sundries

[rm]

Patty comes home tomorrow.

Last night ladyofthelog and I went to see some Baroque opera at BAM. This was quite pleasing, although the staging wasn't anything much (it seems because they are pulling out all the stops for next week's Faerie Queen) and there was a dude sitting next to me who was creepy, unkempt, smelled like pee and would get actively annoyed if you got out of your seat to let him find his as opposed to, you know, letting him rub all over you. For the win, that.

White Collar 1.9 Mortgage fraud is boring. Neal/El/Peter -- so want to be doing each other. The chess move postcard? Doesn't feel like a Kate move. Or a Fowler move. Does feel like a Peter or Moz move. The paper flower: tell me that didn't actually get by Peter and Moz. And now we're just all back to trusting Peter? And Neal seems pretty functional again? Okay. I get that we needed a lighter episode in some ways, but.... yeah. I'm making a face.

The Shrine Down the Hall: a look at the bedrooms left behind by America's young war dead.

I haven't seen an update on this since last night, but yesterday Lt. Dan Choi locked himself to the gates of the White House to protest DADT. He was, as everyone expected, arrested. And then they didn't let him make his phone call or grant him bail. Yesterday, speculation was running high that the case would move to the military court system and that, among other things, anti-gay folks would use Lt. Choi's actions to be all "see, this is why we can't have gays in the military." The situation is really not good.

Meanwhile, a retired US general declares that the massacre in Bosnia happened because of the presence of homosexuals in European armies. I realize, I should say something more effective here than "fuck you so much," but I got nothing.

It's a good time to be in the market for a mansionette.

Comments

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

Yeah I saw that about General what's-his-face yesterday. I really wish the Dutch had come down much harder on that -- basically all they said was 'we disagree', but I think they should have loged a protest with the American reps/US govt. They're an ally and that's frigging insulting, along the lines of some other allied country telling us that our armies are lazy and weak because they have women in them or whatever.

[kayleigh-jane.livejournal.com]

I'm really going to have to disagree with you here. I've looked this up on the Dutch news sites, and gawker is missing part of the quote:

"I vehemently disagree with Sheenan. I'm proud of the fact that gays and lesbians have served openly and proudly in the Dutch army for more than a decade, even in difficult situations like Afghanistan.(..)

This is my own translation, btw. See also this article on Drasties. Partly in Dutch, all the relevant bits are in English. See the comments for a full quote of Renee Jones-Bos.

The Dutch cannot lodge a complaint against Sheenan, because he is a retired general, and thus a civillian. The Dutch government has condemned Sheenan's words (I believe 'completely barking mad' was one expression) and has done years ago what America is still trying to do: give everyone equal rights. Ally enough for you? (http://www.drasties.com/?p=11751)

[kayleigh-jane.livejournal.com]

Aw bugger, messed up the coding on that one.

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

I think you might have misunderstood. I didn't mean that the Dutch govt. was an ally (or not) for GBLT rights in the US. I meant their govt is an ally of ours and, civilian or no, Sheenan should not be badmouthing an ally like that.

And, as he is discussing events that occured while he was on active duty, as an advisor to the US govt. about the US military and talking about military matters -- he is not speaking as a civilian, the weight of his opinion is not simply that of any civilian and the Dutch have the right to protest his slur on their military more formally.

[kayleigh-jane.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that explanation; you were right, I misunderstood.