Hopeful peice on AIDS

from the economist:
http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14952992&source=features_box_main

"ALL epidemics run their course. AIDS will be no exception."

"The most important figure in the report, which was published on Tuesday November 24th, is 17%. This is the estimated drop in the annual number of new infections compared with 2001, the year that the United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was signed."

"Over the five years to 2008, the report claims, the number of AIDS-related deaths around the world fell by 10%, though it still stands at about 2m annually."

"the strategic deployment of antiretrovirals to pregnant women has, the report estimates, stopped some 200,000 mother-to-child infections in the 12 years to 2008."

The report is only "cautiously optimistic". Strangely, the rate of infection has been on the rise since 2001 in the Americas:



Be careful, guys!
-Plymouth, England. _____ County

Glimpse of the Future

Hey, I saw this article on CNN.com. It discusses climate change and the fact that globally women will be affected first and affected most severely. It goes along with my current event that I did (women and agriculture), considering that women are the primary laborers for much of the subsistence agriculture in the world, they will inevitably feel notice the changes that are occurring to their water supplies and growing season lengths, as well as being hit the hardest by random and severe weather events.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/18/climate.change.women/index.html

Check it out.

~Shawna (aka CompostQueen)

there's hope!

After watching the movie the other day, and prior to the movie I went and observed a very depressing divorce mediation at the courthouse, I was feeling completely uninspired. I came home and was talking with my partner/boyfriend, still figuring that one out, and told him about the movie we watch about Juarez. He showed me a music video made by one of his favorite bands about Juarez. At the drive in- is the name of the band. Invalid litter department-is the name of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wR1MVdDmUA

that is the link to the music video.

This made me start to think. I was really happy to know that there was attention being brought to the women of Juarez and I wanted to know if anyone else knows songs or music videos that bring attention to important issues. The concept of there being a music video about Juarez gave me hope because this video has been looked at 78,000 times, which means 78,000 people know about Juarez and hopefully that will provoke change.

Recently I have been feeling like I'm majoring in oppression. Please respond with more hope!

Sarah Roisman

where's your sense of humor?

Heeere's an interesting & articulate take on using humor to shame and silence feminists...
This can be applied nicely to female chauvinist pigs as well. Especially those who watch oh, say, the man show?

"Humour – the final frontier of colonialisation. You really now you’ve co-opted someone into the frame of dominance from which you work, when you can get them to laugh at jokes insensitive at the least, vicious in the usual. Which is why it’s so important to berate those humourless one who fail to laugh or worse still dare to complain – they’re obviously not with the programme.
On that note, one of the most common themes among the emails I get is gratitude for expressing frustration or contempt or anger at something of which, women have been told in explicit or implicit ways, our jovial and uncomplaining acquiesce is expected. 'Thank you for saying it’s not funny. That's something that has always bothered me.' It’s an expression of relief that someone has said publicly what they’ve felt privately—and maybe never said to anyone for fear of reprisal, for fear of being told they are humorless, hypersensitive, over-reactionary, boring.
For fear of hearing in those words, “Oh, you’re such a girl,” and feeling that thing, that awful thing, in your gut, the shame of being a girl—and then the twisting horror at the realization that you’ve let self-loathing grip you.
It’s a terribly effective silencing strategy, which is why the conveyance of patriarchal norms is so often closely associated with humor. Anyone who dares complain is just No Fun—hence, we find ourselves mired in a culture in which women who don’t laugh at seeing parts of their body routinely used as demeaning gags, and the men who are disgusted by such objectification of people they’re meant to love and respect, are the ones considered weird.
It can be really daunting to go up against all that, especially in one’s everyday life, on one’s own, just one woman against someone(s) equipped with such an effective institutionalized mechanism for shaming and silencing.
It’s so very girly to get all worked up about novelty boobs. Oh, you’re such a girl.
You’re fucking right I’m a girl.
I’m a girl with no sense of humor about anti-girl things—go figure.
I’m a girl with absolutely no interest in participating in my own subjugation, thank you very much."


Also on this theme there's a sweet song by Nellie McKay "Mother of Pearl" y'all might wanna check out... if you cruise on over to grooveshark.com and search mother of pearl it'll be there. hooray musical feminism!


-kelsey

p.s.
Why did God make woman last?
He didn't want someone telling him what to do.
hahahhahaa....oh wait.

copied from Feministing.com 11/17, vanessa

Not. Okay.
*Strong trigger warning*

I'm sorry, but how the fuck could a game titled, "Hit the Bitch" be anti-violent?

Apparently the game was created by a Danish anti-violence organization, and allows the user to use either their mouse or hand (through the webcam) to hit this woman virtually enough times to the point where she is so bloody and bruised that the screen tells the person they're a "100% Idiot" and gives some information about intimate partner violence. I don't really care what words you throw out after the game is over - the main message is the game and that message is straight up glorifying violence against women. Jill has more.

If you think this campaign is more damaging that it is advocating, email the organization that created the game and tell them so. [http://www.familievold.dk/english]

posted on Feministing.com 11/13/2009

Catholic Church threatens to put D.C.'s poor and homeless out in the cold over gay marriage

Catholic Church leadership seems to be stepping up its role in actively oppressing women and queer people. First came the Vatican's appeal to Anglicans who do not want women or openly gay people as priests. Then the United States Council of Catholic Bishops used their influence to build support for the Stupak amendment. Now the Catholic Archdiosese of Washington is threatening to abandon its social services work over a proposed same sex marriage law.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.
Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.


D.C. social services are in bad shape. The closing of a major homeless shelter and budget cuts have worsened the situation in a city already struggling to serve its poor and homeless residents. As someone who organizes for access to abortion I have obvious problems with gaps in the services provided by Catholic Charities. But that does not discount the vital work they do for the 68,000 D.C. residents who rely on Catholic Charities for shelters, health care, and food programs.

The Archdiosese is making a clear statement: it considers keeping rights from same sex couples more important than the needs of this city's most vulnerable. Their willingness to use the lives and health of 68,000 people in need as pawns in their fight for the right to discriminate is unconscionable. D.C. needs more social services, not less. I hope the Archdiosese can put aside the politics of hate for a moment to recognize what I would think they would consider a moral obligation to do vital life saving work.


(-addie)

Self-Protection

In reading the articles for this class I want to bring up the importance of self-protection….
It’s so goddamn frustrating that in our society females must negotiate what feels like a psychological and sometimes physical battlefield of harassment, and must ultimately sacrifice our freedom of expression & behavior to some degree to feel safe (and if we don’t, we’ll probably be blamed for whatever violence/ harassment occurs as a result).
I’m willing to bet that every wommin in our class has had numerous experiences with some form of sexual harassment (and that the men have witnessed some form of it) and not known what to do about it. Whether is is some guy on a bus staring at you inappropriately, someone at a party subtly feeling you up, a stranger on the street catcalling you, the possibilities are endless. I know I’ve had countless experiences where I wanted to, but didn’t, confront the perpetrator. And some in which I have. I’m wondering if y’all have had any empowering experiences with standing up to sexist jerks in these kinds of scenarios. Do y’all know of any go-to verbal remarks to retaliate with? How do you deal with these situations when they happen to you or you witness them happening? How can we protect ourselves & each other proactively? I have a few ideas… but I want to hear yours first.


_kelsey