[. . .] Hugging a ratty brown sweater to protect her from the damp cold of the prison, Mariam is one of 202 women living in the six- year- old jail. The majority of the women packed are serving sentences of up to seven years for leaving their husbands, refusing to accept a marriage arranged by their parents, or choosing to leave their parent’s home with a man of their choice — all so-called “moral” crimes, says the prison’s director general Zaref Jan Naebi.

Some of the women were jailed while pregnant, others with their small children. Naebi says there are 62 children living with their imprisoned mothers, sharing the same grey steel bunk-beds, napping in the afternoon hidden behind a sheet draped from an upper bunk, oblivious to the chatter and the crackling noises from the small fussy television sets shoved off to one side of the rooms.

The Taliban were thrown out 12 years ago ending five years of rule and regressive laws that enforced a tribal tradition and culture more than religious compulsions denying girls schools, ordering women to stay indoors unless accompanied by a male, and in some of the more severe cases even blackening the first story windows so prying eyes could not see women within. Women were forced to wear the all- encompassing burqa or suffer a public beating. . .

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck in south-west Iran, not far from the country’s only nuclear power station, the US Geological Survey reports. State media are reporting that three people have died and the numbers are expected to rise. People on social media have felt the quake across the Gulf in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Iran’s nuclear programme is the subject of international concern amid fears it is trying to build nuclear weapons. Tehran has always insisted its work at Bushehr and other sites is for civilian purposes only. The USGS said the quake struck at 11:52 GMT at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles). . .

Here’s one aspect of Margaret Thatcher’s legacy we can all feel unequivocally good about: The Iron Lady, better known for her “bruising political style and free-market views,” helped invent soft-serve ice cream as a chemist in the late 1940s. According to a 1983 article in the New Scientist, Thatcher originally trained as a chemist and worked on a research team for food manufacturer J. Lyons & Co., looking for ways to stabilize a cheaper, airier ice cream. So, partly thanks to Thatcher, your ice cream is now less dense and arguably less delicious. But, to quote British ice cream truck franchise Mr. Whippy, her work also “made possible the soft ice-cream machine,” beloved by sweet tooths across the political spectrum. . .

In Egypt, women’s rights groups are pushing back against some Islamists’ attempts to blame women for an upsurge in sexual harassment. Post-revolution, the number of women reporting sexual harassment and violence has skyrocketed. So, too, it appears, has the tendency to blame women for the assaults against them. Psychologist Farah Shash, of the Nadim Center for Victims of Violence, says Egyptian society is becoming increasingly conservative and patriarchal. “The society always blames the victim. She is the one to be blamed because she is dressed ‘inappropriately’ or she walks ‘inappropriately’ or she laughs loudly, or just because she is on the street when she got harassed,” Shash explained. . .

U.S. employers added jobs at the slowest pace in nine months in March, suggesting weakening economic growth as higher taxes and government spending cuts start to have an impact. Employers added 88,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 7.6%, largely because of people dropping out of the work force. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected nonfarm payrolls to rise by 200,000. . .

At a no-cameras-allowed Democratic fundraiser in San Francisco, President Obama misstated the kind of weapon used in the Sandy Hook shooting. Advocating for stricter gun control on Wednesday night, the president said, “It is possible for us to create common sense gun safety measures that respect the traditions of gun ownership in this country, and hunters and sportsmen, but also make sure we don’t have another 20 children in a classroom gunned down by a semiautomatic weapon – by a fully automatic weapon in that case, sadly.” That is not correct; a semiautomatic weapon was used in the Sandy Hook attack, not a fully automatic weapon. Most fully automatic weapons, machine guns, are essentially banned to the public. When asked for an explanation, the White House said the president misspoke. . .

State legislators better watch their back: Bronx Assemblyman Nelson Castro has been wearing a wire. In a bombshell indictment handed down by the feds, it emerged that Castro — who resigned yesterday — was a key witness in the sting operation against fellow Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson. Castro, elected to the Assembly in 2008, turned government witness while the state charged him in 2009 with a sealed perjury indictment connected to false statements he made regarding the large number of people who registered to vote from his Bronx apartment, sources said. . .

Remarks by the First Lady at Kitchen Garden Planting Event

 

MRS. OBAMA:  How are you guys doing?

CHILDREN:  Good.

MRS. OBAMA:  Is it a little chilly?

CHILDREN:  Yes.

MRS. OBAMA:  Where are your jackets?  I’m going to be the mother.  Where are your jackets?  (Laughter.)  All right, so we’re going to put you to work. 

Well, welcome.  This is the fifth planting of the White House Kitchen Garden.  Are you guys excited?

CHILDREN:  Yes. . .

Wynonna Judd became the first celebrity to get kicked off of “Dancing with the Stars” Season 16 on Tuesday night, and the country star says she’s most disappointed that her pro partner, Tony Dovolani (who won last season’s “All-Stars” edition with then-partner Melissa Rycroft), had to go as well. “I’m devastated in a way because of Tony. I wanted to be the brightest student in the class,” Wynonna told Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson following the elimination show in Los Angeles on Tuesday. “So, it’s a real roller coaster ride.” Adding, “Everybody was nervous today and Andy [Dick] was beside himself. I think we all were and that’s part of the game.”. . .

[. . .] One target is clear: Washington, DC. North Korean officials have talked about striking Washington on any number of occasions, so this does not surprise.

The other clear target is obviously Hawaii. The North Koreans spelled this out in their statement, and Hawaii is home to U.S. Pacific Command. Mele Kalikimaka.

Now, the other two targets are less clear. One is definitely in Southern California. My best guess is San Diego, which is the principal homeport for Pacific Fleet. There is a chance, I suppose, that Vandenberg Air Force Base is the target.

The last target — initially thought by many to be Austin — is the hardest one to make out. One of Kim’s generals and his hat — you just don’t see a man in a kepi anymore! — gets in the way. If the target is in Texas, one intriguing possibility is not Austin, but nearby San Antonio, sometimes called Cyber City, USA and home to Lackland Air Force Base and Air Force Cyber Command. The North Koreans have complained a lot lately about cyberattacks. It may seem odd, but North Korea is very worried about maintaining command and control of its nuclear forces. . .

The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to make more home loans available to people with weaker credit, an effort that officials say will help power the economic recovery but that skeptics say could open the door to the risky lending that caused the housing crash in the first place. President Obama’s economic advisers and outside experts say the nation’s much-celebrated housing rebound is leaving too many people behind, including young people looking to buy their first homes and individuals with credit records weakened by the recession. In response, administration officials say they are working to get banks to lend to a wider range of borrowers by taking advantage of taxpayer-backed programs — including those offered by the Federal Housing Administration — that insure home loans against default. . .

An EU mission to train Malian soldiers is due to begin as part of efforts to help the West African country counter an Islamist insurgency. The first of four Malian battalions will train under European instructors at the Koulikoro base some 60km (37 miles) from the capital, Bamako. A French-led intervention that began in January has regained the main cities of northern Mali from Islamist groups. However, fighting continues in the north. Of the 550 troops from 22 EU nations sent to Mali, about 150 are trainers with the rest made up of mission support staff and force protection. France is the biggest contributor to the force with 207 troops, followed by Germany with 71, Spain with 54, Britain 40, the Czech Republic 34, Belgium 25 and Poland 20. . .

[. . .] 5. The bill requires new state issued eligibility certificates for the purchase of any rifle, shotgun or ammunition.

Long guns: The bill establishes a new revocable state-issued “long gun eligibility certificate”, which will require the applicant to undergo a firearms safety training course, be fingerprinted, and undergo a national criminal background and involuntary commitment /voluntary admission check. Under the bill, as of April 1, 2014, such long gun eligibility certificate will be required to be presented for the purchase of any rifle or shotgun (in addition to the aforementioned now-“universal” criminal background check).

Ammunition: The bill establishes a new revocable state issued “ammunition eligibility certificate”, which will require the applicant to pass a national criminal background check. The bill requires, as of October 1, 2013, that any sale of ammunition or an ammunition magazine to a Connecticut resident be accompanied by the presentation of either a permit to carry a pistol or revolver, an eligibility certificate for a pistol or revolver, a long gun eligibility certificate, a firearms dealer permit, or a combination of an ammunition eligibility certificate and a state issued photo ID.  Therefore , as of October 1, 2013 there will be no legal sales of ammunition or magazines to any Connecticut resident who has not passed a national criminal background check, and is in good standing with regard to such check (i.e. their state issued certificate has not been revoked).[. . .]

Sun-Times: A $25 tax on each new gun purchased starts today with the goal of reducing taxpayer expense in fighting crime. Taxpayers ask, “Chicago is fighting crime?”

Sun-Times: Grandson arrested for the murder of his 72-year-old grandfather. No word yet of Rahm will try to collect $25 retroactively from the suspect.

Tribune: 28 teens arrested after incidents on Chicago’s “El” and Magnificent Mile. I guess this wasn’t what Michelle Obama meant by “let’s move.”

NBC Chicago: The president talked about the important issues while in Miami — like the Bulls ending the Heat’s 27-game-win-streak.

The Nation: Rahm’s ‘shock doctrine’ of shutting down public schools. Because a school that at half-capacity deserves to stay open?

Tribune: Chicago tries revolutionary new tactic to fight crime: cops on foot patrol.

Depositors in Cyprus with savings of more than 100,000 euros ($128,000) could face losses of up to 60 percent, under tough conditions attached to an international bailout, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said Saturday. The deal would force large depositors at the country’s two largest lenders – Bank of Cyprus and Laiki – to take heavy losses, while smaller deposits would be guaranteed. A mandatory one-off tax on deposits of more than 100,000 euros in return for shares in Bank of Cyprus would bring a 37.5 percent decrease in value. Depositors could also lose an additional 22.5 percent, Sarris told RIK state television, if it is determined that more funds are needed to save the bank. The small eurozone member avoided a financial meltdown this past week by sealing a 10 billion-euro bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. . .

Reuters: South Korea vows fast response to North; U.S. deploys stealth jets.

FT: White House takes North Korean threat seriously

WaPost: Texans mock Kim Jong Un’s plans to attack Austin.

CBS: Nuclear arms are North Korea’s ‘life.’

SportsGrid: Quick! Emergency Rodman deployment to North Korea before it’s too late.

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy Easter!

What a joy it is for me to announce this message: Christ is risen! I would like it to go out to every house and every family, especially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons…

Most of all, I would like it to enter every heart, for it is there that God wants to sow this Good News: Jesus is risen, there is hope for you, you are no longer in the power of sin, of evil! Love has triumphed, mercy has been victorious!

We too, like the women who were Jesus’ disciples, who went to the tomb and found it empty, may wonder what this event means (cf. Lk 24:4). What does it mean that Jesus is risen? It means that the love of God is stronger than evil and death itself; it means that the love of God can transform our lives and let those desert places in our hearts bloom.

This same love for which the Son of God became man and followed the way of humility and self-giving to the very end, down to hell – to the abyss of separation from God – this same merciful love has flooded with light the dead body of Jesus and transfigured it, has made it pass into eternal life. Jesus did not return to his former life, to earthly life, but entered into the glorious life of God and he entered there with our humanity, opening us to a future of hope. . .

Search for clinics in New York City that provide sexual health services for teens. Find out where to go, what to get, and what to expect.

Teens in NY State have the right to sexual health services without getting permission from parents, girlfriends/boyfriends or anyone else.

Find clinics in all 5 boroughs. All clinics were screened by teens who posed as potential customers (“mystery shoppers”). Services at these clinics include:

• Condoms • Birth control • Emergency contraception • STD testing and treatment • HIV testing • Pregnancy testing

Clinics marked with a gold star offer many services and birth control methods on site for free. Search for a clinic by service, birth control method or location.

Watch videos developed with teens, for teens!

The Teens in NYC referral guide is also available via 311, in print, and online (search for NYC Teen at www.nyc.gov).

This app does not collect personal information when downloading or using the app.

The supposed transformation of Atlanta Public Schools overseen by former Superintendent Beverly Hall resulted from a criminal enterprise that victimized thousands of struggling students for years, authorities alleged Friday. Capping a series of investigations that spanned four years, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Hall and 34 others on charges that they conspired to cheat on federally mandated standardized tests from at least 2005 to 2010. Further, the grand jury charged, Hall, several top aides, principals and teachers engaged in the scheme for their own financial gain. And with investigators closing in, the jury said, Hall and others lied to cover up their crimes. . .

Alaskan Rep. Don Young sent out a quick apology Thursday for referring to Latinos who worked his family farm as “wetbacks” on a radio show. The Republican lawmaker said he wasn’t aware the term was derogatory. “During a sit-down interview with Ketchikan Public Radio this week, I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in Central California,” he said, as reported by the Alaska Dispatch. “I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays, and I meant no disrespect.” Mr. Young’s exact statement, made to KRDB-FM Radio in Alaska during discussion of immigration reform: “My father had a ranch. We used to have 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.”. . .