Followup on a previous story/post:

BBC NEWS | Africa>The only free hospital in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has reopened, five weeks after it shut following threats to a doctor who removed a woman’s womb.

An Islamic Sharia court brokered an agreement between the clan and the hospital, and fined the doctor $2000 for not consulting the family first.

Would they have given permission to operate? I don’t know. I’ve been reading Nine Parts of Desire, and given what I’ve learned so far, it’s likely the family would have written off the woman as expendable if she was no longer capable of bearing children.

Some of the things I’ve read have chilled me to the bones. I wouldn’t have survived long in that world. It’s a terrifying place to be born female.

At least the hospital will be open now. I don’t hold out much hope for the woman’s survival – the family may feel she’s brought dishonor on them by getting them involved in the dispute and … well. Like I said, it’s a different world.

I’ll listen later to :NPR’scoverage of Reagan’s passing. I’m shedding no tears, mind. At the time of his election, I was toying with the idea of moving to Canada, just on general principle. It’s sad for his immediate family, of course.

And, besides… I always thought the onset of his illness was late in his first term, and everyone around him was covering it up.

Remember, this is the president that brought us Iran-Contra, the highest number of ethics violations by members of his administration in history, and a lot of very dirty “most favored corporation” deals.

Oh, and he’s also the one that brought us photo ops, an early form of spin doctoring, and the first (but not the last) Teflon Presidency.

Smells familiar, doesn’t it?

P.S. As a travel agent, I will still refuse to call DCA “Washington Reagan” airport. As I refuse to call IAH “Bush Intercontinental.” Because we don’t call ATL “Carter International” and we sure as hell will never call LIT “Clinton – Little Rock.” That last re-designation will never happen more because of the inevitable “C-LIT” jokes than anything.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Bulldozer rage man kills himself>A shopkeeper, who went on the rampage in a bulldozer in the US state of Colorado to protest against local town planning policy, has killed himself.

Not the first time this has happened. A bizarre trend in the making:

Residents of Alma, in Park County southwest of Denver, are still rattled over what caused town native Thomas Leask to go on a deadly bulldozer rampage in February 1998.

The first one was over town planning, the second one was operating on instructions from God.

Both were crazier than bedbugs. Avoid all bulldozers if traveling in Colorado this summer.

Creed goes their separate ways, Chicago ex-fans feel sense of validation:

The group, known for their Christian-inspired songs, called it a day after eight years.

Creative differences? Maybe. Everybody but Scott Stapp is involved in re-forming a new band. Or maybe they’re not all movie fans, since Stapp is contributing a solo track to a Passion of the Christ-inspired tribute album, and they’re not.

Whatever it is, they’re not singing out of the same rock-tinged hymnal anymore.

A senior navy official said recently that a deployment to the Gulf would send a message.

Some how I think this is not the message, but this. Note some of the companies – isn’t “Hunt O’l” a Texan firm? Big Bush fundraisers? Yep.

And oh HO, what’s this?

Service companies

First Exchange Corporation
Halliburton
TGS-Nopec
Veritas

Well, that’s just plain old All-American sabre-rattling. No harm in that. And now I think I’ll stroll off to AAR and post it somewhere.

Meanwhile, surely the US Navy could do a little humanitarian medical work pro bono in the area? Asking too much? Or at least shut down those annoying Nigerian spammers??