Free Republic

Earlier this week, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard – the nation’s first woman PM – addressed EMILY’s List Australia at Parliament House in Canberra. Gillard has her critics, and I’d be lying if I said I was inspired and entirely satisfied by the job she’s doing as PM. It would be delusional to imagine that sexism in Australia died the day Gillard was made head of the Labor Party. But by the same token, it would be foolish to pretend that her elevation to the PM isn’t enormous progress in a country where gender equality is still far from a...

A study found that when it comes to career choices, men prefer things and women prefer people.If you thought it was sexist to assume that girls aren't good at science, maybe you should think again (though stereotypes are dangerous and there are certainly many, many exceptions). A recent study in the journal Hormones and Behavior found that genetics play a key role in the career choices we make. In short, men become astronauts and women prefer nursing because of our biological nature, not environmental factors. In our society, males are more likely to work in fields dealing with "things" like...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – William Donald Schaefer, a former governor who is now state comptroller, ogled a young woman at a Statehouse meeting. And he made no apologies about it. “She's a pretty little girl,” the 84-year-old Democrat told reporters. “The day I don't look at pretty women is the day I die.” Schaefer stared intently at the woman – an aide to Gov. Robert Ehrlich – as she walked away after bringing him a beverage Wednesday during a Board of Public Works meeting. Then he summoned her back, as people waiting to testify watched and waited. The aide, looking puzzled,...

Denmark has advised citizens against travel to Saudi Arabia, amid growing anger across the Muslim world at Danish depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. A newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet, one of which pictured a bomb hidden in his turban, apologised on Monday for offending Muslims. Islam bans any depiction of the Prophet Muhammad or Allah. The backlash has included a boycott of Danish goods, diplomatic sanctions, and Islamic militant threats. The editor of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper told a Jordanian news agency: "These cartoons were not in violation of Danish law but have irrefutably offended many Muslims, and for...

Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang Compiled by William Denton buff@pobox.com. Copyright © 1993 - 2003. Please send me corrections, additions, suggestions and comments. Edition 3.9.2. Version 4.0 is planned. Originally published as a pamphlet by Miskatonic University Press, 1993. This glossary may not be reproduced on the World Wide Web in any form. You can link to it using this URL: http://www.miskatonic.org/slang.html. This glossary may be reproduced for public consumption as long as it is copied as is and in its entirety and no extra charge beyond copying or printing costs is made. Other arrangements may...