Remembering a pro-choice warrior - The reproductive rights movement loses Susan Hill, a brave and passionate advocate - By Kate Harding , Friday, Feb 5, 2010- We were saddened to learn this week that Susan Hill, founder, president and CEO of the National Women's Health Organization, died of breast cancer on January 30. A passionate advocate for reproductive freedom, Hill helped found the first abortion clinic in Florida two weeks after the Roe v. Wade decision was announced in 1973. For the rest of her life, she worked to facilitate access to abortion care for women in areas where the local laws and culture presented numerous obstacles. In a recent interview with Mary Lou Greenberg for On the Issues magazine, Hill explained, "I wanted to go to places no one else wanted to go." More..
Video (Interview by Rachel Maddow Here)
Can we ever win the abortion wars? The fanatical fringe has hijacked medicine and wrought terror. But there is hope, says the author of a new book - By Lynn Harris , Jan 22, 2010 - As jury selection continues in the Wichita, Kan., trial of Scott Roeder -- whose alleged murder of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was lauded by the extreme antiabortion group Army of God -- the title of sociologist and reproductive rights historian Carole Joffe's new book becomes all the more chillingly apt. In "Dispatches From the Abortion Wars," Joffe shows that the battles over abortion rights in the United States are being "fought on numerous fronts": not only with guns, bombs and fire, and not only in foreign relations, national politics and state legislatures. More,,
Battle over Superbowl Abortion Ad Rages on: Is Tim Tebow's Birth Story Even True? - By Liliana Segura, February 1, 2010 - The Superbowl ad war rages on. First, there was the initial controversy over Focus on the Family's 30-second ad, which is set to air during the Super Bowl this coming Sunday; ..More..
Pro-Choice Advocates Criticize CBS for Accepting Anti-Abortion Super Bowl Ad – From Democracy Now!- With the Super Bowl just two days away, the game’s broadcaster CBS is coming under criticism for accepting an anti-abortion ad paid for by Focus on the Family. For years, CBS and other networks have rejected advocacy ads during the Super Bowl. We get reaction from Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood and sportswriter Dave Zirin, author of A People’s History of Sports in the United States. Listen/Watch/Read : http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/5/pro_choice_advocates_criticize_cbs_for
The F Word: Another Super Bowl, Another Scandal - ...In the Washington Post, Ringle painted a picture of a feminist mob strong-arming the networks with myth and false statistics - Posted by lauraflanders , Alternet, February 5, 2010 - It’s Super Bowl season, another year, another scandal. This year’s outburst over CBS’s $3 million Focus on the Family ad has revived the mythology around another Super Bowl ad, that one involving domestic violence. As a player in that story, I’ve come to anticipate game season: the domestic violence Super Bowl so-called “hoax” is one right-wing media-manufactured vampire that just won’t die. More...
It's Now More Dangerous to Give Birth in California Than It Is in Kuwait or Bosnia - By Nathanael Johnson, California Watch
Posted on February 2, 2010 - The mortality rate of California women who die from causes directly related to pregnancy has nearly tripled in the past decade, prompting doctors to worry about the dangers of obesity in expectant mothers and about medical complications of cesarean sections. More..
What About the “Conscience Clause”? - Posted by Ann Neumann, Alternet, February 5, 2010 - Amy Sullivan asks today at Time’s Swampland what the status is of the “conscience clause”, that nasty rule that the second Bush rammed through in his final month as president that allows medical providers to refuse services. A year ago, the Obama administration asked around for some opinions on the law that allows practically anyone in the medical field to discriminate against a woman’s access to emergency birth control, contraception, or other services that they don’t agree with. More..
Child Pornography, and an Issue of Restitution - By JOHN SCHWARTZ, NYT, February 3, 2010 - When Amy was a little girl, her uncle made her famous in the worst way: as a star in the netherworld of child pornography. Photographs and videos known as “the Misty series” depicting her abuse have circulated on the Internet for more than 10 years, and often turn up in the collections of those arrested for possession of illegal images.
Now, with the help of an inventive lawyer, the young woman known as Amy — her real name has been withheld in court to prevent harassment — is fighting back. More...
Sex Workers in New Orleans Are Being Labeled Sex Offenders - ColorLines / By Jordan Flaherty - New Orleans police are using a state law written in 1805 for child molesters to charge hundreds of sex workers as sex offenders. January 25, 2010 | Tabitha has been working as a prostitute in New Orleans since she was 13. Now 30 years old, she can often be found working on a corner just outside of the French Quarter. A small and slight white woman, she has battled both drug addiction and illness and struggles every day to find a meal or a place to stay for the night. More..
From ‘Oprah’ to Building a Sisterhood in Congo - By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF , NYT, February 4, 2010 - BUKAVU, Congo. Five years ago, Lisa Shannon watched “Oprah” and learned about the savage, forgotten war here in eastern Congo, played out in massacres and mass rape. That show transformed Lisa’s life, costing her a good business, a beloved fiancé, and a comfortable home in Portland, Ore. — but giving her a chance to save lives in Congo. More...
Swagger Like Us- Should women amplify their aggression to mimic successful men? Or should they play up what supposedly makes them different?- Ann Friedman | February 1, 2010 - Ever since women began making serious workplace gains in the 1970s, there has been a debate about the best way for them to climb the professional ladder. More often than not, the answer has been to "act like a man" -- if you can't beat the boys' club, join it. Oversell yourself in job interviews. Ask for more raises. Demand a better title. Be assertive in expressing your opinion. You're gonna make it after all. More..
Feminism means women are seen and heard - February 1, 2010 - I am sorry Fayez Lababedi (Letters, January 30-31) feels feminists have not been in an uproar about banning women wearing the veil. We remember well the restrictions put upon us for being female. I work with teenage girls who are amazed when I tell them of the many simple things they take for granted that we were unable to do. More...
Planned Parenthood Posts Pro-Woman Ad, Putting the Pressure on CBS - By Liliana Segura, AlterNet
Posted on February 4, 2010 - With Super Bowl Sunday only a few days away, the fight over Focus on the Family's overtly anti-choice ad featuring University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is catching on. On Tuesday, Planned Parenthood released an ad of its own, featuring Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner and former NFL player Sean James defending a woman's right to choose. The online ad, which has gotten some 45,300 views on YouTube, steers clear of that particular phrase (let alone the word "abortion"), but it does present an effective rejoinder to Focus on the Family's "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life" theme.More..
Israeli Women Soldiers Break the Silence - February 1, 2010 - This post was originally published on www.commondreams.org. - What’s it like to be a woman serving in the Israeli occupation force in the West Bank? Is a woman’s experience as an occupier any different than a man’s? Yes indeed, say some women who have just broken their silence and offered a glimpse into the grim reality of the occupation.
“A female combat soldier needs to prove more,” one explains. “A female soldier who beats up others is a serious fighter…When I arrived there was another female [who] was there before me…Everyone spoke of how impressive she is because she humiliates Arabs without any problem. That was the indicator. You have to see her, the way she humiliates, the way she slaps them, wow, she really slapped that guy.” More..
Best of Sundance: Year of the woman - Female directors dominate Redford's winter showcase -- and my list of the 2010 fest's best films - By Andrew O'Hehir, Feb. 01, 2010 | If this year's Sundance Film Festival made extravagant and exaggerated claims about returning to its pseudo-rebellious roots, there was one seismic shift at Robert Redford's winter film showcase that went almost unnoticed. In recent years, female filmmakers have been catching up in the indie sector, if not quite to full equity and parity then to the point where a woman directing a film is no longer any kind of newsworthy event. Roughly one in three features at Sundance 2010 were made by women, but I haven't parsed the statistics to learn whether that's an all-time high, and in any case that's not the news. More...
Sex Ed in Washington - By ROSS DOUTHAT, February 1, 2010- Liberals hated almost everything about George W. Bush’s presidency, but they harbored a particular animus toward a minor domestic policy priority: abstinence-based sex education. The abstinence effort accounted for about a hundred million dollars in a trillion-dollar budget, but in the eyes of many critics it was Bushism at its worst — contemptuous of experts, careless about public health and captive to religious conservatism.More..
Grifters’ Tale By TIMOTHY EGAN, February 3, 2010 - If Palin truly believed in the Tea Partiers and their discontent, she would not be charging $100,000 to stoke their fears. - Judson Phillips is a Tennessee lawyer, specializing in personal injury lawsuits, drunk-driving cases and men who get into trouble beating their wives. It was his idea to incorporate Tea Party Nation as a money-making venture and charge $349 to hear Sarah Palin talk about what’s wrong with America over steak and lobster this weekend in Nashville. More..
Palin, Visible and Vocal, Is Positioned for Variety of Roles - By MARK LEIBOVICH NYT, February 6, 2010 - WASHINGTON — Without leaving home, Sarah Palin will be able to reach much of her political base, courtesy of a soon-to-be-built television studio in her living room paid for by her newest media patron, Fox News. From her house in Wasilla, Alaska, Ms. Palin also sends missives to 1.3 million Facebook “fans,” writes newspaper columns, Tweets and signs copies of her book for donors. More...
GAY AND LESBIAN RIGHTS
Gay Marriage Puts Mexico City at Center of Debate - By ELISABETH MALKIN , New York Times, February 7, 2010 - MEXICO CITY — Angela Alfarache and Ivonne Cervantes met at a party 16 years ago and have been a couple ever since, filling their lives with books and writing and friends. After their daughter, Constanza, was born six years ago, they became a family. Mexican law never saw it that way. Only Constanza’s biological mother — the pair will not say which one gave birth to her because, as they explain, they are both her mothers — is her legal parent. The law does not recognize the other mother. In a few weeks, that will change. A new Mexico City law goes into effect March 4 that will allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, propelling the city to the forefront of the global gay rights movement. More..
Sex for pay? No, I'm gay! Prosecutors anticipate a "lesbian defense" against prostitution charges - By Tracy Clark-Flory - Jan 22, 2010 - Now here'sa creative new way to fight prostitution charges:The lesbian defense. It's the argument prosecutors have anticipated in a case against Cassandra Malandri and Falynn Rodriguez,two strippers accused of offering to sleep with a police officer for $5,000. The idea being that a woman can't possibly have sex for pay with a man if she's into women --because, as we all know, prostitutes only have sex with paying customers they find irresistibly attractive. More...
Army Interrogator Discharged For Being Gay: John McCain "So Out Of Touch With Modern Military"- By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! - Posted on February 4, 2010 - AMY GOODMAN: We begin today's show looking at the controversy over the US ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the military. On Tuesday, the Pentagon’s top leaders voiced support for the first time for an end to "don't ask, don't tell," the military policy that bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The comments from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came less than a week after President Obama called for the policy to be repealed during his State of the Union address. More...
Defending the Long Gay Line - By MAUREEN DOWD, NYT, February 3, 2010 - I’ve had high hopes for Adm. Mike Mullen ever since I learned that his mom was an assistant to Jimmy Durante and his dad was a Hollywood press agent whose clients included Bob Hope, Ann-Margret, Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Stewart, Carol Burnett and Dyan Cannon.That’s the dream U.S.O. Tour. On Tuesday, the craggy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff showed that a lifetime in the military has not knocked all the showbiz pizazz out of him.“I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Mullen said during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on dropping the archaic “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. “For me personally, it comes down to integrity — theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.” More...
The Battle Over Don't Ask, Don't Tell - By advocating for a kinder and gentler form of marriage inequality, conservatives may have accidentally ceded the argument for keeping gays out of the military.Paul Waldman | February 2, 2010 - The one-year mark is about the time when partisans can reasonably begin expressing their disappointment with the president they elected, and anyone who spends time talking to progressives knows that their frustration has grown in recent weeks. So it was a welcome relief to liberals when President Barack Obama recommitted to a major campaign promise in his State of the Union address: He was finally moving to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, under which thousands of qualified service members have been kicked out of the military. More..
Religious Leaders Urge Obama to Condemn Ugandan Anti-Gay Bill at Prayer Breakfast - By Sarah Posner, Posted on February 3, 2010 - As more activists call attention to the activities of The Fellowship, or The Family, the secretive fundamentalist powerhouse whose National Prayer Breakfast (NPB) is this Thursday, a group of religious leaders has launched an alternative American Prayer Hour to condemn The Family’s role in the kill-the-gays bill pending in the Ugandan parliament. More...
CIVIL RIGHTS AND IMMIGRATION
Jim Crow Policing - By BOB HERBERT, NYT - February 2, 2010 - The New York City Police Department needs to be restrained. The nonstop humiliation of young black and Hispanic New Yorkers, including children, by police officers who feel no obligation to treat them fairly or with any respect at all is an abomination. That many of the officers engaged in the mistreatment are black or Latino themselves is shameful. More..
Roots of a Protest That Altered History, The sit-ins were less sudden than they seemed. by William H. Chafe - Published on Monday, February 1, 2010 by the Philadelphia Inquirer - Fifty years ago today, four black freshmen at Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, N.C., helped change American history.
They walked into the Woolworth's department store, purchased school supplies and toothpaste, and then sat down at the lunch counter and asked for a cup of coffee. "We don't serve Negroes," they were told...More..
From The Southern Poverty Law Center: : Report echoes SPLC's call for change in military hate group policy - The SPLC has long pointed out the dangers of extremism in the military, and in December SPLC President Richard Cohen wrote to the independent review board examining the Ft. Hood massacre about the need to amend Department of Defense regulations that have inadvertently permitted members of the military to participate in white supremacist activity. The review board has come to the same conclusion in its report, saying that in order to weed out extremists of all kinds from the military, hate group participation policy must be changed.
ECONOMY
This Week in Crazy: AIG - $100 million in bonuses? Sure, that sounds about right for fat cats who helped sink the global economy - By Mike Madden - Feb. 06, 2010 | About this time a year ago, the world found out that AIG — by that point very nearly a wholly owned subsidiary of the U.S. government, thanks to $170 billion in federal payments to keep it in business — was paying $165 million in bonuses to some of the very traders who had helped bring about the financial apocalypse that set off our current Great Recession. More..
HAITI
The US game in Latin America. US interference in the politics of Haiti and Honduras is only the latest example of its long-term manipulations in Latin America. by Mark Weisbrot for The Guardian/UK - When I write about US foreign policy in places such as Haiti or Honduras, I often get responses from people who find it difficult to believe that the US government would care enough about these countries to try and control or topple their governments. These are small, poor countries with little in the way of resources or markets. Why should Washington policymakers care who runs them? More..
Feeding Haiti's women - Aide workers focus food handouts on the weaker sex. Is it fair? - Tracy Clark-Flory. Feb. 02, 2010 | It's been every man and woman for themselves as aide workers attempt to deliver food to the desperately hungry in Haiti.Sometimes scuffles break out, strapping young men push their way to the front of the line or men grab bags of rice from women. In response to such chaos, the World Food Program and the United Nations have arranged special food handouts focusing on women to make sure they get their fair shot. But, some would ask, just how fair is that? More..
Why Are We Treating Haitians Like It's the Middle Ages? - It’s 2010, why are we throwing food at people like it’s the Middle Ages? Throwing food from trunks into crowds is just dumb. How can anyone call this a relief effort? Having a reporter describe people as animals during a broadcast simply perpetuates racial stereotypes. Are we distributing medical supplies the same way? More..
From The Southern Poverty Law Center: Limbaugh, Robertson and neo-Nazis find common ground on Haiti: Neo-Nazi leader Billy Roper announced a food drive for all Haitian citizens who agree to be sterilized. But he isn't the only one spewing anti-Haitian rhetoric. Intelligence Project director Mark Potok tracked reactions to the catastrophe from Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson. Limbaugh is advising his listeners not to donate to the relief effort, and Robertson believes that the earthquake was caused by Haiti making a pact with the devil.
Haití: Pensarlo todo otra vez - Por Mirta Rodríguez Calderón- Con el luto a cuestas y las almas oprimidas, empieza a erguirse, lentamente y con dolor, el valiente pueblo haitiano, cuya dignidad y entereza una vez más ha sido puesta a prueba. Se levanta con miembros amputados y el terremoto también moral de ser nuevamente el escenario trágico de la codicia y las pugnas políticas de los países más poderosos. Dos haitianas, Liz Marie y Nadiezda Jean, lideresas de grupos de mujeres llegadas a Santo Domingo para concertarse con sus pares del continente, se proyectan con una sobriedad que nubla la visión: Más...
ESPANOL
La lluvia no nos detendrá - [Sobre la Concentración ¡Por nuestro derecho a decidir! - 4 de febrero]. Karla*.cada día la lucha se hace más constante. Siendo las 10:00am del día jueves 4 de febrero del 2010, seis universitarias se reúnen para partir al mitin por el derecho de las mujeres a decidir, la hora de partir está próxima y las llamadas de dos compañeras informan que no asistirán debido a que el clima no permite que una pueda salir, ya que no hay con quien dejar a su hija de tres años, y no quiere que se enferme. La otra no podrá asistir por que tiene que entregar un trabajo escolar y no puede faltar. Más...
Abusos contra mujeres, efecto colateral de guerra contra narco en Chihuahua – La Jornada - Soldados "me tocaron el cuerpo mientras decían ‘qué bien hueles’, se burlaban de mí y me presionaban contra el camión mientras continuaban revisándome como si fuera una delincuente", denunció Claudia al autónomo Centro de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres.
México, DF. La violencia desatada en el fronterizo estado de Chihuahua, como parte de la guerra contra el tráfico de drogas declarada por el Estado en México, tiene como "efecto colateral" los abusos contra los derechos humanos de las mujeres por parte de efectivos militares. Más...
Yo soy mi propia mujer - Olga Harmony – La Jornada - Por múltiples razones que no viene al caso exponer aquí, fui a ver muy tardíamente la exitosa obra del dramaturgo estadunidense Doug Wright que obtuvo multitud de premios como el Pulitzer, el Tony y el Lambda. Quizás no es muy conveniente escribir de un montaje que ya cumplió sus 100 representaciones, pero los productores Juan Torres y Guillermo Wiechers –que la tradujeron al español– se han pronunciado por continuar representándola por larga temporada y es importante hablar de ella por dos razones, una teatral y otra extra teatral. Más--
Cuba: Trans ganan espacios por la prevención y el respeto a la diversidad - Por Sara Más - Llegaron un día pidiendo ayuda porque sentían el desprecio de la sociedad, el maltrato de la policía, la burla de los vecinos, el rechazo de la familia y no encontraban quién les diera trabajo. En el Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (Cenesex) hallaron no solo oídos receptivos, sino apoyo a sus intereses y, sobre todo, gente que confió en ellas y les cedió un espacio....Más...
Bolivia: Con medio gabinete de mujeres, se cumple la promesa - Por Liliana Aguirre F. - El 23 de enero fue un día histórico para Bolivia, no solamente por el inicio del segundo mandato del primer presidente indígena en Sudamérica, Evo Morales, sino porque se consolidó el Estado Plurinacional, donde se reconoce a las diferentes nacionalidades que habitan el país y porque la promesa de la paridad y equidad de género se va cumpliendo. Al posesionar a su gabinete, el mandatario boliviano modificó al 65 por ciento de su equipo ministerial, brindando un balance equitativo (de 10 a 10) entre hombres y mujeres. ..Más...
MIGRACION Y DERECHOS CIVILES
EUROPA: Un día sin nosotros - Matteo Dean – La Jornada, El título no es un error. No llegué tarde a la cita histórica de ese primer día de mayo de 2006, en el que millones de migrantes en Estados Unidos protestaban y dejaban de trabajar. Fue aquel un hecho histórico. Y aunque esa movilización no haya conseguido precisamente lo que se proponía, en Europa ya se está gestando un día sin migrantes. La fecha marcada por el calendario de la protesta mestiza es el próximo primero de marzo. Más...
"Cuando llegue a España no seré un clandestino" - Un camerunés relata su incierta travesía del desierto tras el sueño de llegar a Europa. Decenas de inmigrantes subsaharianos vagan por la ciudad de Gao, en Mali, con la intención de entrar en Argelia rumbo a Europa. - MAYTE CARRASCO - GAO - 06/02/2010 - Din Achille acaba de llegar a Mali, hace tres años que intenta entrar en España sin papeles. Por tercera vez consecutiva, Argelia le impidió entrar. Din ha tenido que atravesar otra vez el desierto del Sáhara, aunque ahora en sentido contrario a su destino. Más...
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