Martes, Hunyo 7, 2011

Iranian women’s soccer team forfeits 2012 qualifier over head scarves

The Iranian women's soccer team was in tears after being forced to forfeit a 2012 London Olympics qualifying match this past weekend because it showed up to play in hijabs. FIFA banned the Islamic head scarf in 2007, saying that it could cause choking injuries -- the same reason it gave for recently banning snoods (neck warmers). FIFA also has strict rules against any religious statements in team uniforms.
Since Iran refused to comply with these rules and didn't use the specially designed caps that its 2010 Youth Olympics team wore, Friday's match was abandoned by officials and a 3-0 win was awarded to Jordan as a result. The Football Federation of Iran said it will complain to FIFA about the ruling, but FIFA says assurances were made beforehand so that this situation would've been avoided. From the AP:
"Despite initial assurances that the Iranian delegation understood this, the players came out wearing the hijab, and the head and neck totally covered, which was an infringement of the laws of the game," FIFA said in a statement. [...]
Jordan team officials also objected to the hijab rule before the game, but prepared to play by declining to select women who objected on religious grounds.
"The Iranian team and three Jordanian players were also banned from playing because they wore the traditional head cover," Rana Husseini, head of Jordan's women's football committee, told The Associated Press.
"The problem is that the head cover assigned and approved by FIFA for women players to wear does not suit them as it reveals part of the neck and this is not allowed and it is not acceptable," she said.
Iran also forfeited a second group match against Vietnam on Sunday, seriously damaging its chances of advancing to the London Olympics. It seems unlikely that its federation's complaints will help its case, though, since these rules are not new and compromises have been made in the past. It's just a shame these women were put in the middle of this debate between Iran's federation and FIFA and set up for disappointment.

Anthony Weiner faces ethics probe as more accusers emerge

Can Anthony Weiner survive?
That's the big question a day after the New York congressmanadmitted to lying about sending a lewd photo of his crotch to a Seattle college student via Twitter. In a news conference yesterday, Weiner owned up to sending the photo and admitted that he'd sent similar pictures to six different women he met online over the last three years.
Yet Weiner's biggest problem could be the continuing drip of revelations as some of the women he allegedly communicated have come forward to tell their side of the story. So far, three women have claimed online relationships with Weiner, hinting they have more pictures and hundreds of lurid texts that could prove to be even more politically embarrassing to the congressman:
•Meagan Broussard: A 26-year-old single mom from Texas, Broussard is the women who provided the photos of Weiner published yesterday on Andrew Breitbart's Big Government site. She provideddozens of photos, emails, Facebook messages and cell phone call logs to ABC News detailing her online relationship with Weiner, which began in April. "I didn't think it was him," she told ABC. "I thought for sure, 'Why would someone in that position be doing this?'"
Lisa Weiss: A 40-year-old blackjack dealer in Las Vegas, Weiss told RadarOnline that she "sexted" with Weiner for nine months, beginning last August after they exchanged messages on Facebook. She claims to have more than 200 messages from Weiner and says the congressman phoned her from his private congressional line during work hours. "A few days later, I tried to call him back on that number," Weiss told Radar. "But the number wouldn't connect to his office; instead there was a recorded message that it was an outgoing U.S. Congress line only."
•Ginger Lee: A former porn star, Lee allegedly sexted with Weiner for months. She has provided emails to TMZ that allegedly show Weiner pressured her to lie about their relationship—going so far as offer "someone on team" to advise her on how to handle the media. On June 2, Weiner allegedly drafted a statement for Lee, that suggested she was merely followed the congressman on Twitter. "The key is to have a short, thought out statement that tackles the top line questions and then refer people back to it," Weiner allegedly wrote. "Have a couple of iterations of: 'This is silly . . . . And then maybe insert some y'alls in there."

Yet at least one woman at the center of the Weiner scandal has remained silent in light of the allegations: Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton who married Weiner last July.
Abedin did not appear with Weiner at his news conference yesterday. He admitted that while he had told her about his past online dealings with women that he had lied to her until yesterday about the Twitter photo he sent over Memorial Day weekend.
"My wife is a remarkable woman," Mr. Weiner said. "She's not responsible for any of this. This was visited upon her. She's getting back--getting back to work. And I apologize to her very deeply."
As the New York Times' Ashley Parker writes today, Abedin and Weiner were a classic tale of opposites attracting. She's calm, quiet and elegant, while Weiner has long been a brash tabloid fixture. Their backgrounds are equally different: She's a Michigan-born Muslim-American raised in Saudi Arabia, while Weiner is a Jewish man from Brooklyn.
They began dating in 2008, during Hillary Clinton's run for the White House. Last year, they were married in a ceremony officiated by former President Bill Clinton. According to reports, Abedin worked a full day Monday at the State Department—even as her husband tearfully admitted he'd betrayed her trust.
Meanwhile, there are some signs that Congress may be launching an inquiry into the matter--another factor that may complicate Weiner's plan to remain in office. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is close to Weiner, was the first lawmaker to publicly call for an ethics investigation yesterday, looking into whether Weiner used government resources or broke House rules in his raunchy online messaging.
"I am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation," Pelosi said in a statement.
Weiner's other Democratic colleagues have largely been silent on the issue, amid growing suggestions in the media that New York lawmaker should resign from Congress. But the congressman insisted Monday he's guilty only of poor judgment and that he never cheated on his wife and never met any of the women he communicated with online. "I'm not resigning," he declared.

Jilted ex-boyfriend puts up abortion billboard

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man's decision to lash out with a billboard ad saying his ex-girlfriend had an abortion against his wishes has touched off a legal debate over free speech and privacy rights.
The sign on Alamogordo's main thoroughfare shows 35-year-old Greg Fultz holding the outline of an infant. The text reads, "This Would Have Been A Picture Of My 2-Month Old Baby If The Mother Had Decided To Not KILL Our Child!"
Fultz's ex-girlfriend has taken him to court for harassment and violation of privacy. A domestic court official has recommended the billboard be removed.
But Fultz's attorney argues the order violates his client's free speech rights.
"As distasteful and offensive as the sign may be to some, for over 200 years in this country the First Amendment protects distasteful and offensive speech," Todd Holmes said.
The woman's friends say she had a miscarriage, not an abortion, according to a report in the Albuquerque Journal.
Holmes disputes that, saying his case is based on the accuracy of his client's statement.
"My argument is: What Fultz said is the truth," Holmes said.
The woman's lawyer said she had not discussed the pregnancy with her client. But for Ellen Jessen, whether her client had a miscarriage or an abortion is not the point. The central issue is her client's privacy and the fact that the billboard has caused severe emotional distress, Jessen said.
"Her private life is not a matter of public interest," she told the Alamogordo Daily News.
Jessen says her client's ex-boyfriend has crossed the line.
"Nobody is stopping him from talking about father's rights. ... but a person can't invade someone's private life."
For his part, Holmes invoked the U.S. Supreme Court decision from earlier this year concerning the Westboro Baptist Church, which is known for its anti-gay protests at military funerals and other high-profile events. He believes the high court's decision to allow the protests, as hurtful as they are, is grounds for his client to put up the abortion billboard.
"Very unpopular offensive speech," he told the Alamogordo Daily News. "The Supreme Court, in an 8 to 1 decision, said that is protected speech."
Holmes says he is going to fight the order to remove the billboard through a District Court appeal.