Posted on 09/09/2008 12:17:47 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
The 20 most controversial women in history
It's disgraceful what passes for controversy these days. From the media storm created last week, you would think Sarah Palin was the first moose-shooting anti-abortionist to ever take the world stage. Come to think of it, she probably is. But to really get tongues wagging back in the day you had to have a reputation for incest, torture, murder and stealing from the destitute.
Here, the top women leaders with reputations for raising hackles.
1. Messalina (c17-48)
If a man is successfully promiscuous, he’s regarded as a bit of a chap. A woman with voracious sexual appetites is seen as a trifle easy. It’s an unfair dichotomy that’s as old as well as old at least as the story of Messalina. The wife of famously stuttering Emperor Claudius she was thought - even by the famously licentious standards of the Roman Empire - as a trifle fast, doing much of her networking in the horizontal position. A slight bigamy mix-up proved to be her undoing and Claudius’s next wife ensured that Messalina’s name would be a byword for slappers forevermore.
From the Times archive: Claudius the God and his wife Messalina
2. Boudicca (birth unknown-61)
The warrior of East Anglia made herself extremely unpopular with the Romans when she led a campaign against them following the death of her leader husband Prasutagus. She was finally defeated around AD 61, and is thought to have poisoned herself to avoid capture.
From the Times archive: The statue of Boadicea
3. Joan of Arc (c1412-1431)
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.typepad.com ...
And that's what's got all the lefties and media elites panties in a twist.
Unlike the political foes of old, opponents these days are careful to steer clear of personal issues such as her unwed pregnant daughter. Instead they concentrate on her fiercely anti-abortion stance (even in instances of rape or incest), her promotion of Creationism as a school subject and her dismissal of her ex-brother-in-law from the state police.
OK, in order...
1. WHAT? is the author of this piece completely daft!? Have they missed the incessent attacks on Palin's daughter? If the left has made any effort at all to steer clear it sure isn't observable in the MSM.
2. She is pro-life, not anti-abortion. Nice way to try to twist the focus.
3. A flat out lie. She has not promoted creationism as a school subject. I believe one will find that her view is that if creationism is asked about that a free discussion be allowed. But she has not advocated making it part of the curriculum.
4. She did not dismiss her ex-brother in law, so this is another lie from the left. And, btw, this "officer" used a tazer on a 10 year old kid and threatened to murder Palin's father. That there was a question as to why this person was on the force seems reasonable. And from what I understand, she wasn't the one asking the question, it was a couple of staffers, and their correspondence revealed that they were asking without her knowledge.
The MSM went 0 for 4 on Palin. They might as well throw their diploma's. They clearly aren't real journalists.
yitbos
This obsession with Sarah Palin’s mythical status is over the top. This is something the Left did with Zerobama and the Grecian columns.
Interesting list, but including Gandhi, Thatcher, Bhutto, Bruni and Sarah Palin runied the article. They don’t belong with the rest.
They forgot queen Ranavola of Madagascar.
France is going through the same extreme obsessions and fantasies about Sarkozy. Psychiatrists over there are overwhelmed with liberal patients talking about him. They even had newspapers which had nothig better to do than to depict him in fictitious make believe ways as an energyless sod in a bedroom with his exwife.
From Messalina to “Mooselini,” you gotta love a strong woman!
Mandela? Marcos? At least one of those names needs to be replaced by Grace O’Malley, legendary Irish Pirate in the 16th century.
p.s. My daughter’s name is Grace O’Malley.
Excerpt from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_o%27malley
Legendary Exploits
Many folk stories and legends about Ní Mháille have survived since her actual days of pirating and trading. There are also traditional songs and poems about her.
A widespread legend concerns an incident at Howth, which apparently occurred in 1576. During a trip from Dublin, Ní Mháille attempted to pay a courtesy visit to Howth Castle, home of the 8th Baron Howth. However, she was informed that the family was at dinner and the castle gates were closed against her. In retaliation, she abducted the Earl’s son and heir, the 10th Baron. He was eventually released when a promise was given to keep the gates open to unexpected visitors, and to set an extra place at every meal. Lord Howth gave Ní Mháille a ring as pledge on the agreement. The ring remains in the possession of a descendant of Gráinne Ní Mháille, and at Howth Castle today, this agreement is still honoured by the Gaisford St. Lawrence family, descendants of the Baron.[25]
The legendary reason for Ní Mháille’s seizure of Doona Castle in Ballycroy was because the MacMahons, who owned the castle, killed her lover, Hugh de Lacy, the shipwrecked son of a Wexford merchant Ní Mháille had rescued. When the guilty members of the MacMahon clan landed on the holy island of Caher for a pilgrimage, Ní Mháille captured their boats. She and her men then captured the MacMahons and killed those responsible for her lover’s death. Still not satisfied with her revenge, Ní Mháille then sailed for Ballycroy and attacked the garrison at Doona Castle, overpowering the defenders and taking the castle for herself.[15]
Her attack against the MacMahons was not the first time she interrupted someone at their prayers. Legend tells of another chieftain who stole property from Ní Mháille and fled to a church for sanctuary. Ní Mháille was determined to wait out the thief, maintaining that he could starve or surrender. The thief dug a tunnel and escaped, however, and the hermit who took care of the church broke his vow of silence to scold her for attempting to harm someone who had sought sanctuary. Gráinne’s reply is not included in the legend.[26]
[edit] Revolutionary Activity
In 1593, in his letter to Queen Elizabeth I protesting Gráinne Ní Mháille’s claims against him, Richard Bingham claimed that Ní Mháille was “nurse to all rebellions in the province for this forty years”.[22][27]
Ní Mháille engaged in revolutionary activity against the English crown. Her castle at Clare Island was attacked by an expedition from Galway intended to get rid of her. However, they were put to flight and barely escaped. Later Ní Mháille was captured, but released some time afterward.
[edit] Meeting with Elizabeth
This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.
You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (August 2008)
In the later 16th century English power steadily increased in Ireland and Gráinne’s power was steadily encroached upon. Finally, in 1593, when her sons, Tibbot Burke and Murrough O’Flaherty, and her half-brother, Donal-na-Piopa, were taken captive by the English governor of Connaught, Sir Richard Bingham, Ní Mháille sailed to England to petition Elizabeth I for their release. Elizabeth apparently took to Ní Mháille, who was three years older, and the two women reached sufficient agreement for Elizabeth to grant Ní Mháille’s requests provided that her support of many Irish rebellions and piracy against England ended. Their discussion was carried out in Latin, as Ní Mháille spoke no English and Elizabeth spoke no Gaeilge.
This looks like your kind of article...
Note my post about Grace O’Malley, fyi.
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Interesting -- ancient history, but also current events. Thanks Kevmo. |
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· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
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Palin is about to join some of the most written about women in history.
Just a couple:
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Other well-known Celtic warrior queens include Aife of Alba (modern day Scotland) and her contemporaries Mebd of Ireland and Scathach of Skye. In 61 AD Queen Boudicca of the Iceni of Norfolk led a major rebellion against the Romans during which she sacked and burned modern day London and St. Albans. The first recorded effort to bar women from military participation was a law passed in 590 A.D. at the synod of Druim Ceat. It proved to be unenforceable when the women warriors refused to lay down their arms and comply with it. In 1100 Maude de Valerie, a Welsh revolutionary, raised an army to rebel against the oppressive regime of King John. She was captured on the battlefield and died as his prisoner. |
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In 1545, Lilliard led the Scots at the Battle of Ancrum in one of their last victories over the English forces. She killed the English commander but lost her own life later in the battle. Graine Ni Maille (1550-1600) was an Irish princess who commanded a large fleet of war galleys which wreaked havoc on the English navy, shipping and coastal towns. |
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Greek prefix
Palin = Again
Not to forget
Palintology = All things Sara Palin
Obama Mocks Sarah Palin the “Moose Shooter” in Michigan Today
Politico | September 8, 2008 | Ben Smith
Posted on 09/08/2008 7:14:36 PM PDT by GOPinCa
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2077834/posts
She's No. 9.
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