Spain's Stolen Babies
Spain is reeling from an avalanche of allegations of baby theft and baby trafficking. The trade began at the end of the Spanish civil war and continued for 50 years - hundreds of thousands of babies are thought to have been traded by nuns, priests and doctors up to the 1990s. This World reveals the impact of Spain’s stolen baby scandal through the eyes of the children and parents who were separated at birth, and who are now desperate to find their relatives.
Exhumations of the supposed graves of babies and positive DNA tests are proof that baby theft has happened. Across Spain, people are queuing up to take a DNA test and thousands of Spaniards are asking ‘Who am I?’
Katya Adler has been meeting the heartbroken mothers who are searching for the children whom they were told died at birth, as well as the stolen and trafficked babies who are now grown up and searching for their biological relatives and their true identities. [via BBC]
New York State Senate Votes to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
ALBANY — Lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed, and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born.
The same-sex marriage bill was approved on a 33-to-29 vote, as 4 Republican state senators joined 29 Democrats in voting for the bill. The Senate galleries were so packed with supporters and opponents that the fire marshals closed them off. And along the Great Western Staircase, outside the Senate chamber, about 100 demonstrators chanted and waved placards throughout the night — separated by a generation, a phalanx of state troopers and 10 feet of red marble.
“Support traditional marriage,” read signs held by opponents. “Love is love, Vote Yes,” declared those in the hands of the far more youthful group of people who supported it.
January Jones: Betty Draper Not Originally In 'Mad Men' Pilot
“There was no Betty in the pilot when I auditioned. Matthew Weiner, the creator of the show, had no intention of showing Don Draper’s home life,” she revealed. “I read for Peggy two times—it was between me and Elisabeth Moss, who eventually got the part. At the end of the scene, there was a casual mention that Don was married. Matt went home that night and wrote two scenes that featured Betty. I auditioned a couple of days later, and he made me a verbal promise that the character would grow. I took the part on faith—there was no script or fleshed-out character or Betty plotline.”
Can you imagine a “Mad Men” without showing Don’s home life? Good call, Weiner.
Mike Huckabee: ‘Natalie Portman is Ruining America’
Alright, I get that Mike Huckabee is keeping in line with the escalated Republican War on Women that ironically wants to insert Big Government into uteri everywhere, but seriously, Natalie Portman? An almost 30-year-old successful actress who decided to have a baby with her fiance? I mean, Jesus, it’s not like they’re not going to get married, nor is it 1952 anymore. Granted, I’m willing to concede Mike Huckabee isn’t aware of MTV’s Teen Mom which would’ve been the obvious target for the point he’s trying to make here: Teenagers literally are getting pregnant because of that show. But it’s not like he isn’t familiar with another poignant target: Bristol Palin. A young girl whose unwed, illegitimate pregnancy was publicly rewarded with a spot on Dancing With The Stars, a lucrative Candie’s endorsement and now her own book deal. But, no, let’s go after the career woman who’s flying in the face of traditionalism with her errant ovaries. Because young girls might realize they can be successful and have a baby later in the life and then who’s going to do all this laundry and/or load the dishwasher? Certainly not the father, that’s commie talk. [via The Superficial]
Trailer for Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere appears to be a heartwarming father-daughter story, features a cool version of The Strokes’ “You Only Live Once” and bills more music from Phoenix. This is ten kinds of promising.
Equality in Sweden, the role of dads
Companies have come to expect employees to take leave irrespective of gender, and not to penalize fathers at promotion time. Women’s paychecks are benefiting and the shift in fathers’ roles is perceived as playing a part in lower divorce rates and increasing joint custody of children.
In perhaps the most striking example of social engineering, a new definition of masculinity is emerging.[via NYT]
Cutest little sister ever.
“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.”
— Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory
