poisonwood's Diaryland Diary

Date: Jul. 11, 2008 . Time: 8:42 a.m.

complaint Entry:

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complaint

It's unbelievable. The NPS website has been down most of the time for weeks! That means ALL the national parks. Many of the parks are only accessible to 2 to 3 months out of the year anyway.

Anyway.

8:42 a.m. - Jul. 11, 2008

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textbook ripoff

This textbook scam is really sick.

6:26 p.m. - Jul. 10, 2008

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afghan running

In general, I think the invasion of Afghanistan had to be a good thing for the women there. The opression they experienced blows my mind. However, clearly things haven't improved that much.

It's pretty bad when the only female runner from a country has to seek asylum due to death threats. Apparently she was harrassed while training despite the fact that she runs in hijab and a loose track suit. It's really sick.

Of course it's bad publicity for the Afghans.

However, concerns for her family's safety are not over because, since Ahadgar's mysterious disappearance, her parents have been under so much pressure from the Afghan Olympic Committee in Kabul to get their daughter back into her spikes that they have been threatened with imprisonment.

Her safety should obviously be paramount. On the basis of principal, I'm not even sure her running is a good thing. Why pretend her country offers the opportunity for women to be athletes? Many Muslim countries show their true colors when the Olympics come around. I remember Pakistan sent a swimmer only because she was prepubescent (10 or 11 or something) and those full body swimsuits had come into vogue. I remember in the last Olympics, there were two VERY SLOW Muslim runners in the Olympics, one from Sudan. The Sudanese runner didn't even know to stay in her lane.

Of course, not all Muslim female runners are oppressed. However, as far as the Olympics are concerned, the runners that can't keep up and that are harrassed in training seem to be Muslim.

On another note, unlike Sarah, I am not a fan of running skirts. They look cute for wearing around town or on the beach on a hot day, but for running, I'll take shorts any day.

8:50 a.m. - Jul. 10, 2008

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plastic bags

I support the plastic bag fee, though I completely agree with grocery stores that it should apply to ALL retailers. Why pick on grocery stores? They at least use small bags. Many retailers like gap use these ridiculously oversized bags, which should have a larger fee - like $1.00.

Anyway, stories on this topic like to point out that it's based on a rule implemented in Ireland. It's worth noting that they also had it in France and Spain when I was over there. It's also worth noting that the first company in Ireland to implement it was this extreme budget German grocery store in Ireland - and it was done for budget reasons, not for the environment, though no doubt the law was for the environment. The fee was also about 3 cents, unlike the 20 imposed here. In the end, people conformed, but I think it wasn't about the money but the spirit of it.

In Ireland, customers had to buy bags, but once you bought a bag, if it wore out, you could bring it back for a free exchange. I think they also gave out a lot of free bags at the beginning.

10:25 a.m. - Jul. 08, 2008

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