's the Cumbee Center to Assist Abused Persons with offices in Edgefield and Barnwell and it's headquartered in Aiken. There are other women's shelters in South Carolina, but I don't know their names or if they are affiliated with Cumbee.

Unlike female victims of domestic violence, men who are beaten and battered by wives and girlfriends in South Carolina must travel out of the state for a shelter that will accept them, because there are no shelters in South Carolina that takes in male victims of domestic violence (as of October 1).

Adults are not the only ones who are victims of domestic violence. Children (17 and under) can also be victims of domestic violence. Teen girls are the fastest growing segment of our population that are victims of domestic violence. Teen boys have also been beaten and battered by a girlfriend in increasing numbers.

And it is not just sexual relationships that have domestic abuse. Children can also be victims of domestic violence by their parents and other elders.

In any case, there is no excuse for abuse.

----------------
Now playing: Genesis - Home by the Sea/Second Home by the Sea
via FoxyTunes

John McCain and Sarah Palin support terrorists
PHOENIX -- Want more proof that John McCain and Sarah Palin supports terrorists? Well, look no further than their support for domestic terrorists who bomb women's health clinics. Via Think Progress.

McCain has voted against making terrorist attacks against OB/GYN clinics a crime in 1993 and 1994. As the Jed Report notes, McCain voted in 1993 and 1994 against making “bombings, arson and blockades at abortion clinics, and shootings and threats of violence against doctors and nurses who perform abortions” federal crimes.

McCain opposed the Colorado buffer law known as the Bubble Law, a law designed to protect OB/GYNs from terrorists such as those at Operation Save America (then known as Operation Save America). McCain said he opposed Colorado’s “Bubble Law,” which prohibited abortion protesters from getting within 8 feet of women entering clinics [Denver Post, 2/27/2000]. The law was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

McCain voted to allow terrorists declare bankruptcy in order to avoid paying penalties levied against them in court for attacking OB/GYN clinics. NARAL Pro-Chioce America notes that McCain “voted to allow perpetrators of violence or harassment at reproductive-health clinics to avoid paying the fines assessed against them for their illegal acts by declaring bankruptcy.”

That is John McCain (and Sarah Palin for that matter) for you. McCain and Palin values the rights of terrorists more than they value the rights of women. That is wrong. And another reason why they are unqualified to be president and vice president of this nation.