Wednesday

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Barbie

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BARBIE DOLL

April 2012

Most little girls grow up playing with Barbie dolls. Some even want to look like them. Valeria Lukynaova has become one. The 21-year-old woman is an internet sensation around the world. She is the closest than anyone’s ever come to looking like a real live Barbie Doll.

In fact, her figure is much like that of a Barbie doll. Her tiny waist and large breasts, she bears such a resemblance to the famed plastic doll that it is hard to tell the difference. Her bright blue eyes and long blonde hair are almost identical to that Barbie. Even her home looks like Barbie's Dream House.

But is the real-life Barbie beautiful or creepy?

On the other side of the world, Iran is the only country that has banned Barbie.









Ban the Barbie:

Iran removes Barbie doll from shelves.
Iran led a crack down on Barbie to protect the public from harmful culture. Iranian government has banned sales of the barbie doll. Police have closed dozens of shops selling what clained was a, immoral western role model for girls. In early 2009, Iranian authorities declared that the Barbie doll tends to lead to destructive and cultural consequences. Attorney General Ayatollah Dori Najafabadi urged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stop imports of Barbie dolls into Iran. Barbie was immediately sanctioned by the Islamic Republic. Iran declared that God and Barbie do not get along. The doll posed a threat to the “personality and identity” of the youth. The unrestrained entry of this plastic "doll will bring destructive cultural and social consequences" in their wake. Iran's Cultural Deparment replaced the decadent western doll. Iranian Government brought fourth pious dolls, Sara and Dara, as the Islamic alternatives to western doll. Sara and Dara were brother and sister. Sara was in Hijab. Islamic dolls were in stark contrast to "naked Barbie and her boyfriend Ken".




Police in Iran were ordered to shut down toy shops selling the U.S. doll in latest crackdown on "corrupt western culture".

Barbie dolls wear swimsuits and miniskirts. Iranian dolls wear headscarfs and long dresses. Local dolls Sara and Dara were designed to promote traditional values with modest clothing and pro-family stories. Whereas Barbie was immoral and corrupting the family values. Iran called Barbie a "Trojan horse sneaking in Western influences like makeup and revealing clothes". Iranian law enforces wearing of headscarf in contract to France, Italy, Germany and many other western countries where females are forced to remove the head covering. Both fine or jail violators of the law.

No longer in stock and out of business: Iranian shopkeeper Hamid Reza Delband displays a doll at his toy shop, in Tehran, but now police have shut down his shop for selling the American doll.





Barbie has been denounced as destructive by the Iranian Attorney General.








Barbie has a boyfriend. Sara has a brother. Iran says Ken is out. Dara is in.

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Burning School

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POLICE LET SCHOOL BURN AND GIRLS DIE

In 2002, Saudi police prevented firemen from saving girls from a burning school building because the girls were "not wearing correct Islamic dress". Girls died in the fire.
According to Saudi newspapers Police stopped the rescue. Officers stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were Hijabless - not wearing the headscarf.

In a rare criticism of the kingdom's powerful "mutaween" police, the Saudi media has accused them of hindering attempts to save school who died in the fire. According to the al-Eqtisadiah daily, firemen confronted police after they tried to keep the girls inside because they were not wearing the headscarves and abayas (black robes) required by the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam. One witness said he saw three policemen "beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school because they were not wearing the abaya". The Saudi Gazette quoted witnesses as saying that the police - known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice - had stopped men who tried to help the girls and warned "it is a sinful to approach them". The father of one of the dead girls said that the school watchman even refused to open the gates to let the girls out. "Lives could have been saved had they not been stopped by members of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," the newspaper concluded.

Anger of Relatives 

Families of the victims have been incensed over the deaths. Girls were crushed in a stampede as they tried to flee the blaze. The school was locked at the time of the fire - a usual practice to ensure full segregation of the sexes. The religious police are widely feared in Saudi Arabia. They roam the streets enforcing dress codes and sex segregation, and ensuring prayers are performed on time. Those who refuse to obey their orders are often beaten and sometimes put in jail. Saudis say about 800 pupils were inside the school in the holy city of Mecca when the tragedy occurred.

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MI6 SPY

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IF YOU LOVE CONSPIRACIES, YOU WILL LOVE THIS ONE.

British secret service agent ends up dead in a bag which was locked from the outside.

Police were thinking maybe he locked himself in the bag !!

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Tom Whitehead and Martin Evans, security specialists


Coroner: MI6 spy's death was probably a crime


Police to take DNA samples from MI6 spy's colleagues as coroner says death was probably a murder.


DNA samples from up to 50 colleagues of Gareth Williams, the MI6 spy found dead in padlocked holdall, are being taken by police after a coroner concluded he was probably "unlawfully killed".




• Police to take DNA samples from up to 50 of spy's colleagues

• Gareth Williams was probably unlawfully killed - coroner

• 'Criminally mediated' - third party locked bag and placed in bath

• Spy probably died of poison or carbon dioxide inside bag

• Clothes did not fit codebreaker and probably bought as gifts

• Family calls on Met chief to review the case and SO15 'failings'

• MI6 chief Sawers apologises for delay in raising alarm















TIMELINE

How the mystery of the 'spy in the bag' unfolded




How the mysterious case of Gareth Williams, the MI6 worker found dead in a sports bag, unfolded.




2001 Gareth Williams, a maths prodigy from Anglesey, joins GCHQ, the British national security agency responsible for intercepting and decoding signals intelligence.



2007 His landlord and landlady have to rescue him in the middle of the night after he apparently ties his wrists to the headboard of his bed to see if he can "get free".



2008 - 2009 Store receipts suggest Mr Williams acquires a collection of women's clothing and footwear worth £20,000 during the period.



2009 He is seconded from GCHQ to the Secret Intelligence Service.



11 August 2010 Mr Williams returns to Britain from a conference and holiday on the west coast of the US. CCTV footage shows he goes shopping alone in London's West End the same day, visiting Selfridges department store.



12 August 2010 He goes shopping alone in west London, this time at Harvey Nichols and Harrods department stores and a Waitrose supermarket in the Knightsbridge area. According to witnesses, he also pops into his London office but it is thought he goes only to drop off some documents.



13 August 2010 He goes to work and attends a show on his own by drag queen Jonny Woo at the Bistrotheque club in Bethnal Green, east London.



14 August 2010 Mr Williams goes shopping again, visiting the Holland Park area of west London and luxury department store Fortnum & Mason.



15 August 2010 He does yet more shopping in Knightsbridge, buying some cakes in Harrods and some peppered grilled steaks in Waitrose. The final CCTV image of him is captured at 3.05pm entering Alderney Street in Pimlico, where he lives in a top-floor flat half a mile from MI6's London headquarters.



16 August 2010 The last computer evidence of him being alive is Mr Williams looking at a cycling time trial website.



25 August 2010: A GCHQ worker in his 30s is found dead in a large sports bag in his bath, the Daily Telegraph reports. He was on secondment to MI6, police believe. His mobile telephone and sim cards had been carefully laid out on a table. He had been there sometime and his body had decomposed.



26 August 2010: The dead man is named as Gareth Williams. Police believe he may have been killed by a "jealous lover" but they do not rule out the possibility his death was linked to his intelligence work. There were no signs of forced entry and a post mortem is inconclusive. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is given updates on the probe as part of scheduled intelligence briefings. His parents, Ellen and Ian, return from holiday to identify their son.



27 August 2010: Friends tell the Daily Telegraph Williams was "one of life's innocents" who could have fallen in with "unsafe" company as details emerge about his brilliant mathematical abilities. Geraint Williams, a maths teachers at Bodedern Secondary School, said the "exceptional" pupil had "the best brain I have ever seen". Friends disclosed that Mr Williams travelled to the United States at least three times a year for up to a month at a time, throughout his time working for GCHQ. It is believed he was working with the National Security Agency, the national listening station near Baltimore, as well as possibly the CIA and FBI in Washington. Philip Johnston profiles GCHQ, the British evesdropping agency.



28 August 2010 Williams' family attacks "completely false" smears about his private life. It is reported that the spy was gay or even a transvestite, and that bondage equipment had been found in his flat.



29 August 2010 Williams was recruited by GCHQ scouts while studying at Cambridge University, this newspaper learns. He worked at the Super Computer Centre, developing techniques to speed up data encryption, before taking postings at RAF Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire and the US NSA's Fort Meade base. He was due to start work at GCHQ's Cyber Security Operations Centre after his posting at MI6 came to an end.



30 August 2010 Murder detectives tell the Daily Telegraph Williams may have been killed by a foreign intelligence agency seeking to stop his code-breaking work. They say Williams returned from a foreign trip on August 11 and was last seen alive on August 15 - eight days before his body was discovered. Sources close to the inquiry said they are looking at the possibility that his body was manhandled into the bag in order to remove it from the premises. A pathologist remains unsure how Williams died. His family pay tribute to a "generous, loving, son, brother and friend".



2 September 2010 A coroner reveals Mr Williams was padlocked into the sportsbag when he was found dead.



6 September 2010 Police suspect Mr Williams was poisoned - and launch a hunt for a Mediterranean-looking couple who visited the Pimlico safehouse before he died. CCTV footage shows the spy shopping in the West End wearing a red t-shirt and beige trousers.



12 September 2010 Mr Williams was working on systems to defend the banks of the City of London from foreign attack at the time of his death, the Sunday Telegraph learns. One theory being examined is that Mr Williams may have had an approach from a rival agency, and either rebuffed it without informing his superiors or initially agreed to cooperate then got cold feet. If such an approach had been exposed there would have been severe political and diplomatic repercussions, making it expedient for Mr Williams to be killed.



20 September 2010 Police now believe Mr Williams' death was linked to an unusual sex game. Officers have ruled out almost every other possibility. They have come to the view that Gareth Williams probably died after climbing into the bag which was then locked by another person. Detectives believe he was probably indulging in a sadomasochistic game in which he got a thrill from being helpless. It is likely that once locked and left in the bag, he died from a combination of causes including suffocation and dehydration, which sources said can be hard to identify in a post-mortem inquiry.



24 September 2010 Mr Williams is buried at Holyhead, Anglesey. Sir John Sawers, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, tells mourners: "Gareth was a hugely talented person and very modest as well. He did really valuable work with us in the cause of national security." Other MI6 and GCHQ staff enter the church through a back door to protect their identities.



29 October 2010 Tests on Mr Williams' body found no trace of drugs, alcohol or poison - reinforcing the sex game theory.



22 December The keys to the padlock were found inside Mr Williams' North Face holdall, under his naked body, it emerges.



23 December 2010 Mr Williams had visited bondage websites, gay bars and drag clubs in the weeks before his death, police reveal. He also maintained a £15,000 collection of women's clothes by designers including Stella McCartney and Christian Louboutin. They were in sizes that would have fitted the 5ft 8ins spy. Unknown to his family and colleagues, Mr Williams had attended two short courses in fashion design at the Central St Martin's College of Art and Design in London during evenings and weekends, one in 2010 and one in 2009.



27 December 2010 Mr Williams had intended to give the clothes away as gifts, Sian Lloyd-Jones, a childhood friend says. "I truly believe that Ceri and I were going to receive the clothing. He was so generous you wouldn't believe," she said. She reveals Mr Williams was training to take on a new identity and had a second passport.



16 December 2010 The inquest into Mr Williams death is adjourned again to allow more tests. Dr Paul Knapman says the case has made little progress, the 'Mediterrean' couple have not been traced and a break-through looks unlikely.



31 March 2012 An interim hearing before a full inquest takes place. A lawyer representing Mr Williams' family says he could have been killed by someone who specialised in the "dark arts of the secret services". The MI6 worker had recently qualified for "operational deployment". Finger prints and DNA evidence was wiped from the scene of the crime in a cover-up, the family believe. It emerges that DNA found on Mr Williams' hand, which officers believed could lead them to his killer, belonged to one of the police forensics worker. The code for the sample had been incorrectly logged by LGC, the forensics company.



3 April 2012 Scotland Yard apologises for "administrative errors'' during its probe. The force said it was responsible for giving a coroner three names for the same witness. Elizabeth Guthrie is expected to be questioned about her contact with Mr Williams in the months before his death. The coroner, Dr Fiona Wilcox, told a pre–inquest review last week that ''there has been some confusion'' over her identity.



21 April 2012 Ahead of the inquest, Mr Williams' family says their emotions remain "very raw". His aunt, Judith Thomas, says: "We could fill newspapers with words to describe Gareth. You couldn't find enough paper in this world to say how we feel about him."



22 April 2012 Sir John Sawers, the head of MI6, met Sir Paul Stephenson, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, hours after Gareth Williams' body was discovered. MI6 feared detectives would extend their probe into sensitive areas, including the nature of Mr Williams' work.



23 April 2012 The inquest continues. Mr Williams' sister, Ceri Subbe, tells Dr Fiona Wilcox that her brother did not enjoy the "flash car competition and post-war drinking culture" of MI6, and had applied to return to Cheltenham but MI6 were slow in approving his request.



24 April 2012 Fragments of another person's DNA were discovered on the outside of the bag in which Gareth Williams was found, the inquest heard. The traces were discovered on the toggle attached to the zip and the padlock used to lock the bag, it was revealed. Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Sebire, who led the police investigation into Mr Williams’ death, told the inquest: “My thought or opinion since I went into the scene is that a third party had been involved in the death or in putting the bag in the bath.”



The inquest also heard that MI6 held an internal investigation into Mr Williams' death. Andrew O’Connor, the lawyer for the Secret Intelligence Service, told coroner Fiona Wilcox that MI6 had carried out its own internal review. He said: “The fruits of that internal investigation were shared with the police at the time.” Dr Wilcox replied that she had not seen the results of the inquiries and asked for any report that had been produced to be submitted to the inquest.



25 April 2012 Mr Williams was once discovered tied to his bed posts wearing only boxer shorts. The maths prodigy was living alone in Cheltenham at the time and had to call for help in the middle of the night to be set free. His landlady and landlord, who lived below him heard his yells and were met with the “shocking” scene, Westminster Coroners’ Court heard. Searches of his home computers seized after his death revealed that he had been visited "websites of claustrophillia, and he also had access to bondage and sado masochism websites, the inquest has heard earlier in the day.



But a friend told the inquest Mr Williams was straight and not a transvestite. Elizabeth Guthrie, who had only known Mr Williams since 2009, said he may have had women’s clothing in his flat as “support strategy” for female friends. She said he would not have let anyone in to his flat unless he had a “very strong relationship” with them.



26 April 2012 MI6 officer SIS F tells the inquest that Mr Williams' interest in women's clothing and sadomasochism would not have prevented him becoming a spy. The inquest also heard that Mr Williams had conducted unauthorised searches on the MI6 database that could have put him at risk to “hostile and malign” parties.



Denise Stanworth, a toxicologist, told the inquest that traces of the date rape drug GHB were found in the body of Gareth Williams. They possibly occurred naturally. A panel of forensics experts which reviewed the post mortem findings was unable to rule out the use of certain poisons, such as cyanide and chloroform.



27 April 2012 Williams may have been able to get in the bag himself, the inquest hears. Despite experts failing to complete the bizarre task more than 100 times, a specialist said it could not rule out that someone with training could achieve it.



But a second expert, Peter Faulding, said he tried and failed to get into the bag 300 times. “My conclusion is he was placed in the bag unconscious or was dead when he was put in the bag. I cannot say it is impossible but I think even Houdini would struggle with this one.”



30 April 2012 A pathologist says Mr Williams probably died from poisoning, suffocation or strangulation. But Dr Richard Shepherd, a second pathologist, said he believed Mr Williams died inside the bag - probably from the build up of carbon dioxide.



1 May 2012 MI6 and a senior police officer are accused of undermining the investigation. The coroner told Det Supt Michael Broster, a counter-terrorism officer acting as liaison between MI6 and police investigating the death, that he was biased towards the intelligence services. Nine memory sticks that may have belonged to Mr Williams were never passed to Metropolitan Police investigators, and MI6 officers examined "electronic media" belonging to the spy without telling them, the inquest heard. A full inventory of his work belongings, drawn up by MI6 a year after his death, was never handed over.



2 May 2012 Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox delivers her narrative verdict.

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Unanswered Questions
Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox has delivered her conclusion in the case of Gareth Williams, the MI6 spy found dead in a holdall, but many questions about his mysterious death remain unanswered.


Was someone else involved?



The police are certain a third party was involved but even if that is the case it still remains unclear whether it was some tragic accident or murder.



Did he get in the bag alone?



Experts believe it is most likely that he was helped or forced in to the bag and died once inside.



Was he poisoned?



The badly decomposed state of his body means tests for certain poisons, such as cyanide and chloroform, can never be carried out.



Was it connected to his work?



A senior counter terrorism officer admitted he could not rule out that someone from MI6 was involved.



What was he searching on the MI6 databases?



It emerged he had conducted some unauthorised searches of MI6 databases but the intelligence service did not reveal what they were.



Why was there so little DNA evidence in his flat?



The family believe people expert in the “dark arts” were involved and that could mean someone with knowledge of how to “clean” a crime scene.



Why was the heating on?



It was the middle of summer. It raises the prospect it was deliberately turned on to speed up decomposition.



Why did the presence of nine computer memory sticks and a hold all at work only emerge this week?



It remains uncertain what was on the sticks, whether they belonged to Mr Williams and why they were never disclosed to the investigating team.



Did MI6 and counter terror police hamper the investigation?



The coroner accused a senior police officer of not being “completely impartial” and suggested he would have seized more work-related items if it had not been MI6.



Were his work computers tampered with?



They were not handed over to the police for several days after his body was discovered.



Why was one of his phones restored to factory settings on the night before he is believed to have died?



Police investigations are continuing.



Whose DNA is on the bag?



The traces of at least two people were found but are so weak they may never be of any use and could be “years” old.



Was he a transvestite or just interested in fashion?



No one knows why he had £20,000 worth of womens’ clothing in his flat, mostly in pristine condition. He had attended two fashion courses.



Did MI6 know about his private life?



It is unclear if his penchant for womens’ clothing, tying himself to his bed and visits to bondage websites were ever picked up by his bosses.



Did he film himself naked on his phone or was someone else present?



Police found a video of him dancing in front of his phone wearing only leather boots.



Did he take drugs?



Traces of the date rape drug GHB were found in his body but it remains uncertain whether it was taken or naturally occurring after death, which is common.



Why were the keys to the padlock inside the bag?



Was it to torment him or a bizarre escapology attempt gone tragically wrong?



Why did he have a newspaper article discussing the main regrets of dying people?



Was it a plant to suggest suicide?

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Kim K

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Kim Kardashian 'signals the decline of western civilisation'‎ - The Sun

Kim Kardashian 'everything that is wrong with Western society'‎-  Belfast Telegraph

Kim Kardashian is 'everything that's wrong with Western society'‎ - ITV News

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Does Kim Kardashian really sum up everything that's wrong with modern society? The head of a leading girls' boarding school thinks so

By Laura Clark - DAILY MAIL - 20 June 2012

Kim Kardashian is the poster girl for 'almost everything that is wrong with Western society', according to a leading headmistress.
The reality TV star is part of a culture  that glorifies women's physical appearances over their character, claims Dr Helen Wright, head of a private girls' boarding school.
In a speech tomorrow, Dr Wright will show Miss Kardashian posing in her underwear on the cover of men's magazine Zoo.
The headline, from an edition last month, praises Miss Kardashian as 'the hottest woman in the world'.
'It is not too strong a statement, I venture to suggest, to say that almost everything that is wrong with Western society today can be summed up in that one symbolic photo of Miss Kim Kardashian on the front of Zoo magazine,' Dr Wright will say.
'The descent of Western civilisation  can practically be read into every curve, of which, you will note, there are in-deed many.
'Officially the hottest woman in the world? Really? Is this what we want our young people to aim for? Is this what success should mean to them?' Miss Kardashian – who was photographed in Paris yesterday wearing rather more than usual – first became famous when a sex tape of her appeared online in 2007.
Her late father, Robert Kardashian, was a defence lawyer for OJ Simpson in his 1995 murder trial.
Dr Wright, head of St Mary's School, Calne, Wiltshire, will say that Miss Kardashian is famous for her reality TV series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, 'for hanging out with the rich and famous, for a sex tape, a 72-day marriage and a rather ample backside'.
'What is she telling our young people about life? As a society, we have clearly attached a value to her,' she will say.
'There may be some messages about hard work buried in there somewhere – I expect she has to slave in the gym to keep that posterior in shape – but these are very hidden messages, buried under the other messages surrounded by glitz and sparkle.
'Messages about physical appearance being more important than character or substance, for instance, or messages about financial rewards coming with meanness, scandal and boundary-less living.'
Dr Wright will present her warning to the Institute of Development Professionals in Education, whose members help raise funds for schools.
'The pupils in our schools really are soaking up a diet of empty celebrity and superficiality,' she will say. 'They are under a huge amount of pressure, buffeted by these images and messages.'
Dr Wright, the former president of the Girls' School Association, will also warn that premature sexualisation and the objectification of women is rife on TV, the internet and magazines.
'I have spoken out a lot over the past two years about the increasing dangers of the premature sexualisation of young people, and the objectification of women which accompanies this. And this is what our young people see around them all the time%3
Picture:
Headmistress of St Mary's School, Calne, Wiltshire, Dr Helen Wright suggested Kim Kardashian is the poster girl for 'almost everything that is wrong with Western society'

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'She is all that is wrong with society'
A headmistress has claimed a photo of Kim Kardashian is proof of the downfall of western civilisation.

Kim Kardashian sums up everything that is wrong with society, headmistress says

The model Kim Kardashian's title as the "hottest woman in the world" in a men's magazine sums up "almost everything that is wrong with Western society”, according to a leading private school headmistress.

TELEGRAPH - 20 June 2012

Dr Helen Wright, headmistress of St Mary’s Calne, a girls boarding school in Wiltshire, will tell an education conference this week that the US reality TV star is part of a culture which sexualises women at an early age.
This culture, which is rife on TV, the internet and in magazines, sends the message that physical appearance is more important than character, according to Dr Wright.
She will say: “I have spoken out a lot over the last two years about the increasing dangers of premature sexualisation of young people, and the objectification of women which accompanies this.
“It is not too strong a statement, I venture to suggest, to say that almost everything that is wrong with Western society today can be summed up in that one symbolic photo of Miss Kim Kardashian on the front of Zoo magazine.
“The descent of Western civilisation can practically be read into every curve (of which, you will note, there are indeed many). Officially the hottest woman in the world? Really? Is this what we want our young people to aim for? Is this what success should mean to them?” Dr Wright will say.
She will claim that Ms Kardashian is famous for "the reality TV series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, for hanging out with the rich and famous, for a sex tape, a 72-day marriage and a rather ample backside”.
"What is she telling our young people about life? As a society, we have clearly attached a value to her, and there may be some messages about hard work buried in there somewhere - I expect she has to slave in the gym to keep that posterior in shape - but these are very hidden messages, buried under the other messages surrounded by glitz and sparkle," Dr Wright will say.
Ms Kardashian, whose father is the late Robert Kardashian, one of the defence lawyers in OJ Simpson’s 1995 murder trial, shot to prominence when an erotic film of her appeared online in 2007. She has since gone on to become a household name on both sides of the Atlantic.
However people’s obsession with celebrities such as Ms Kardashian means that pupils are “soaking up a diet of empty celebrity and superficiality”, Dr Wright will say.
She will be speaking at the Institute of Development Professionals in Education (IDPE) conference later this week.

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/kim-kardashian-sums-up-everything-that-is-wrong-with-society--headmistress-says.html
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Cherie Blair slams stay-at-home mums

Former Prime Minister’s wife, and successful barrister Cherie Blair claims full-time mums are ‘unambitious’ and raise dependent children

20 June 2012

Cherie Blair has criticised women who give up their career when they have children, labelling them unambitious and suggesting the decision impacts negatively on their kids.
Blair, who as well as being former PM Tony Blair’s wife is a successful QC and mum of four, complained that the aim of some young women was to ‘marry a rich husband and retire’ rather than build a career of their own.
She revealed her concerns at Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women event, which was attended by many high powered and successful career women.
Blair’s comments will reignite discussions over the best way to raise children. Her opinion, firmly in the working mum camp, is that motherhood is not a career and post-feminist women should be striving for both – the fabled ‘having it all’. Others, including psychologist Oliver James, have suggested children do better when their mum stays at home to raise them.
“Every woman needs to be self-sufficient,” Blair said at the event. “In that way you really don’t have a choice - for your own satisfaction; you hear these yummy mummies talk about being the best possible mother and they put all their effort into their children. I also want to be the best possible mother, but I know that my job as a mother includes bringing my children up so actually they can live without me.”
Currently, the number of working mums in the UK is higher than the number of mums who stay at home.
Are you a full time SAHM? Do you disagree with Cherie Blair’s comments?

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/cherie-blair-criticises-slams-full-time-stay-at-home-mums.html
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Working mothers happier than those staying at home

FamilyGP – Tue, Dec 13, 2011 14:00 GMT

In the eternal debate around the pros and cons of working mothers, one more bit of research comes down on the side of those who continue working.
Mothers with jobs tend to be healthier and happier than stay-at-home mothers during their children’s infancy and pre-school years, according to a study from the American Psychological Association.
The study was based on interviews with 1364 mothers shortly after the birth of their child and spanned a ten year period starting from 1991 as part of data collected by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.   Part-time working mums reported better overall health and fewer symptoms of depression than those that stayed at home full time. There were no reported differences in the general health and depressive tendencies between part time and full time working mums.
Lead author Cheryl Buehler, professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, said: “In all cases with significant differences in maternal well-being, such as conflict between work and family or parenting, the comparison favoured part-time work over full-time or not working.
"However, in many cases the well-being of moms working part time was no different from moms working full time."
The analysis found that mothers working part time were just as involved in their child's school as stay-at-home mums, and more involved than full time working mums.
In addition, mothers working part time appeared more sensitive with their pre-school children and they provided more learning opportunities for toddlers than stay-at-home mums and mums working full time.
Co-author Marion O'Brien, professor of human development and family studies at UNC, said that employers need to recognise the benefits of hiring part time employees and nurturing their careers.
"Since part-time work seems to contribute to the strength and well-being of families, it would be beneficial to employers if they provide fringe benefits, at least proportionally, to part-time employees as well as offer them career ladders through training and promotion," Professor O'Brien said.
The mothers taking part in the study were from 10 locations across the US and included 24% ethnic minorities, 1% without a high school degree, and 14% single parents.
The number of mothers employed part time was fairly consistent at about 25% of the total over the span of the study, although mothers moved in and out of part-time work. Part-time employment was defined as between one and 32 hours per week.
The authors recommended future research to include other employment-related factors such as professional status, scheduling flexibility, work commitment and shift schedules.
http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/working-mothers-happier-staying-home-140000946.html
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Pope

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16 September 2012

POPE TALKS TO THE PARTY OF GOD  

Salafist religious leaders refuse to meet with the Pope. But Hizbollah clerics welcomed the Catholic Leader.

NBC reported that U.S. calls Hizbollah a terrorist group, but for Pope, Hezbollah’s blessing was probably just what the Vatican was praying for.

AFP said, Choadors and Ayatollah Khomeini: Pope's Welcome to Lebanon.
One of the first things Pope Benedict XVI saw when he arrived at Beirut airport after arriving on Friday 14 September 2012, were Shiite women in black chadors and hundreds of Hezbollah scouts who had come to greet him. Muslims of the party of God waved the flag of the Vatican. Awaiting the Pope on the road out of the airport were men and women of Hizbollah and the youth of the Mahdi scouts, named after the Awaited Messiah of Shia Islam, the man who is will come and establish peace and Justice on Earth.

Pictures: "Problem with Pope? Nope. Look. We love Holy Mary."




Muslim ladies waited to greet Pope Benedict XVI at the airport in Beirut on Friday 14 September 2012.



Billboards and flags erected by Hezbollah depicting Pope Benedict XVI decorate a bridge on the main airport road in Beirut in preparation for the pope's arrival on September 14, 2012.
The billboard reads: "Hezbollah welcomes the Pope to the country of co-existence."



Banners erected for Pope by the Party of God. Lebanon, 14 September 2012.



Shia female supporter crosses a street as people wait for the car carrying Pope Benedict XVI outside Beirut international airport. 14.9.2012





Lebanese Muslims women of the Party of God wait for Pope Benedict XVI at the Presidential Palace in near Beirut on Saturday 15 September 2012.



Shia Muslim girls of the Mehdi scouts wait for Pope in Beirut on 14 September 2012.






Shi'ite Musim women of the Party of God in Lebanon walk past posters of the Pope during his visit.


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