Press conference talking about Afghan Women

Here is a lot of talk about what the Ambassador thinks about things in Afghanistan but very little information on actual programs the US is funding and supporting. Nothing about linking US women with those projects and Afghan women through the army; nothing about the regional women's centers; nothing about domestic violence shelter/villages; nothing about training women police; nothing about arming women; nothing - except they are "expanding" programs.

Women: Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer on Her Recent Visit to Afghanistan and the U.S. Commitment to Afghan WomenTue, 30 Jun 2009 15:09:13 -0500
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer on Her Recent Visit to Afghanistan and the U.S. Commitment to Afghan Women
Melanne Verveer
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues
Washington, DC
June 30, 2009

MR. WOOD: Good afternoon, actually. Good afternoon, all. We’re very fortunate to have with us this afternoon the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer. And she’s going to talk to you about her recent trip to Afghanistan and talk about how the U.S. is supporting Afghan women. So without further ado, I’ll turn it over to the ambassador.

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Hello, everybody. I’d like to make a few points before taking your questions.

The women in Afghanistan are critical to progress and stability in their war-torn country. It is in Afghanistan’s interest that human development and the unity of action take place. Only by men and women working together can Afghanistan move forward. The Secretary of State and Ambassador Holbrooke asked me to go to Afghanistan to reaffirm the United States’s commitment to Afghan women and to underscore the President and Secretary’s personal commitment to women’s rights.

We know that no country can prosper if half its people are left behind. And as the President said in Cairo, we recognize that our daughters can contribute as much to society as our sons. The truth of the matter is that countries that repress women also tend to be backward economically, and are more likely to be failed states.

Three points: First, we are reshaping our programs and intensifying our efforts to help women to participate more fully in society, thereby helping them to increase their contributions to their communities and their country. This includes working with men, working with community leaders to make it possible for men and women to jointly determine Afghanistan’s future.

One example of that reorientation of programs is the announcement that Ambassador Eikenberry and I made in Kabul of a new $27 million fund of small, flexible, rapid response grants targeted to empower Afghan women-led NGOs at the local level to serve their fellow citizens by providing them with technical assistance and support for programs ranging from economic development, literacy, training, skills training, and healthcare, among other programs that make a difference for all Afghans.

Second, Afghanistan is in the midst of an election campaign both for president and for the provincial councils. We have called for a campaign that is credible, inclusive, and secure, where men and women candidates can campaign with no restrictions on their freedom of movement and can be assured of protection. Further, the candidates should engage in a vigorous debate on all issues, including issues of concern to women. And women are likewise raising issues of concern to them with the candidates.

More women are running for provincial councils than did in the last election. And my travels took me to the Baghdis province, which is one of the poorest and remote parts of Afghanistan. And there, 11 impressive women are running for the provincial council, hoping to make a difference for the future of their country. Women want to be part of the solution.

Third, there is progress in some areas, but not in others. Security remains a paramount challenge. Violence against women and girls is endemic and much remains to be done, including access to institutions of justice, civic education, and prosecution of the crimes. More girls are in school, but the Taliban have eroded some of that progress.

Last year alone, they burned or shut down more than 700 schools, and thousands of girls are now without access to formal education.

More women are participating politically in the parliament and in local government. Many are engaged in the media, which is defined by freedom of expression. Civil society is more robust. Women’s organizations increasingly speak with a collective voice and act in a coordinated fashion. They are a stronger and more unified constituency today than in a few years back.

And there is a cadre of women leaders – business, government, and media, civil society – and they are an impressive group, yet their potential is not fully tapped. There is only one minister in the cabinet and she is powerless. There is a low percentage of women in the civil service.

There is only one governor, in Bamiyan. And women are rarely invited to decision-making forums.

Economic opportunity is critical if the people are going to see results in their everyday lives, and we are committed to a greater focus on activities like agriculture, animal husbandry, and other kinds of productive livelihoods, including access to microcredit focused on very small business development, which is also critically important. Progress in Afghanistan must be measured not just in military terms, but also in terms of social, political, and economic participation of women in rebuilding Afghanistan and in the safeguarding of their human rights.

And now, I’m happy to take your questions.

MR. WOOD: Before asking your questions, if you could just identify yourselves and your news organizations, we greatly appreciate it.
Why don’t we go to Kim.

QUESTION: I have one quick question about the number of women running for local council. I don’t know if you know that. But also, I wanted to get an update from you on what you heard in your conversations in Afghanistan about the Personal Status Law, which has been under review. Just a few days ago, there was a demonstration in support of that law. A thousand people turned up, including 300 women. What is your assessment of how women feel about the law, and what President Karzai is willing to do about it or not in parliament?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: I raised the Shia Personal Status Law with the minister of justice who has had it under active review, as well as with President Karzai, as well as with the women leaders in civil society.

Where it stands now is the women have told me that they are pleased with the commitment that is represented in the revisions and reforms that have been made, as they have seen that draft. And only a few days ago, they met with President Karzai who told them that he would support those revisions and reforms. The women are hoping that this will take place before the election, but it is not clear.

So that’s where things stand. The minister of justice has incorporated the revisions and reforms that the women have been seeking. They have told me that they are satisfied with those that they have seen at the last such opportunity. And President Karzai has assured them in a recent meeting that he will sign on to them. So that’s the current status.

QUESTION: What if it doesn’t pass through parliament before the elections?
AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, there – no one has indicated that it’s going to take effect prior to any action. And if it doesn’t take effect prior to the election, we can only imagine whether or not there will be changes made that aren’t satisfactory or what will occur. So I think that’s one of the reasons that the women’s community is quite eager to see a satisfactory resolution, one that they have personally reviewed, and are satisfied with actually taking effect. But it hasn’t happened yet.
MR. WOOD: Elise.

QUESTION: Elise Labott with CNN. Thank you. Just to follow up on that – I mean, and the fact that you were talking about there’s only one minister, and that’s she’s powerless, and that women are not invited, it sounds like there’s a problem with the culture within the country of not treating women equally that is from the top down and the bottom up.

And so given all the kind of security issues and important kind of national security issues that you have with Afghanistan, how do you instill upon the government how important that is to you? I mean, you know, are there aid programs you can condition to make sure that they treat women better? And, you know, if the government isn’t going to make this a priority, how can you ensure that they do so?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, I think that’s a very good question. And I do think there are issues of culture, but there are also issues of political will, and that is one of the reasons I made the trip and why I met with so many of the ministers, as well as candidates for president and members of the parliament. In this upcoming election, we made it clear that it is important for the candidates to have women’s platforms, to discuss the role of women in Afghan society and the reforms that they are endorsing and the kind of progress they want to see. And the women are eager to see that kind of discussion as well.

It is interesting that in the last few days, several of the candidates have spoken about their women’s platform and President Karzai met with key members of the women’s community and said to me that he was intending to meet with them again just a few days later.
Now, we know what the hoopla of a campaign can mean even in this country. But I think it is critical to reinforce the importance of these issues in the next two months in which the campaign will ensue.

Clearly, there has to be a will at the top and there’s got to be heat at the bottom. And these kinds of progressive steps are only going to happen to the extent that there is that will, there is that sense of greater empowerment and participation on the part of the women, and that there is a visible sense of the reality changing on the ground in terms of progress.

And to the extent that women can participate both in the decision making and in actually working with the men in their localities and their provinces to bring about that kind of change, particularly economic change, that will devolve to the kind of cultural changes that are critical.

But as I said to the leaders, it is important that they speak out about these issues both in terms of women’s participation, but also in terms of some of the egregious activities that are ongoing in the society. And more specifically, I underscored the violence against women, which is certainly not acceptable.
MR. WOOD: Goyal.

QUESTION: Thank you. Goyal Raghibur from India Globe and Asia Today. Madame, your mission to Afghanistan to meet especially the women’s groups may be first of its kind. What have you seen after talking to those women that they are fearing any threats from al-Qaida (inaudible) going to school and all that? Those are still there?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, certainly, they are still there. There are – as I said in my opening statement, that there are ongoing problems. But what I also saw are women who clearly want to be part of the solution. They want to be able to make a difference in their society. And most basically, they want to be able to see the kind of change in their lives that will give them a sense that a better future is possible for them and their families. And they are acting on all levels.

I mean, as I mentioned, we went out to a province that was extremely remote and extremely poor. It’s difficult to describe the environment. And there, I saw men and women in a room talking about their aspirations for this election, the women candidates speaking better than I at this microphone in terms of the compelling nature of their efforts to run for office. They clearly wanted to be protected in that process. They clearly wanted to be able to move around. But they want to make a difference. That’s the bottom line. They want a better life. And what we are trying to do is help galvanize those kinds of efforts so that indeed they can pay off in a better future.

QUESTION: Just a quick follow-up. In the past, there were some reports that they were not very much happy with President Karzai’s government because al-Qaidas were there to help them out rather than the government or the government officials because of corruptions and other. So how are they going to come off now or coping with this problem?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, it’s an ongoing effort, clearly, and there has been progress. And they see every tangible step forward as something that will eventually get them to their ultimate goal of a better future for Afghanistan. But it’s a process that is not a neat one that goes in a linear line, and there are setbacks as much as there are steps forward sometimes. But there is certainly an effort on the part of the women with whom I’ve spoken and met with at great length to really be full participants in creating that better future.
MR. WOOD: Mary Beth.

QUESTION: Ambassador, thank you. When you mentioned the $27 million fund, the Rapid Response grants, is that part of – I think in the supplemental there was $100 million – am I correct – for Afghanistan, for women’s NGOs. And how does that compare to what existed before? Is this a big increase, a small increase, or –

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, some of the money, Mary Beth, comes out of the pipeline. Some of it is existing money that is now being moved into this area. Some of it will come out of the supplemental. There are additional resources there that will be tapped. But it is a response to the ongoing request that more progress could be made at the local level if resources could go in. And these are not huge grants, a grant at a time necessarily, but grants that can go in can make a real difference, can contribute to the betterment of what is taking place in the local areas and also grow the capacity of the women to make a greater contribution.

So there will be more of that, because it’s obviously – it’s going to be something that is very closely overseen by our Embassy in Afghanistan. Ambassador Tony Wayne has arrived there in the last week to oversee our assistance programs, and he will be playing a pivotal role in this. He was present with me on some of my travels outside of Kabul, as well as for this announcement.

So we are making a more concerted effort to empower people locally to bring about the kinds of changes that can show immediate results in terms of their lives and their ability to make a contribution.

QUESTION: Hi, Farah Stockman with The Boston Globe. I just got back from Kabul, actually, and I guess we overlapped. But when I was there, one of the things a lot of people were talking about in the aid community was the proliferation of ambassadors at the Embassy. I think you’re one of eight ambassador-level people who were going in and out of Kabul.

How does that work? I mean, is it a total net gain for us? Or, I mean, can you describe that?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: I think it’s a net plus for us, frankly, because it shows a real commitment. And there’s delineation of authority in all of these people who are arriving, some with considerable experience. And I think that particularly, for example, in Ambassador Wayne’s case, to have somebody truly focused on this piece, working in close collaboration with the leadership team there, will make a difference.

So I think it’s – it wouldn't be done if we didn’t see it as something that will really create a greater continuing, ongoing emphasis in those critical areas that these individuals are going to oversee.

QUESTION: Lalit Jha from Pajhwok Afghan News. What will be your recommendation to the new Afghan president to improve the (inaudible) of women in the country?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, you know, women want the same thing the world over, and that is they want to have their rights protected, they want to be respected, and they want to make a contribution in terms of the life of their society economically and politically, and they want to access education and healthcare. That’s what any leader should try to make happen, because all the data today shows that investments in women have the single most effective payoff in terms of poverty alleviation and the general prosperity of a country; and where the exact opposite takes place in its worst forms, we have imploding societies and failed states.
So it is in leaders’ interest to make these kinds of investments. But as I said earlier to the answer to the first question, what’s often missing is the political will to do that. But in the long term, it would create a far brighter picture in terms of future progress.

QUESTION: Do you think the condition of women has improved post-Taliban era? Are the women –

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, as I said, there have been many improvements, which I pointed out in my statement, but there hasn’t been enough. And so we have to keep working at these issues, and certainly on behalf of the women there if we want to bring stability and a better future to the country.

QUESTION: Ambassador, good afternoon. (Inaudible) from Voice of America. You said the role of women in politics needs to be taken seriously. What did you hear are the issues that are mostly standing out on women’s paths in political field? And also, how many womens are being supportive of other candidate women that are there, I mean, for presidential or provincial elections?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, there are two female candidates for president. I think they’re both still in the race. And then there are a hundred and some – and we can get the exact number – running for the provincial councils, but in excess of the actual number of seats allotted to women for the provincial councils. So there’s been more – there is more participation at this point, which is very gratifying.

The women want to make sure that in terms of their campaigns and their efforts at their election, that they have that kind of freedom of movement and protection to enable them, just as the male candidates want to have the same ability to move around to make their voices heard and to be protected in the process.

Beyond that, the women are very eager to have the candidates talk about the issues that are of great concern to them. Often these are issues that are never raised. And the issues range from the security issue, which is paramount, to issues of participation, to the quality of their lives, to their representation and decision making. It’s a range of issues. And I think to the extent that there is a more robust discussion of those issues, it has to devolve ultimately to the betterment of their situation.

QUESTION: Like women in parliament, did they gather around and show some sort of a support for these candidates?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: For the women candidates?

QUESTION: Did (inaudible) have any reservations? Yes.

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, the parliamentary elections will be coming up and they will be running themselves. But the women in parliament have become much more sophisticated in terms of the role that they play, in terms of the issues that they are putting forward. For example, there’s a law for the elimination of violence against women, which is a critical piece of legislation that has been undergoing review, a satisfactory review to this point, and will shortly be within the committee process in the parliament where the women, among others, need to be playing a very significant leadership role.

QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. WOOD: Right here, please.

QUESTION: Thank you, Ambassador. My name is Monica Gabriel. I’m with CNSNews.com. My question is: Have you noticed a conflict between steps being taken to defend against human rights violations and inequality, and Afghan women’s desire to protect Afghan culture and even their Muslim faith? And if so, what steps are being taken to deal with that?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, that kind of reconciliation between particularly religious views in the culture and with progress are often viewed as somehow in opposition. But some of the progress that’s been made has been made thanks to mullahs, who take up these issues in their Friday services in a very constructive way. Violence against women is not something that is condoned in the Koran. Women’s economic participation fits in with Khajida and her role in terms of the history of the religion with the prophet.

So there are – religion in and of itself is not the problem. It’s what extremists and others do to say that religion condones this kind of horrific behavior to women. And so I see more and more women using their religion in a very positive way to support the kind of progress they want to see occur. I see more women joining them in that progress, particularly some of the success with the mullahs. But that’s not to say that there isn’t a long road to go.

QUESTION: Right. And when you spoke of reorienting programs, are programs such as family planning programs part of it? And if so, does that meet some kind of cultural faith-based opposition?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: That does not seem – the family planning issue has not risen, to my knowledge, as an issue in that category. But women’s health, and related to that family planning, is a very critical issue. Women suffer the highest – or second highest mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, in Afghanistan. The lifespan for women is 40-some years. One out of every four children dies below the age of five. So there are very, very, very serious health issues that have to be addressed. A lot of the work we’re doing, in fact, goes to those issues. That’s why I met with the minister of health, who has got a real serious effort that’s gone forward.

Certainly, we have, in the 13 PRTs in which we’re engaged to put a focus on that, working with the ministry and other governments are doing that in the areas in which they are engaged, as well as the multilateral institutions. So this is a very big challenge in the country, the quality of health generally, but particularly the health of women and children.
MR. WOOD: The last two questions, Lach and then Jill.

QUESTION: Okay. I’m Lachlan Carmichael from AFP. Hi, Ambassador. I just wanted to check that you’re on the same wavelength with people at the local and national levels in Afghanistan. Do (inaudible) accept easily your point that women’s development is key – sorry, including women is key to the nation’s development, or the corollary that if they fail to include women, they’ll have – hamper development?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, I guess it depends who you talk to. Some people implement it vigorously, and others don’t pay any attention to it. So I think it is something that we need to put forward more vigorously, which is what we’re doing, which is one of the reasons I made the trip. It is really critical to seeing progress in Afghanistan, and it is – it’s got to work in mesh with everything else that we’re doing. But --

QUESTION: Who doesn’t see it that way? Can you --

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, obviously, you can look at the evolution of what’s happening in the country, and there are forces that are resistant, clearly. But I think if people see more progress at all levels, men and women, then this is going to be something that we might call a no-brainer.

QUESTION: You’re saying it’s not at the provincial level, that they don’t see it?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: I think more has to be done at the national level, just as more has to be done at the provincial and local levels. But where it’s happening, there is a lot of coming together in a successful way.

MR. WOOD: Last question, Jill.

QUESTION: Thank you. Jill Dougherty from CNN. Civilian development is so important to the strategy in Afghanistan. And when you were on the ground actually seeing what’s going on, was there anything that changed your mind about the strategy as it’s being carried out right now, anything that you would change? And if there’s feedback, how do you formally present that – to the Secretary, to the President, or how does that happen?

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Well, one of the things that was reinforced on the ground is how critical it is for people at the very local level to see change in their lives, to be able to have a livelihood, to be able to care for their families, to be able to not feel threatened in terms of their well-being from the conflict that surrounds them. So that, and I think the fact that we are moving more and more of our efforts to that level, is something that we have heard and seen and are responding to. So that’s really important.

In terms of ongoing feedback, we are now speaking to a wide range of Afghans both in the capital, beyond the capital, in the provinces. And they know, both in terms of working with increasing numbers of members of the Embassy staff who are moving out across the country, as well as to us and others who are in direct contact with them, that they’ve got an open line to tell us how it’s going, where the progress is coming, what the setbacks are, what the obstacles are, and how we might better help them in the future.

MR. WOOD: Thank you all.

AMBASSADOR VERVEER: Thank you.
# # #

Today the World Mourns A Pedophile

And the media idolizes him as well. He bred children to rape. He paid off family after family whose boys he sodomized. And in his adulation we see how much the right to lifers really value children.

Filth and corruption comes from child abuse and child abuse produced Michael Jackson, the wealthy man who was allowed to rape children at will because money can buy anything in the corporation of the United States of America.

In the meantime, people who fought for freedom are being tortured in the dark and bloody cells of Iran. Silence - the media is rhapsodizing over a dead pedophile.

The Whole World is Watching

Please wear green bracelets to show solidarity with the Freedom Fighters in Iran. Do not intellectualize and rationalize in order to kiss Obama feet although it is true that the only people with good jobs in the US are working for the government. Be brave - wear the green cloth.

Thanks to Uppity Woman for this video.

NOW IS OVER

The anti choice, Palin, Prejean, Transgender Rights, people beat the Woman of Color slate in NOW by 8 votes and we are supposed to care. The anti choice women say,we are sick of abortion being the only issue, we are not against Roe but let the states decide what restrictions they want to impose and no tax dollars for abortion. Later it will be contraception. Be reasonable, the anti choice NOW women say, - too many women have been excluded because of the rigid affirmation of a woman's right to choose. Sara Palin is for choice - really! REALLY all that stuff people say about her born again politics is just LIES -- her daughter? You should not talk about her daughter's hypocrisy, I mean, transformation.

Neither of those NOW slates will/would do anything for women's RIGHTS except dilute what exists now. Neither has called for action for women in Iran; just as during the war they could not open their mouths for Muslim women lest they offend their democrat party. Now they say Obama is just right on veils and Iran. NEOCONS, the left democrats faux feminists say---oooo shiver --the revolution in Iran is all an evil neo con plot to embarrass Obama.

The so called neo conservatives were the only group in the history of this country who made the status of women an issue in foreign policy decisions. Condi Rice was and is the only Sec of State who made the status of women an actual priority, not just talk, in the state dept. The feminist movement might have joined them and corrected deficiencies but no -they were silent. Now they say they are in the State Dept working on "more comprehensive" programs. But HERE is the moment and once again they are silent and this time receiving actual pay for their silence.

All the crap on Allegre about how Hillary is going to perform for women is just empty cheerleading. Here is the moment and Hillary is silent while her sexist boss dithers and fails the women of Iran unlike other foreign leaders. And the NOW lurches along beside them, carefully turning their eyes, using NEOCON as their excuse to betray women AGAIN! What decent woman can stomach these politicians?

The woman who won, O'Neill, ran the direct mail campaign for donations for NOW. Many of us wrote all over those mailing - nothing came of it - they went in NOW's garbage. NOW does not poll the membership on financial priorities and most of the money goes to pay national staff. The presidency is a $200,000.00 a year job and there is money in donations and memberships. That is what the NOW elections were about not all the crap they are saying to get your money. What will they do? Nothing except become an embarrassment to feminists. They will become as the NAACP is today for blacks, a relic with vultures sitting on the funds.

They promise the ERA will be their priority. The ERA does not mention Woman or Women - this it what it says:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

O'Neill, the new NOW president savior spent the last few years working on a transgender rights bill which passed. Can you Guess what the ERA campaign is going to uncover and can you imagine the anti-choice amendment the new NOW will stick on it? Just so it can pass for their new NOW constituency.

Start your own organizations on new models - be like dandelions - spread everywhere in small or large cell groups of friends in each city - keep in touch on line -- use list serves and do similar actions around a common theme that unites you. Have fun - ignore Roberts Rules of Order. Ignore Order - be wild and unorganized.

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that most younger women do not understand the feminist objection to transsexualism being funded with women's movement money. I am not going to explain it - read read read feminist classics for you get pap in the writings of the third wave. To understand the feminist analysis of transgender/sexual ism, read:
The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male (Athene Series) (Paperback). It is important to get the new edition with the new introduction that addresses the post modern criticism of the book and updates you on the doctors.
From the publisher:
Fifteen years ago, when it was first published, "The Transsexual Empire" challenged the medical psychiatric definition of transsexualism as a disease and sex conversion hormones and surgery as the cure. It exposed the anti feminist stereotyping that requires candidates for transsexual surgery to prove themselves by conforming to subjective, outdated and questionable feminine roles and "passing" as women.

Then as now, defining and treating transsexualism as a medical problem prevents the person experiencing so-called gender dissatisfaction from seeing it in a gender-challenging or feminist framework. Transsexualism goes to the question of what gender is, how to challenge it, and what reinforces gender stereotyping in a role-defined society.

In the new introduction to this feminist work, Raymond discusses how these same issues are now debated in the context of transgender. Transgenderism reduces gender resistance to wardrobes, hormones, surgery and posturing - anything but real sexual equality.

It assimilates the roles and definitions of masculinity and femininity, often mixing and matching, but never really moving beyond both. In a similar way, transsexualism is thought to be a radical challenge to gender roles, breaking the boundaries of gender and transgressing its rigid lines. But if the transsexual merely exchanges one gender role for another, and if the outcome of such a sex reassignment is to endorse a femininity which, in many transsexuals, becomes a caricature of much that feminists have rejected about many-made femininity, then where is the challenge, the transgression, and the breaking of any real boundaries?

This book will be used as a text in women's studies, psychology, sociology, technology and public policy, as well as by medical students, law students, and all who have an interest in feminist issues.

From an email on the subject:

I remember at the college I went to there was a survey of gender identity and the men were more ambiguous in gender identity and the women tended toward a more masculine (strong and assertive?) identity. I don't know how relevant that is but it seemed to reflect a kind of reality. I've always felt that gender identity was less fixed and along a continuum

This is truth and why we cannot let the profiteers butcher away the truth of human nature - the differences between the sexes are not as great as the boys would like -- yes there is a continuum with masculine at one end and feminine at the other but there are women on both ends and men on both ends and radical feminists say; that is the truth and sex role stereotyping is the lie -- therefore no one should be excluded because of biology and where their nature places them on the continuum as long as they do not attempt to lie or deceive women as to what sex they are naturally. All people should have equal rights and responsibilities regardless of where they are on the gender continuum -- this means we accept feminine men -- we do not force them to hack off their penis to fit into a male defined sex role.

About 4 % of babies are genuinely sex dissociative and I believe in the operation for them. The rest of the transgender nation is women with mothers who sexualized the parental relationship and men with fathers who did same and or homosexual individuals, none of whom can openly express their sexuality or deal with their psychological issues; none of whom see accepting your nature as differing from mass culture is a political act which makes the world more authentic and the truth/answers possible about root parenting behaviors.

Where you give money is a political act. Pay attention and reject those who tell you to give up your rights for the big tent. There is no big tent but if you do not fight for them, your rights will be gone. Only our votes matter and that is the system that needs reform. Working class people are losing democracy through a two party system that is really one corporate party.

Songs of the New Dawn in Iran

I offer this for Iran; slightly adapted from the work of P. R. Sarkar from his Songs of the New Dawn


They have broken down, weeping
They are red with blood
Those who have lost all
Have broken down in despair.

Let them bathe in their ocean of light
Restore their trampled dignity
Remove all their deprivations
Refresh their will for self-determination
Fulfill all their needs

And as for U S

With our hearts overflowing
Let us give them Love
Let us give them respect
Let us see their truth and beauty
and condemn those who use violence against them.

Let the sufferings of each
Be healed by all
For we are one species and
the earth is our one mother.

Wear Green Ribbons For Iran

On June 22th, 2009,






Read Chesler on Sarkozy vs Obama on The Burqa

President Nicholas Sarkozy stated that he viewed the full-body burqa and niquab as a sign of the “debasement” of women and that it won’t be welcome in France.

According to the glorious Sarkozy:

“In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity … The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement — I want to say it solemnly, it will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.”

Now, contrast Sarkozy’s words with what President Obama said in Cairo on June 4th, 2009.

“Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one’s religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.
read more here..................

Best Comment:

29. Tina Trent:

Obama is untroubled by the troubling strain of misogyny that runs through the left in America, and this is one of his most frightening attributes.

Through working in politics, I gradually came to realize that the self-identified leftists simply despised women — a hysterical contempt that began with the Herb Aptheker-era activists who shaped the president’s political philosophy.

Totalitarianism is now strongest in those states where “liberation” and “justice” movements hinge on oppression of women. Obama not only doesn’t recognize this: he supports it.

Tim Maguire may feel that wearing the burka is a neutral personal choice: it is not. It is an expression of hatred and contempt for all women and especially those who do not wear it. It stands for enforcing a code on all women, unlike most other religious orders’ garb.

It also shows how far American feminism has fallen that they (selectively) cannot attach a negative value to the submission of women.

For the best coverage of the Iran revolution on feminist blogs go to:

Uppity Woman and Angry for A Reason

Today on the Summer Solstice salute those who are going to death and torture for freedom's sake.

NEDA

The Divine Calling

On your way to the stadium
what bright light impels you
forward
even though
they have the force and the power
even though
you know you
are betrayed.

As you splashed cold water
on your face this morning
did you hear
the cadence ring?
What music
for warrior priests?

I am nothing here
no help for you
but I know

I know what they have done
Here and there.
I know who has betrayed you
Who will try to crush you
Silence you.

They are the same
here and there.
Smiling faces, civil and courteous,
here and there,
even as they pull you up slowly
with the crane.

They buy and sell us
health care reform
which profits the insurance and pharmaceutical industry.
The poor are sweated to pay
while Medicare is depleted.

Free money for Wall Street
pink slips for workers
losing everything
to the predatory lenders
dying and blinded from disease that
the rich have conquered
taking our homes for taxes
drugs the only escape
living among the killers they send
to our quiet neighborhoods.

I know who they are
what they have done
and what they will do to you today.

I know we are one people
and you are showing the way,
leading the way.

I am with you
will be with you
soon we all will be with you
for they have destroyed democracy there
and here, our votes worthless.

The light which impels you
is growing with your blood sacrifice
spreading
to and through the weary
workers of the world
Your courage is
contagious.

May the puzzled weary faces of the defeated
smooth into resolve
as we watch
as the whole world watches
today.

Obama turns away
don't want them to think the US
is taking sides
his personal media outlets
ever the lapdogs of power
go dark
they bring us Angelina Jolie and Casey and Caylee Anthony and Jon & Kate
and the CIA lies and Henry Kissinger and street people who say, it is not a Revolution, it is a civil rights march. Listen to the march leaders, they say, ignoring the fact that march leaders have been conveniently silenced leaving interpretations to Hamas loving Berkley students who say,
Really the people do not want regime change.

Do not worry about Obama's media sisters
your blood
calls out to us
beyond their power to distort and smear.
People to people
woman to woman
we hear you and
understand your sacrifice.

Today FOX News mourns the death of the "free" markets
and warns of socialized medicine and
calls the murdered doctor who stood with women
Nazi baby killer
while you die at
the hands of real Nazi killers.
Yet, FOX has gone to
constant coverage of Iran's martyrs
while others turn away.

Obama turns away
he wanted to talk with the Nazi.
Made Hillary wear a veil to show
it is fine with him
and his catholic advisers
Obama's version of choice for women
No Problem.

Black leaders ignoring
their own history to make apologies
for Obama's betrayal.
Obama who never walked into tear gas
or dogs
or water cannons
or clubs.

Hillary's State Dept tells the press
these protesters want to move away from military dictatorship
into strict Islamic religious law
that is what the old men at
the CIA tell them.
So they cover the
shame of their betrayal.

Pay no attention my sisters
we the people know why you are giving your life today
and it is not for the veil
Obama's veil of shame.

You are dying for freedom
You are shouting for freedom
You are raising your hands to grab at freedom
the end of shame
the end of lies You are chanting
Do not be afraid
we are all together
Victory to you my sisters

Don't look to Obama
He is just talk covering
another theocrat.
He bows to the Saudi princes
who hold women as slaves.
Obama bows to them.

Look to the British, and the French.

The true leader of the opposition
is a woman
and has
an army
the US bombed to appease the mullahs
who gave nothing but derision
in return.
Maryam-rajavi

Do not be afraid

We are all together.

Thank You
sisters and brothers and sisters
of the light.

Tomorrow I will wear a green ribbon on my wrist.
Let everyone see those of us who are not afraid to be with you
despite Obama and his pretense at wisdom
which is only the apeasement of power
to which he bows
low.

Help Iran

Public Statement

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (617) 590-1665 OR press@wfafi.org

Women protesting for change and paying the price with their livesOver the past several days, the world community has seen first hand what the Iranian people, especially women, are willing to do for a free and democratic Iran.

The price of freedom has taken lives of many in recent days, including several women. Thousands have been arrested and taken to notorious torture chambers of the Iranian regime in various cities.

Among those women have lost their lives, are:

- Fatemeh Barati killed in University of Tehran

- Mina Ehterami killed in University of Tehran

- Zohreh Peeshdadian stabbed to death in the suburb of Karaj

According to the latest report from Iran, at least 58 people have been killed and more than 200 people have been kidnapped in the last 72 hours.

The fact is the post-election rallies and protests speak of a much larger movement for real change that has now erupted and it is clearing any doubts about the undemocratic and fundamentalist nature of the regime in Iran. It is shameless to be silent and not speak in support of the Iranian people. It is shameless to place "national security interests" before speaking out in defense of basic human rights.

President Obama must take a much tougher stance in response to the Iranian movement. He should stand on the side of the Iranian people who shout "down with the dictatorship." Washington's focus must be on Iranian's outcry and not the regime in power.

The US President is correct to assume there is no difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. In addition to their joint position on nuclear issue and terrorism as pillars of Iran's foreign policy, both Ahmadinejad and Mousavi were directly and indirectly engaged in:
- The 1980 engineering of "Cultural Revolution" in the universities and the subsequent crackdown on all opposition groups and student leaders from 1981- 1987 which led to mass arrests and executions, including execution of pregnant women, 9-year-old girl and 70-year-old grandmother.

- The 1988 massacre of political prisoners which led to execution of thousands including many women.

- The chain killings of the writers and intellectuals with at least 133 people killed, mostly in Tehran, during the 1990's.

- The worldwide assassination of exiled political opponents which took lives of at least 210 people from 1991 to 1997.

- The crushing of student movement, mass arrests and executions in the summer of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
- The crackdown and mass arrest of women on International Women's Day in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

- The weekly public hanging including several hangings and stoning of women in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Therefore, it is unacceptable to attribute what is happening in Iran to just an outcry over the recent election results. There are much more radical dynamics on the ground than what is reported in the western media about Iran. Based on the reports Women's Forum has received from Iran, the banners reading "where is my vote", is not in support of Mousavi, rather it is a direct challenge to electoral process and the 'republic' claim of this regime.

The silent march and ongoing protests are not "pro- Mousavi rallies", rather people are using the political opportunity that has presented itself given the infighting among the theocratic factions of this regime.

Iranian people are demanding real change by rejecting this regime in its entirety. As the message of real change becomes louder, Mousavi will face a choice of either settling with the theocratic regime or pay the price just as the people in the streets face bullets and violence.

There is no doubt the Iranian regime will escalate the current conflict with more suppression and violence in coming days. The world community has a choice to stand in silence or speak in support of the Iranian people and their desire for an internationally monitored election.

This is a call that has also been renewed by the exiled leader of Iran's main opposition group, Maryam Rajavi. Let us hope Washington is taking notes.

________________________________________
email: press@wfafi.org
Media Inquiry: (202) 726-3653
web: http://www.wfafi.org

Don't Just Watch: Freedom Is Calling For Help

PLAY/LISTEN TO BOTH OF THESE AT THE SAME TIME

THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING

Iran and North Korea

This revolution for democracy in Iran is monumental. We ought to be arming the people - ought to be sending in the women’s army we have marginalized to the camps at the border.

RECOUNT OF "SOME" BALLOTS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE -- LET INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS COUNT ALL THE BALLOTS IN A NEW ELECTION -- FREE ALL THOSE ARRESTED.

Now is the time to help anyway you can!

The same so called feminists who did not support the liberation of women in Iraq and Afghanistan are now supporting Hillary and Obama in doing nothing. Patience they say because their heroes support the dictators by refusing to act. Soon the word feminist will stink to the heavens. Don't follow leaders. Support this democrat revolution in Iran. Pressure our so called leaders to support it. Stop parroting the male left who never met a sexist oppressor they did not love. Women support Women! Stop whining about the Carrie Prejeans of the world and support women who are braving torture and dying for freedom. Let the world know we are on the side of any people who fight for democracy. There are many ways from diplomacy to global united actions to arming the revolution. DO SOMETHING! DO EVERYTHING! Speeches are not enough except for the Obama/Clinton groupies.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986213,00.html
Read the woman's army leader's blog Here.
NEWS ON HER BLOG
Iran: At least 10 protesters killed and hundreds injured
Monday, 15 June 2009
Mrs. Rajavi calls for formation of international mission to investigate the deaths and arrests
In yet another criminal act, agents of the Revolutionary Guards on Monday afternoon killed at least one protester in Tehran and injured many others.
Read more...

Iran: Barbaric raid on Tehran hospital to arrest the wounded, medical staff resist
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Agents of the regime’s notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security and anti-riot forces launched an inhumane raid on Tehran’s Hezar Takhtekhabi Hospital at 01.30 am on Sunday to arrest those injured during clashes on Saturday. The agents assaulted the medical staff there. The suppressive forces continued with their pressures until 03.30 am when they were finally forced to leave following resistance by the medical staff and the relatives of those injured. In the course of the standoff, treatment for the injured had to be put on hold even as the number of injured people transferred to the hospital increased.
Read more


FROM Women Against Fundamentalism in Iran,

Iran election protester details encounter with riot police militiamen
Iran election protester details encounter with riot police, militiamen 15 June 2009 The Los Angeles TimesBy Borzou Daragahi

A bag that an activist left with strangers during a Tehran protest against election results leads to an interview in which she recounts a frantic search for her brother and beatings by police.Anousheh's hazel eyes burned from the smoke. She caught her breath. Up the boulevard, amid the hazy din, the riot police were beating people with batons and threatening others.

Screams erupted, as young men and women ran for cover.

The 29-year-old Iranian interior designer and her brother, Babak, had just been up there, at the northern end of Tehran's Africa Boulevard, where the crowds were chanting, "Death to the dictator!" -- a burgeoning mass of hundreds of people protesting alleged vote count fraud in the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

As bearded, truncheon-wielding Ansar-e Hezbollah militiamen began storming the gathering crowds, Anousheh and Babak sprinted down the street, losing sight of each other in the chaos. She searched for him on side streets with no luck.

She thought about going back home, but knew there was no way her protective big brother would leave the scene without first finding her. She imagined him lying in agony on the roadway, or locked up in a wagon and taken to prison, perhaps Evin and its solitary confinement wing, where she said her mother had spent 40 grueling days in 2003.

Before going back into the crowd and risking arrest or a beating, she decided to jettison her backpack, which contained a digital camera packed with potentially provocative images of stone-throwing demonstrators, a wallet full of identification cards, and her and her brother's cellphones, with numbers of all their contacts. "Can you please take this?" she said to a group of strangers sitting in a car, observing the unrest ahead. "I need to find my brother."

The baffled passengers took the bag, opened it quickly to be make sure the contents were not dangerous, and watched as she sprinted back into the melee, a solitary figure in a beige coat and light green head scarf. READ MORE in their newsletter - scroll way down the page.

Iran E-Zan Newsletter
June 15, 2009

With the widespread protests in full swing, Iranians are sending a strong message to the world that there is no republic in the "Islamic Republic of Iran". Iranians live under a system of theocracy which makes mockery of democratic processes such as elections. Still, the doubtful White House refuses to call the recent elections in Iran a sham and rigged because it is pinning is hope on negotiation even with the unelected and Supreme-Leader-selected Ahmadinejad.

The fact is, theocracy has been in full swing since 1981. Over the past four years, many have come to know what Ahmadinejad is all about, the excitement is now over the new guy, Mirhossein Mossavi. A quick glance on history of crackdowns, massacres and wave of suppression, however, implicates both Ahmadinejad and the so-called "opposition candidate" Mossavi.

Both men were directly and indirectly engaged in:

- The 1980 engineering of "Cultural Revolution" in the universities and the subsequent crackdown on all opposition groups from 1981-1986 which led to mass arrests and executions, including execution of pregnant women, 9-year-old girl and 70-year-old grandmother.

- The 1988 massacre of political prisoners which led to killings of thousands including many women. - The chain killings of the writers and intellectuals with at least 133 people killed, mostly in Tehran, during the 1990's.

- The worldwide assassination of exiled political opponents which took lives of at least 210 people from 1991 to 1997.

- The crushing of student movement, mass arrests and executions in the summer of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

- The crackdown and mass arrest of women on International Women's Day in 2004, 2005, and 2006

- The weekly public hanging including several hangings and stoning of women in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

So, even if the Supreme Leader, Khameini, would have sanctioned Mossavi's presidency, he is still responsible for his crimes against the Iranian people given the above glimpse into his past. One has to keep in mind that the post-election protests in Iran is not about Mossavi. It is about rejecting the regime in its entirety.

As the demonstrators shout "down with dictatorship", they are taking advantage of the opportunity of regime's infighting to press for their demands and desire. Unfortunately, the mainstream western media and analysts have failed to recognize this glaring fact.

The world community must look beyond Mossavi and take note of the message that is coming from the Iranian people. It is time to isolate the regime and recognize its illegitimacy of all its factions. It is unacceptable that as Iranian people paying the the price of freedom with their lives, the world continues to "monitor the situation" in silence.

Washington needs to be reminded that democracy is more than the mocked elections that just took place in Iran. The ongoing protests is about human rights, equality, respect for civil society, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association and that is the weapon Iranians are using against the regime in Tehran.

Iran Freedom Fighters Need Help

They are beating the press - they are torturing the protesters - tying them up in stress positions and leaving them in the basement torture cells the press must leave tomorrow -- put out the drones -- don't let the country go black while the sharia police repress the people fighting for democracy.

The people of Iran need guns and armor NOW!

For the Women of Iran: May You Be Free

From Songs blog



Song has posted a terrible beautiful video you must hear and see. If you have come here you will want to go there

The dead-can-dance-the-host-of-seraphim

To The Brave Women Of Iran

We are with you and admire you. May you find in this election some relief from the misery you are forced to live under because of the religious fundamentalists who have taken power by force in your homeland. We are watching and are with you in spirit. May you be free.
--------------------------------------------
Everyone Knew They Would Do It - Liars Hypocrits Lack Any Real Ethics - Their morality police will club the people.
THE BRAVE PEOPLE ARE IN THE STREETS
US WOMEN MUST SUPPORT THEM AND DEMAND OUR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT THEM

They stole the election in Iran. They have rigged elections and taken the people's democracy. The people know it. Now there is only reform of the electorial vote, meaning supervised by NATO (they cannot trust the Saudi controled UN) or revolution.

-----------------------------------------------------

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- There's no doubt that Iran's election will be a major test for incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But many Iranian women hope the results will also shake the current status of women in the Islamic republic.


Zahra Rahnavard, wife of Iranian candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi, has taken a visible role in the campaign.

"Thirty-four million women demand to have female Cabinet ministers; 34 million women demand to be eligible to run for president," Zahra Rahnavard, wife of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

"Thirty-four million women want the civil law to be revised; 34 million women want the family law revised."

Whether her husband wins or loses Friday, Rahnavard has broken barriers for women just by appearing on the campaign trail with her husband, a rarity for political wives in Iran.

"We look at her, and we say, 'We want to be like her in the future,' " said Shakiba Shakerhosseie, an Iranian woman who packed into Tehran's indoor Azadi (Freedom) sports stadium along with nearly 12,000 others to hear Rahnavard speak in March.

Rahnavard is a mother of three, as well as an accomplished artist and academic. She has been compared to first ladies in the United States, including Michelle Obama, for her visible role in her husband's quest for the presidency.

"I am here to say that men and women are equal," Rahnavard said.

Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was forced into exile. The revolution also ended the ceremonial role of first lady that the last queen, Farah, enjoyed.

Commentary: Iranians favor U.S. peace deal
More women than men have voted in the past few elections, and Rahnavard has made a promise to her female supporters that their vote will count this time if Moussavi wins.

"We have made this promise to the women, and we will stand by it," she said.

Iranian women remain second-class citizens in criminal matters, divorce, child custody and inheritance cases, despite making up 65 percent of university students. Ahmadinejad's fundamentalist government has tried to make it easier for men to take more than one wife while restricting public sector careers for women.

This year, for the first time, the Guardian Council announced that a woman could legally be among the final candidate list. Out of the 42 women who registered, however, none was ultimately allowed to stand.

Even Zahra Eshraghi, granddaughter of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini, was banned from running for parliament as a reformist.

"For Ahmadinejad's government, women are just living things," Eshraghi said. "A woman is there to fill her husband's stomach and raise children." Watch one analyst talk about women in Ahmadinejad's Iran »

Moussavi is not the only candidate calling for a stronger role for women in Iran. Mehdi Karroubi, the only cleric in the presidential race, has promised to campaign for women's rights. Hard-line conservative candidate Mohsen Rezaie also said he would have female ministers if he wins the election.

Political science professor Mohammad Marandi downplayed Rahnavard's impact on the outcome of Friday's election. He said she may win over reformists and women, but what will win the election is a solution to the floundering economy and a strong performance in the debates. iReport.com: Iranians rally in large numbers

"If Ahmadinejad does well in the debates, I don't think anyone will be able to defeat him," Marandi said.

But try selling that to Rahnavard's enthusiastic supporters.

"This is the first time after the revolution we see a lady behind the president," Farhad Mahmoudi said. "And this is why we're so happy, because we can have a first lady."

Burka Fashion Show

Read Chesler

All feminists are disgusted by Barrack Hussein Obama's filthy sexist attitude toward the slave clothes of Muslim women and his filthy sexist comments implying that they freely chose to confine themselves by "choice" "choosing" to wear the veil. Immediately afterward Hillary appeared on western TV with a head scarf in front of a Mosque. Condi Rice never stooped to wear a head covering. Only the Democrat Obama groupies would demean their self and betray free women that way to obey their leader, just as they did during his election. Obama is destroying democracy. He is worse than Bush for women. He has knowingly appointed an anti choice woman to the Supreme Court and his Secretary of State is freely choosing to cover her hair like a slave to the patriarchy.


Please read Phyllis Cheslers latest post: Obama Throws Muslim Women Under the Bus

...And, when it comes to diplomacy, reciprocity is even more important than relativism. Why do Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wear “shmattas” when they accompany the President to Saudi Arabia or when they meet with Syria’s President (whose own wife does not cover her hair?) Surely, since this is the case, we would expect the (non-existent) Arab Muslim female diplomats to the West or at least the male diplomat’s wives to follow Western customs when they are in the West.

However, this is not what they do. In fact, David Rusin, at IslamistWatch has just posted a piece titled “Hijab bullies want everyone to cover up.” He notes that a British Muslim dentist in the UK refuses to treat women who are not wearing hijab—not even if they are in pain; and that a schoolteacher assistant of Pakistani descent in Norway has tricked six year old girls into wearing hijab because, they were told, it would make them “prettier.”

Rusin’s conclusion:
”People like (the dentist) and the pushy classroom helper (in Norway) thus provide a service of sorts. By crossing a line that wiser Islamists do not cross, they expose Islamism for what it is: a radical ideology whose adherents will prolong tooth discomfort and pressure six-year-olds in order to have their way. (Thanks Rosanne Klass for calling this article to my attention).

....here’s what Ayaan Hirsi Ali had to say in an interview with Jeb Golinkin for the New Majority.

ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS:

President Obama’s speech didn’t do much for Muslim women. He defended their rights in Western countries to wear the hijab. He didn’t touch on Muslim women being confined, being forced into marriages or being victims of honor killings: These traditions and principles in the Koran and in Islam are being practiced in the West. He didn’t address that.

I think he was just appeasing the Muslim world because they perceive–they have these notions that Muslim women in Western countries–are not allowed to wear the headscarf or cover themselves. I mean you can wear whatever you want in the United States.

In Egypt where he spoke, women who do not wear their veil in public are subjected to very obscene remarks on the street and even sexual assault. Nowadays, even if they are covered they become victims of the same things: That is, in public, in Egypt, as a woman, you run 80% of the time the risk of being assaulted simply because you are a woman walking down the street.

They are forced into marriages; their testimony in countries where Sharia is law is just half of that of a man. They can be divorced with no rights. They need guardians, a married guardian or they cannot sign any legal papers. The President simply did not address Sharia or Islamic law in relation to women.

In his speech in Cairo, President Obama threw Muslim women under the bus. He threw Muslim feminists, reformers, and dissidents under the next bus. Obviously, I will return to this subject soon again.....................READ MORE HERE

Obama's Inner Muslim veils Hillary on Mideast tour and appoints anti choice person to HSS

On the day hundreds attended services for Dr Tiller, murdered by the right to life movement and their media allies, I found out Obama appointed an anti choice Catholic to DHSS who vows to cut women's access to abortion clinics. ARE WE STILL HEARING THE RATIONALIZATIONS FROM SO CALLED FEMINISTS ABOUT OBAMA NOT ASKING SOTOMAYOR THE CATHOLIC HER VIEWS ON ABORTION AND THE REASONING IN ROE ?

BO DID NOT ASK BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE ANSWER.

Did not ask Sotomayer because he does not want an expansion of women's rights. Did not ask because he is a sexist.

Hillary wore a head covering on his Mideast tour because she is an opportunist. BO gave a speech about how OK it is to cover your face head and body if you WANT to and Hillary obligingly put on the slave clothes to make his point. Bo also said the thing Muslims should do for women is education. He did not mention the honor killings, stoning, beatings and slave status under law. He doesn't seem to know much or care much about female slavery or even the working class rights as compared to his Wall Street friends. Oh well, those working hicks are just afraid of floods of illegal immigrants taking their jobs and are clinging to guns.

Get over it free women. We are on our own. Feminist groups better act like they have a commitment to women, not the self aggrandizing Democrat Party or their 10 remaining members will also be gone. Hillary - never again.

This is from Alegre's corner. Alegre will defend Hillary until her death seeming regardless of anything Hillary does to betray women --- no women's rights work in the state dept - covering her head in the land of the patriarchs --kissing BO's rear... but Alegre has a good blog and you should read her posts.

Anti-Choice Nominee for HHS Post
by: Alegre
Thu Jun 04, 2009 at 21:56:25 PM EDT

Bad idea - even worse timing. The president is looking to reduce the need for abortion, but his anti-choice nominee has vowed to reduce ACCESS to abortions.

Disturbing doesn't begin to describe this latest move from the White House - especially given the elevated role of this office now that we have a Democrat in the Oval Office.

One would think that - given his campaign rhetoric - he would do his best to remove barriers to women in accessing whatever legal health care services we care to seek out.

From Sarah Posner of the American Prospect...
ABORTION FOE TO LEAD HHS FAITH-BASED OFFICE President Obama has appointed Alexia Kelley, executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good (CACG), to head the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Health and Human Services. ... Kelley has made clear that she seeks instead to reduce access to abortion.

"As Catholics for Choice points out in its press release criticizing the pick, "the Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for providing and expanding access to key sexual and reproductive health services. As such, we need those working in HHS to rely on evidence-based methods to reduce the need for abortion. We need them to believe in men's and women's capacity to make moral decisions about their own lives. Unfortunately, as seen from her work at CACG, Ms. Kelley does not fit the bill."

That is an extremely disturbing development, especially coming this week in the wake of George Tiller's assassination.

Under George W. Bush, the faith-based centers didn't play a policy role. But Obama has expanded the faith-based project to include a policy side, and one of its chief goals is to reduce the need for abortion.

I have opposed this, because reproductive health is a public health, not a religious issue. Also problematic: It is counterproductive for Obama to appoint someone who disagrees with the administration's stance.

Obama finds himself now in the difficult position of having elevated the importance of religion to making policy, and having appointed a religious figure whose opinions on policy conflict with his.

Kelley and CACG have made clear they are committed to Catholic doctrine on abortion and birth control. CACG has supported the Pregnant Women's Support Act, aimed at stigmatizing abortion and making it less accessible.
I have a problem with this on so many levels I don't know where to start...

First: elevating a religious office to one involved in making healthcare policy - when Bush wouldn't even do that? Second: appointing someone who's diametrically opposed to your stated goals? Third: an anti-choice activist???!!??! Fourth: now? Just days after the cold blooded murder of Dr. George Tiller, who was one of the few doctors still willing to perform late-term abortions (a very legal procedure under certain circumstances)????

If the White House wanted to rub salt in the wounds of everyone who was shocked and angered by Dr. Tiller's assassination, he's just managed to do it with this nomination. File this one under what was he THINKING?

I know what he was thinking ..............

Comment on Alegre's post:
*[new] Did everyone else already see this? (0.00 / 0)
The White House, in talking points distributed Tuesday to senators, casts Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a model of judicial restraint who strictly adheres to precedent and is willing to take on abortion rights supporters and side with conservative judges.
http://www.politico.com/news/s...
Public Health Care is the New Cool

The White House, in talking points distributed Tuesday to senators, casts Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a model of judicial restraint who strictly adheres to precedent and is willing to take on abortion rights supporters and side with conservative judges.
The talking points, detailed in a memo obtained by POLITICO, are an attempt to combat conservative criticism of Sotomayor, a federal appellate judge, as a judicial activist who injects her personal feelings into court decisions that further her liberal agenda.
The memo — titled “SONIA SOTOMAYOR: A NONIDEOLOGICAL AND RESTRAINED JUDGE” — cites a 1998 New York Times story in which a conservative lawyer is quoted calling Sotomayor “exactly what conservatives want: a nonactivist judge who does not apply her own views but is bound by the law.”Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23272.html#ixzz0Hf5lzbUm&C

DOMESTIC TERRORISM FROM THOSE NOT NAMED IN THE HOMELAND SECURITY REPORT BY NAPOLITANO

George Tiller, Abortion Provider, Shot Dead in Church

Dr. George Tiller, a provider of second trimester abortions, was shot and killed inside the lobby of his Wichita, Kansas church, reports AFP and other media outlets. There are only three abortion providers who will do late term abortions and now there are only two. George Tiller, 67, was shot dead as he was walking into the Reformation Lutheran Church on the east side of town around 10 am this morning. George Tiller was pronounced dead at the scene. He is the fifth abortion provider to be murdered or maimed in the U.S. by those who love God and hold all life to be sacred.

It is worthy of note that Dr Tiller was persecuted and made to defend himself in court before his murder by the very legal system that ignored the threats on his life and left him unprotected from the frenzy the right wing prosecutor whipped up against him. This was a political witch hunt - a burning, and resulted in Tiller's death for which the prosecutor and his right wing supporters are morally responsible.

Tiller was exercising his legal right to preform abortions and like all the tolerated harassment of unnecessary delays, unscientific lectures, shouts and slurs, here the court lent itself to legal harassment with the purpose of destroying a citizen who offended the politics of a prosecutor making a career out of serving the religious right by attacking those who served the poor and disenfranchised. But a jury of citizens found him not guilty. Yet, there are no civil rights laws which allowed Tiller or his family to recoup his attorney fees and costs. The prosecutor knew there was no precedent for his criminal charges but there is no legal way to stop him and others like him. Thus, women's rights are under constant attack in a sexist society.

Tiller was the victim of violence before. On June 9, 1986 someone detonated a homemade bomb on the roof of his Wichita clinic. No one was hurt except for being terrorized. During the Summer of Mercy in 1991, protesters blocked the entrance to his facility before a federal judge ruled the protesters be arrested. Two years later, Dr. Tiller was shot outside his clinic the evening of August 19, 1993. His wounds were not life threatening. Abortion opponent Shelly Shannon was convicted of that shooting and sentenced to prison.

What more do you need to know these religious hypocrites are nothing more than misogynists who have no respect for women or human rights o??.
Every time you hear these fetus worshippers bleating about the sanctity of life, remember George Tiller. Remember a hero who gave his life for women and our freedom from slavery. Thank You Dr Tiller.

AND REMEMBER;
Dr. Barnett Slepian was shot and killed in his home in Amherst, New York .

Officer Robert Sanderson was killed during a clinic bombing in Birmingham, AL.

Emily Lyons, a nurse at the clinic was severely injured and still deaf and disfigured from the blast.

Dr. Jack Fainman was shot and injured in his home in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

An unnamed physician was shot at in his home in Rochester, New York.

Dr. Hugh Short was shot and injured in his home in Ancaster, Ontario.

Shannon Lowney and Leanne Nichols were shot and killed by John Salvi at two clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts. Five others were injured in the attacks.

Dr. Garson Romalis was shot and seriously wounded in his home in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dr. John Bay0ard Britton and his escort, James H. Barrett were shot and killed in front of a clinic in Pensacola, Florida

Dr. George Tiller was shot and injured by Rachelle Shannon at his clinic in Wichita, Kansas.

Dr. David Gunn was shot to death by Michael Griffin in Pensacola, Florida.

You must review the post at: Violence & Harassment at U.S. Abortion Clinics because murder is not all these people do - the danger providers live with daily is reflected in the amount of bombing detonated at the clinics. Which brings me to the point of this post. Homeland Security published,
Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano included only a footnote attached to the report wherein right wing extremism in the United States" is defined as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority. "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says.

First of all, MAY??? With the list of bombings and murders??? MAY INCLUDE??
Second, illegal immigration opponents, open border opponents, out and in sourcing opponents, fair trade advocates, animal rights groups and environmentalist activists have been specifically named, targeted and infiltrated by FBI undercover agents and not one of those groups has ever killed a human being. There has been some property damage to vacant facilities but not by animal rights groups which just free tortured animals. The full force of the government has been brought in prosecuting these groups under a bill written by the animal exploiters.

Yet, here is another murder by an abortion clinic terrorist who had been stopped previously with explosives in the back seat of his car.

I guess Napolitano's politics determine that fantasy immigration and animal rights terrorists must be prosecuted rather than those that kill and maim. Stopping illegal immigration is termed terrorism by those who want to use it to create a political base for the democratic party. But a woman's right to choose?

BO is too delicate to ask that question of his supreme court nominees.

We have right to know if this president is committed to women’s rights or just open borders, by testing his nominee's response to specific questions about the incremental challenges to Roe v Wade which limit its' application to poor, military and global women.

We want to assess her tolerance for limits to our right to control our bodies by unnecessary and anti scientific restrictions which limit the free access to abortion, the morning after pill and birth control by catholic hospitals and pharmacists.

How coy were BO's reassurances — he never asked, he says. Are we to admire his sensitivity and be shamed into also not asking?

The Supreme Court has ruled in REPUBLICAN PARTY OF MINNESOTA, et al., PETITIONERS v. SUZANNE WHITE, CHAIRPERSON, MINNESOTA BOARD OF JUDICIAL STANDARDS, et al, that we DO have the RIGHT to such info from judicial candidates - not specifically how they will rule in the future but if they agree or disagree that the reasoning is correct in prior decisions.

So there is no reason for BO not asking Sotomayor her position on Roe v Wade AND subsequent decisions. Except that he doesn’t want us to know.

Last, how many male respectables go over the line in the media to incite violence against Abortion providers. I feel Bill O'Reilly does. I like the way O'Reilly defends children from pedophile loving judges so it pained me to hear him incite violence against Dr. Tiller and I heard it twice.

It was disgusting and if i were a relative of Tiller I would look into a lawsuit.
Salon article, O'Reilly's campaign against murdered doctor
The Fox News star had compared Tiller to a Nazi, called him a "baby killer," and warned of "Judgment Day"

He accussed Tiller of being a millionaire from killing babies for any reason as long as women had the money -but he didn't talk about his trillionaire church making billions off the baby trade in adoption and the his catholic church's pedophilia that feeds off unrestrained breeding. O'Reilly did not talk about right wing prosecutors who bled the doctor of legal fees. Reilly did not talk about a killer who never supported any of the fetuses he killed for his belief in life.

You can honor Dr Tiller by helping poor women obtain needed abortions AND defeat the women haters by donating to fund a woman's abortion.

In Wisconsin, poor women face major obstacles in order to terminate pregnancies. Many of these women already have too many children and various medical problems. YOU can help if you have any extra income. The Women's Medical Fund collects donations to pay one half of poor women's abortions. 100% of your donation will go to these women - their books are open. You can read about the women's stories on their website.

SUPPORT THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT WHICH B OBAMA PROMISED TO SIGN WHEN HE WAS A CANDIDATE

From Wikipedia

The Freedom of Choice Act (H.R. 1964/S. 1173) was a bill in the 110th United States Congress which "declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child; terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or terminate a pregnancy after viability when necessary to protect her life or her health.
It prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices; or discriminating against the exercise of those rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. Provides that such prohibition shall apply retroactively.

It also authorizes an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act to obtain appropriate relief, including relief against a governmental entity, in a civil action."[1]
Earlier versions of the bill were introduced in 1989 and 1993.[2]

Findings
The bill states in its findings section that Congress has the affirmative power to legislate abortion based, in part, on the crossing of state lines by abortion providers, women seeking abortions, and medical supplies used in abortions.[citation needed]

[edit] Sponsorship
The Freedom of Choice Act was sponsored in the House of Representatives by Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and originally co-sponsored by Congressman James Greenwood, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, and Congresswoman Diana Degette. In the Senate, it was sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer, and originally co-sponsored by Senators Jon Corzine, Patty Murray, Frank Lautenberg, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Maria Cantwell, Jim Jeffords, Joseph Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, Paul Sarbanes, and Barbara Mikulski. The bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on January 21, 2004, and in the United States Senate on January 22, 2004.

[edit] Status
The bills were referred to the Judiciary Committees of the respective Houses. Neither bill received further action in the 108th Congress. The bills were reintroduced in the 110th Congress, but, like their predecessors, were referred to committee without further action. As of June 2009, the bills have not been introduced in the 111th Congress.

During his tenure in the United States Senate, Barack Obama co-sponsored the 2007 Senate version of the Freedom of Choice Act (S. 1173). Responding to a question regarding how he would preserve reproductive rights in a speech given to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund on July 17, 2007, Obama declared, "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do."[3]

In a press conference on April 29, 2009, President Obama said that although he supports a woman's right to choose, passage of the Freedom of Choice Act was "not highest legislative priority."[4]

[edit] Description
The bill is described by NARAL Pro-Choice America president Nancy Keenan as a bill to "codify Roe v. Wade" which would "repeal the Bush-backed Federal Abortion Ban," referring to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, "and other federal restrictions".[5] Opponents of FOCA assert that it would, if passed, invalidate every restriction on abortion nationwide, including parental notification laws, informed consent laws, and bans on partial birth abortion.[6] In the 50 American states, there are currently over 300 such laws.[citation needed]

Broccoli Kitten

WHAT FEMINIST MUST DO TO MAINTAIN REPRODUCTIVE CONTROL

Take Action: End Funding Restrictions on Abortion
FROM THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

A poor woman in Texas, relying on public assistance to make ends meet for her family, decides that she can’t continue an unwanted pregnancy. But a first-trimester abortion costs more than her monthly rent, and she soon finds out that Medicaid, which covers almost all other medically necessary health services, will not pay for it. So she puts off having an abortion until she has saved enough money for it, even though the longer she waits the costlier and riskier the procedure will be.

When abortion was first legalized in 1973, federal funds were available to low-income women on Medicaid who sought abortions. But four years later, Congress enacted the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion except under extremely limited circumstances: rape, incest, and danger to the mother’s life.

The Hyde Amendment has prevented millions of low-income women from making their own decisions about whether to have a child, forcing some to continue with a pregnancy even when it jeopardizes their health. According to the Guttmacher Institute, as many as 35% of women eligible for Medicaid who want an abortion will not be able to get one.

Many other women who rely on the federal government for health coverage—including women in federal prisons, federal employees, and Native American women—have also been deprived of their right to abortion. Washington, DC is prohibited by federal law from using even its own funds to cover abortion services for poor women. And women serving in the military can’t get abortions on their bases even with their own money.

A key goal of the Center’s Federal Policy Agenda is expanding access to abortion for all women, and we are calling on President Obama to strike these funding restrictions from his 2010 proposed budget. You can help us: Tell President Obama that the government should not intrude on a poor woman’s decision whether or not to continue a pregnancy.

In Wisconsin, poor women face major obstacles in order to terminate pregnancies. Many of these women already have too many children and various medical problems. YOU can help if you have any extra income. The Women's Medical Fund collects donations to pay one half of poor women's abortions. 100% of your donation will go to these women - their books are open. You can read about the women's stories on their website.

Sotomayor is not a victory for women's rights.

I am watching the usual suspects push the personal story of Sotomayor's life while ignoring her decisions on the second circuit. They are not talking much about attendance at the private and expensive elite universities but instead emphasizing the part about living in subsidized housing after her parents came to the US. Her mother came from Puerto Rico. I am less clear about her father who died when she was nine. Her mother, a nurse, is given credit for Sotomayor's success. She is always referred to as "a single mom" who worked two jobs. No further details available except that somewhere a stepfather appeared as he was mentioned at the announcement of Sotomayor's appointment.

No mention of this country's political and economic assistance which would interfere with the Horatio Alger myth. Interfere with the propoganda designed to make us say, she is one of us as we would like to be. Why should we care? Because class is not the criteria for assistance and it is time to equalize that aspect of the ladder to success in this country. Economic criteria should become the only criteria for affirmative action assistance. Also, because all this emphasis on immigrant success is a substitute for US political action and economic development in the countries of origin.

There is a conflict of interest between the US classes over immigration. It is in the interest of the working class to raise standards all over the world.

It is in the interest of corporations and predatory lenders to flood this country with cheap immigrant labor and bust unions, lowering the income of the working class world wide.

Politicians satisfy their corporate funders by encouraging illegal immigration while simultaneously developing a voter base for their own party. That is why the Cuban voter block in Florida and the open Mexican border.

Illegal immigration results in cheap union busting labor for the elites and a voting block for politicians. The working class picks up the costs with no corresponding benefits. The middle class benefits with cheap household workers, maids and nannies, yard work, remodeling workers, cheap day labor. Corporations and agri-business benefit by profits from imposing working conditions that no US citizen will accept in their butcher slaughterhouses, factory farming animal containment factories, and toxic, unsanitary, genetically modified, food producing fields.

So the masses are bombarded with feel good stories of immigrants and derided as racists if they object to open borders, conditionless, unfair trade treaties and taxpayer subsidies of illegal immigrants for corporate profit. Meanwhile, our cities, where the middle class does NOT live, deteriorate and living conditions become unbearable. Only the worker upper class, govt workers, cops and firefighters, court workers continue to prosper and believe.

Thus, the working class is confused about their right to protect their own standard of living while Wall Street enriches their own class by in sourcing and out sourcing. Meanwhile, California, the open borders gateway, can no longer meet its' welfare obligations and its gangs control the streets and prisons. Diversionary arson is out of control.

Now what do I mean by subsidies? The Wisconsin legislature is passing a bill that will allow the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at the University of WI, at a time when working class citizens, ineligible for minority subsidies, can no longer afford tuition. Right now veterinarians are graduating with 150,000.00 in student loans when the working class cannot afford to take their animals to the vet because of the high fees vets must charge to pay off their loans.

The Dept of Workforce Development subsidizes United Migrant Opportunity Services with about about 25 million in state workforce development funds to house illegal aliens, provide them with day care, job training, English lessons and education so they can be cheap labor for corporations and bust unions. UMOS is in every state - in WI it OWNS about ten homes, to house immigrants and gets millions in tax payer dollars to screw the working class. How many battered women's transitional houses are owned by the shelters?

How can this happen? Corporations fund politician's political campaigns and this is their reward. Just as the condition free bail outs were BO's reward to Goldman Sacks and AIG. Just as medical "reform" will benefit the insurance industry while cutting benefits to seniors.

*United Migrant Opportunity Services/UMOS INC. Milwaukee, Wisconsin ...
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
UMOS statements for this report. The Statement of Financial Position and Statement of ... Note payable to U.S.Department of Agriculture due in annual payments of ... 8062011. Principal payments due by year are as follows: 2009 ...
www.umos.org/corporate/financial_audit.pdf - Similar pages -
• UMOS - Home

So I am not interested in Sotomayor's fantasy background and in fact am disgusted by the half truths of the BO propaganda machine. This is what does interest me. The second circuit reviews a majority of the immigration cases. A majority of US citizens (75%) are fed up with illegal immigration, and all the US subsidies of illegal workers at the expense of US taxpayers. Yet, we are not given a history of Sotomayor's decisions on immigration cases. I want a review of every immigration decision she has participated and/or written. I am especially interested in her Homeland Security decisions involving airlines and entrance requirements.

I am also disgusted by the so called feminist groups' blind faith in Obama's commitment to women's right to choose.

The majority of Catholic Hispanics oppose abortion although there are some studies done of self reporters which obscure this reality. The way we are losing the right to abortion is by increments. First, poor women lost funding, then military women, then women in foreign countries, then there are the endless state restrictions demanding fake medical advice and delays. In the meantime doctors are being prosecuted and killed, while states continue to attempt to pass legislation denying women their constitutional rights. Women need a Supreme Court appointment who will strike down these impediments to the full exercise of our constitutional right to control our own bodies.

Sotomayor is both Hispanic and Catholic and has written at least one decision hostile to a woman's right to choose. We know Planned Parenthood and NARAL do what Obama tells them to do regardless of the effect on women's rights. Only one group, the Center for Reproductive Rights is sounding the alarm. I urge readers to go to their site and keep informed.

Center for Reproductive Rights

Judge Sotomayor has not ruled on the constitutional right to abortion. However, in 2002, she authored an opinion in a case brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights (at that time the Center for Reproductive Law & Policy), challenging the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule or “Mexico City Policy,” which prohibited overseas organizations that received U.S. funds from providing abortion services or
engaging in speech intended to ease restrictions on abortion.

The Center filed Center for Reproductive Law & Policy v. Bush on behalf of itself and its attorneys asserting that the Center’s work overseas with women’s rights organizations seeking law reform to address the deaths and harmful consequences of unsafe abortion would be hampered by the Global Gag Rule.

Writing for a three judge panel, Judge Sotomayor relied on previous Second Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court decisions to reject the Plaintiffs’ First Amendment, Due Process and Equal Protection claims. Sotomayor is gnerally bad on first amendment rights favoring the right of authority to regulate speech in the interests of order bla blaa bla.

The opinion focused on the application of legal precedent and did not express a view on or discuss the impact of the Global Gag Rule on abortion law reform efforts around the world.

On January 23, President Obama rescinded the Global Gag rule.

For the harmful effects of the Global Gag rule during the Bush
Administration, see Breaking the Silence: The Global Gag Rule’s Impact on Unsafe Abortion and How the Global Gag Rule Impacts U.S.Foreign Policy and Harms Women’s Health.

Make sure to check in at the "I AM NOT SORRY" blog. And the home page with the picture.

The other objection to Sotomayor is her attitude toward second amendment right to bear arms. Women need the right to defend themselves as there is a war on women in the US. Battered women need to defend themselves. Women in parks and lonely roads should be able to carry guns. Women walking to their cars or at bus stops should be allowed to carry guns. Sotomayor rules that the right to bear arms is not an individual right.

I think Obama supports the Muslim theocrats and will sacrifice the rights of women in order to support alliances with Muslim theocrats. I think Obama supports open borders, and is willing to suppress women's rights when it is expedient to do so. The latest wave of Muslim immigrants has resulted in an increase in the number of girls who are isolated in home schools. Changes in women's rights are occurring in the Courts and Universities. I think Obama's campaign operatives know they can satisfy corporate funders and build their voter base by encouraging an open borders policy. I think we saw Obama's attitude toward the working class in the different way he treated the Wall Street bail outs and General Motors. Busting union contracts and pensions while allowing billion dollar bonuses for failed Wall St executives and bankers until the public rebelled.

I think Sotomayor is an appointment in line with his goals and not in the interests of women.

Genital Mutilation LAWSUIT

See the whole article Here.

Finally! Western Law Remedies Woman's Inhumanity to Woman Among Muslim Immigrant Communities
by Phyllis CheslerPajamas MediaMay 27, 2009


http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/563/law-remedies-inhumanity-to-woman-muslim-immigrants

Excerpt:


In 2001, the mother of an 11 year-old girl spirited her out of Gothenburg, in Sweden, and back to Somalia where she had her brutally genitally mutilated (and without anesthesia). The mother and two other women held her down while a man made sure that she would never experience sexual pleasure and would instead, experience a great deal of pain for the rest of her life.

ccording to the English language Swedish media,
"For several years after the violation the girl was subjected to repeated examinations by her mother who forced her fingers into her vagina to check that her virginity remained intact. She also repeatedly assaulted her daughter with various implements including books, a curtain rail and a belt."

Yesterday, eight years later, the girl, now 19-years-old, won a lawsuit in which she was awarded a monetary compensation from her mother for the "abuse and gross violation of (her bodily) integrity." Damages for pain and suffering are yet to be decided.......read more

Hope for the Homeless - A Feral Cat Contraceptive Vaccine

:From the wonderful site FULL CIRCLE Earthwise News

Action Cat notes that "Michelle Meister-Weisbarth, a student at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, has developed a genetically engineered bacterium that can be used as an oral contraceptive to control the unwanted cat population.

Meister-Weisbarth has been working with faculty mentor and molecular biologist Dr. Stephen Boyle, using genetic engineering technology to modify an approved vaccine, a strain of the bacterium Salmonella, which could then be delivered to feral cats in the wild via a vaccine-laden bait."

Milwaukee police on hunt for serial killer linked to 7 deaths

(CNN)Police in Milwaukee are working to track down a serial killer linked to at least seven unsolved homicides dating back more than two decades, authorities said. Five victims: Debora Harris, Joyce Mims, Tonya Miller, Quithreaun Stokes, Sheila Farrior.

Law enforcement officials in the Wisconsin city have matched the unknown man's DNA with seven women -- six prostitutes and a runaway involved in the drug trade. The deaths occurred between 1986 and 2007.

Six of the victims were women who were working as prostitutes -- high-risk behavior that makes them vulnerable to crime, authorities said.

Police believe the killer had sex with the runaway, but she was killed by someone else. The developments have prompted officials to form a local, state and federal task force to investigate the homicides.

A state lab is working to determine whether the DNA of at least 23 other slain prostitutes matches that of the killer. "In the past, we might have linked some of these homicides through their method of operation, but theory has given way to technology," said Edward Flynn, the Milwaukee police chief. "Within the last couple of weeks, we have been able to confirm a link."

Flynn, who described the killer as an "unknown suspect who conducts his business in secret," said the investigation would require tips from the community. "This suspect has been able to avoid and evade law enforcement for these last 23 years. He has never been arrested for a felony as he does not appear in any DNA database," Flynn said.

Police said 42 prostitutes were killed between 1986 and 2007, and that 31 percent of the cases have been solved. There has been a higher clearance rate -- 78 percent -- in other homicides. Of the seven killed, two were in 1986, three in 1995, one in 1997 and one in 2007. The runaway was one of the three killed in 1995.

Flynn said there have been "patterned homicides " discovered across the country as a result of advanced DNA technology, citing investigations in Los Angeles, California; Mesa, Arizona; and Las Vegas, Nevada.

However, he said there is no link with the Milwaukee cases.

In discussing advances in DNA technology, Flynn said there were no matches in 1990s, two around 2000 and the seven have been linked in recent weeks. "We already have determined that five suspects in murders of other prostitutes -- completely unrelated to this investigation -- have been identified because their DNA match open homicide cases. Three of them already are in prison for cleared homicides of prostitutes," police said in a statement Tuesday.

The Right to Confront and the Slave's Hood

from the blog "The Faculty Lounge"

Michigan Supreme Court Weighs Coutroom Limits on Religious Dress
The Michigan state supreme court will decide whether a trial judge should have allowed a Muslim woman to testify in court while wearing a niqab, a religious head covering that leaves only a small opening for the eyes. In 2006, Judge Paul Paruk dismissed the civil action Ginnah Muhammad brought against a car rental company when she refused to remove her veil and head scarf, saying he could not gauge her truthfulness without seeing her face.

At the Supreme Court on Monday, Paruk had the sympathy of at least a couple Justices - one who cited the trial court's need to make credibility determinations, and another who called for balancing religious freedoms with the constitutional rights of defendants to confront their accusers in court.

Beyond the tricky constitutional questions is this very real practical concern presented to the court by anti-domestic violence advocates: whether an order to unveil will discourage Muslim woman who are abused from pursuing charges against their abuser in court.

Howard Friedman at Religion Clause describes a number of controversies in recent years where Muslim women have been asked to remove their niqab.

-Kathleen A. Bergin

MAY MONTH

I missed my favorite holiday May Day in terms of formal rememberance but it is in my blood. With a savage recklessness for the costs, the garden is plowed.

I had to sacrifice three sister trees to the May Goddess because they provided a way out of the yard for the feral I am sheltering and that is done - I kept their wood bodies.

And today, today is the Rotary Garden Janesville WI PLANT SALE!!!!!! And when I went to Double Jointed Fingers to play the Adiemus video music (on her first post) she had a link to the best May Day article I ever read and its' a regular pagan news service!! Full Circle, See Bread& Roses
Read the bread & roses article and bake the bread! Sweet Corn Rasin Bread
Columbia Spelt Bread. Sing the song. Full Circle's latest HERE

***COME TO THE PLANT SALE THIS WEEKEND **HAPPY MAY MONTH ***

This is my last reminder about the upcoming spring plant sale this Friday, May 15th thru Sunday, May 17 (9am-5pm daily).

I've been asked about pricing as a general FYI for all of you potential customers. Daylilies are $4 each or $3 each if you buy 5 or more. We do have some unknown mystery daylilies that will be $2 each (not part of quantity discount).

Mixed herbs (scented geraniums, parsley, sage,rosemary, thyme, etc.) will be either $3 or $5 and bagged compost will also be available at $5.50 for a 40 lb. (1.5 cubic foot) bag. We also have a handful of $100 cedar obelisks for sale too.

All of the tomatoes (100 varieties), hot peppers (25 varieties), bell peppers (25 varieties) and basils (25 varieties) are here in four packs.

Each plant is $1 meaning that a four pack is $4.

Any of these plants can be purchased in four packs or can be mixed & matched (create your own four pack!).

I've seen equivalent heirloom tomatoes for sale around town for $3+ per plant! Our 25 varieties of heirloom runner and pole beans are sold in seed packs for $1 each as well.



HA!!! I WAS ACTUALLY RIGHT ON TIME (SEE? IT IS IN MY BONES) FROM FULL CIRCLE EARTH NEWS:

The timing of this Cross Quarter Holiday can be confusing. Here's why:*

Astrological Beltane: Occurs when the sun is at 15 degrees Taurus. (Usually around May 5th).*

Astronomical Beltane: The time when the constellation Pleiades can be seen on the dawn horizon. Our ancestors would have been well aware of changes to the stars that heralded a change in seasons; something most moderns now miss.*

Calendar Beltane - (AKA May Day): This is commonly celebrated on May 1st.

However, it is important to note that calender changes made by the Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 moved the date backwards by 11 days in most European countries. Overnight, May 12th became May 1st. (Note: England and American did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752).

Thus, the Calendar puts the well known May Day celebrations such as Morris Dancing, May Poles and Fire Festivals, et al, at at a time far earlier than they were previously held.

In Medieval and Renaissance times these celebrations took place 11 - 15 days later in the season; at a time when the weather was noticeably warmer and dryer, travel (both by sea and over land) was easier and safer, many more spring flowers bloomed, a larger number of young animals were about and thriving, and it was far more pleasant to be outside.*

Lunar Beltane: Occurs during the first full moon in May.Many ancient and modern calendars are based on either lunar or lunisolar calendars. Such calenders were/are used by people in Native American, Hebrew, Islamic, Asian, Hindu and Pagan cultures. Many ancients peoples, including the ancient Celts, Egyptians, Africans, Mayans, Hawaiians, and Babylonians, used lunar calendars.*


Solar Beltane - (AKA Cross Quarter Beltane): Beltane is a Cross Quarter Holiday, one that stands halfway between a solstice and an equinox in the Wheel of the Year. It's exact date and time is calculated in relation to the other seasonal holidays ocuring in a 365 day-long solar year. You can check this on sites such as the Archaeoastronomy site.

Here are Actual dates and times for the Cross Quarter holidays through 2012*

Tribal - (AKA Festive Beltane): Our ancestors often held feasts, faires, and festivals that lasted for many days. (This makes sense when you consider that travel to and from these gatherings could take days. Why travel all that way for a brief event?) Today, Pagans and others celebrate this holiday over a period of several days, often gathering to meet or do rituals at a time most
convenient for their families and/or group.

The Wheel of the Year: The Wheel of the Year is celebrated by Pagans, Druids, Wiccans and others as a way to honor the past, and be in touch with nature. Please Note: The number of holidays on the Wheel remains constant, but their names and focus may vary according to one's culture and tradition.

Cat Mother Love

SHE KNOWS SNOWBALL IS A BABY

US in Iraq:Silent on Genital Mutilation

THIS ARTICLE CALLS GIRL'S GENITAL MUTILATION BY THE SEXIST TERM OF FEMALE CIRCUMCISION. THIS IS CULTURAL RELATIVISM AT ITS' WORST. THERE IS NO COMPARISON TO MALE CIRCUMCISION. THIS IS A SEXIST LIE TO COVER THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN UNDER ISLAM IN ALL ITS' MANY DISGUSTING VARIATIONS.

For Kurdish Girls, a Painful Ancient Ritual
The Widespread Practice of Female Circumcision in Iraq's North Highlights The Plight of Women in a Region Often Seen as More Socially Progressive

Sheelan's Circumcision

A seven-year-old girl is taken by her mother to be circumcised in Kurdish Iraq, where more than 60 percent of women have undergone the traditional and controversial procedure.
By Amit R. Paley
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 29, 2008; Page A09

TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq

Sheelan Anwar Omer, a shy 7-year-old Kurdish girl, bounded into her neighbor's house with an ear-to-ear smile, looking for the party her mother had promised.

There was no celebration. Instead, a local woman quickly locked a rusty red door behind Sheelan, who looked bewildered when her mother ordered the girl to remove her underpants. Sheelan began to whimper, then tremble, while the women pushed apart her legs and a midwife raised a stainless-steel razor blade in the air. "I do this in the name of Allah!" she intoned.

As the midwife sliced off part of Sheelan's genitals, the girl let out a high-pitched wail heard throughout the neighborhood. As she carried the sobbing child back home, Sheelan's mother smiled with pride.

"This is the practice of the Kurdish people for as long as anyone can remember," said the mother, Aisha Hameed, 30, a housewife in this ethnically mixed town about 100 miles north of Baghdad. "We don't know why we do it, but we will never stop because Islam and our elders require it."


Kurdistan is the only known part of Iraq --and one of the few places in the world--where female circumcision is widespread. More than 60 percent of women in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq have been circumcised, according to a study conducted this year. In at least one Kurdish territory, 95 percent of women have undergone the practice, which human rights groups call female genital mutilation.

The practice, and the Kurdish parliament's refusal to outlaw it, highlight the plight of women in a region with a reputation for having a more progressive society than the rest of Iraq. Advocates for women point to the increasing frequency of honor killings against women and female self-immolations in Kurdistan this year as further evidence that women in the area still face significant obstacles, despite efforts to raise public awareness of circumcision and violence against women.

"When the Kurdish people were fighting for our independence, women participated as full members in the underground resistance," said Pakshan Zangana, who heads the women's committee in the Kurdish parliament. "But now that we have won our freedom, the position of women has been pushed backwards and crimes against us are minimized."

Zangana has been lobbying for a law in Kurdistan, a semiautonomous region with its own government, that would impose jail terms of up to 10 years on those who carry out or facilitate female circumcision. But the legislation has been stalled in parliament for nearly a year, because of what women's advocates believe is reluctance by senior Kurdish leaders to draw international public attention to the little-noticed tradition.

The Kurdish region's minister of human rights, Yousif Mohammad Aziz, said he didn't think the issue required action by parliament. "Not every small problem in the community has to have a law dealing with it," he said.

The practice of female circumcision is extremely rare in the Arab parts of Iraq, according to women's groups. They say it is not clear why the practice -- common in some parts of Africa and the Middle East -- became popular with Iraqi Kurds but not Iraqi Arabs.

Supporters of female circumcision said the practice, which has been a ritual in their culture for countless generations, is rooted in sayings they attribute to the prophet Muhammad, though the accuracy of those sayings is disputed by other Muslim scholars. The circumcision is performed by women on women, and men are usually not involved in the procedure. In the case of Sheelan, her mother informed her father that she was going to have the circumcision performed, but otherwise, he played no role.

READ THE REST OF THIS STORY HERE.

Previously successful Prophet looks at our Future

From Civil Eats

Peak-Oil Prophet James Howard Kunstler
on Food, Fuel and
Why He Became an Almost Vegan
.................

KT: In The Long Emergency, published in 2005, you predicted with astounding accuracy how the subprime mortgage meltdown would unfold. Your latest novel, World Made By Hand, takes place in the near future after a massive flu outbreak that originated in Mexico. Um, what should we start worrying about next?

JHK: Worry about the “recovery” that never comes and the insidious collapse of our institutions and arrangements that will proceed from this. Worry about lost incomes and vocations that will never come back (e.g. marketing exec for Target, Inc.) and the need to find new ways to be useful to your fellow human beings (and incidentally perhaps earn a living).

Worry about finding a community to live in that is cohesive enough to stave off anarchy at the local level. Worry about building the best garden you can and making good compost. Worry about how difficult it is to learn how to play a musical instrument at age 47.

KT: You recently wrote “there’s no way we can continue the petro-agriculture system of farming and the Cheez Doodle and Pepsi Cola diet that it services. The public is absolutely zombified in the face of this problem — perhaps a result of the diet itself.” OK, so how will we stock our post-peak-oil pantries? Do we really need to start hoarding rice and beans?

JHK: Get some kind of a hand-cranked home grain mill. Personally, I think it is indeed a good idea to lay in a supply of beans, lentils, rice, oats, other grains and don’t forget salt, boullion (soups can sustain us with any number of ingredients), dried onion flakes, spices (chilies and curries especially).

Our just-in-time, three-day’s-worth-of-inventory supermarket system is very susceptible to disruption. And we’re very far from establishing workable local food networks in this country.

The fragility of petro-ag is being aggravated by the collapse of bank lending now. Farmers need borrowed money desperately. Capital is as important an “input” as methane-based fertilizers. I think we could see problems with food production and distribution anytime from here on.

KT: You’re an avid gardener — do you grow much of your own food? Do you worry that you’ll have to guard your greens with a gun if our collapsing economy sends the mall rats outdoors to forage after the food courts run out of pretzel nuggets?............Read it all at Civil Eats

We want Single Payer and the Elimination of Profit based Medical Care

Dear Puma PAC,

What kind of a democracy are we living in when the ONE group that should be considered the PRIMARY stakeholder in the health care reform debate, the American PEOPLE, is not even allowed a seat at the table?

Poll after poll show that the majority of American citizens favor some sort of single-payer, public option health coverage. Small business owners want it. Families want it. Sick people who have been dropped from their insurance companies' rolls want it. Grown children who are caring for parents who became ill before they reached the Medicare age want it. MILLIONS and MILLIONS of Americans want real, universal, affordable health coverage.

WHY does this Senate Finance Committee so smugly dismiss our concerns, our interests, and our voices?

Here's some political realism for you: Because they have been bought and paid for by the for-profit industries that make BILLIONS of DOLLARS a year milking money from American citizens.
Tell Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus that the American people are SICK and TIRED of Pay to Play !

Learn more here, and please contact the Senate Finance Committee today.


Thank you and Good Luck,

Murphy.

Call Sen. Baucus' office: (202) 224-2651
Send the FAX: (202) 224-9412

Copy and paste these email addresses into the BCC line of your email:

max@baucus.senate.gov, chuck@grassley.senate.gov, prowl@pumapac.org, gretawire@fox.com, Hannity@foxnews.com, cnn@cnn.com, Foxreport@foxnews.com,
Newswatch@foxnews.com, news@nbc24.com, newshour@pbs.org, info@moveon.org, dianne_feinstein@feinstein.senate.gov, senator@boxer.senate.gov, senator@stabenow.senate.gov, rachel@msnbc.com, prowl@pumapac.org

Email and Fax this letter:

To: Senate Finance Committee

NO MORE PAY TO PLAY POLITICS!

Why are there no advocates for Single Payer or Universal Health Care included in your discussions of health care reform?

Could it be that the Finance Committee of the United States Senate is a Pay to Play system just like Rod Blagojevich's Illinois?

Max Baucus, Chair: $2.7 MILLION dollars in one election cycle
Chuck Grassley, Ranking Republican: $1.8 MILLION dollars in one election cycle
Orrin Hatch: $1 MILLION dollars in one election cycle
Kent Conrad: $800,000 in one election cycle
Blanche Lincoln: $800,000 in one election cycle
Mike Enzi: $800,000 in one election cycle
John Ensign: $700,000 in one election cycle
Jim Bunning: $600,000 in one election cycle
Mike Crapo: $600,000 in one election cycle
Tom Carper: $500,000 in one election cycle
Olympia Snowe: $375,000 in one election cycle

That's $10.7 MILLION dollars paid DIRECTLY to eleven members of the Senate Finance Committee by the for-profit health care industry in just the last election cycle alone.

No more Pay to Play in the U.S. Senate! Real Health Care Reform NOW!

Sincerely,

Your Name

Puma PAC Member (http://pumapac.org)


................................................................
PumaPac.org www.pumapac.org

Oprah Gives Out Free KFC in Most Hypocritical Move Yet

Eating Culture Health Life on the Farm

May 6th, 2009 By Paula Crossfield

FROM Civil Eats

Perhaps it was all just too much, too kind and too ahead of the curve, all that work she had done recently to expose what truly goes on for chickens and other animals in the factory farm setting. Because now Oprah has decided to bolster one of America’s worst offenders when it comes to support for factory farming, KFC, by giving away two pieces of chicken to every human in America.

It may seem harmless: a mass market “they want it, so I’m giving it to them” kind of campaign. But because Oprah has marketed herself as one who cares about animals, even getting a “Person of the Year” award last year from PETA, this KFC campaign is a serious disappointment to say the least.

This is because KFC buys their meat from Tyson, which is the largest chicken processor in the United States and is known for supporting a conglomeration of chicken CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations).

Inside these daylight-free hellholes, chickens are crammed so tightly together they can barely move. Worse, if we were to grow as fast as these broilers are bred to grow, we’d be 350 pounds by the time we were 2 years old. This is largely because these chickens are bred to have more breast meat (because that’s what the consumer wants), so many of them can’t even stand up.

On top of that they produce so much shit that many farm workers get asthma just doing their job — and that is just the workers on the farm. Most of the Tyson workers spend their entire day on one part of the production line, slitting throats, de-feathering or removing intestines for hours on end. Yum. (video made by one worker, be warned, it is quite grotesque)
Just a recap: in order to have what we want to eat, we have created little monstrosities, which then get essentially tortured before routine killings performed by ill and disgruntled workers. And Oprah is encouraging this practice to continue!

If she would have taken the time to think about all this, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she would see that encouraging these practices is not in line with the Eckhardt Tolle, Live Your Best Life, “We will all be judged on how we treat the least among us” persona she sells on her popular television show.

Individual choices do matter, especially the choices of those with enough money to buy every person in the United States two pieces of chicken.

If I were Oprah, I’d have struck a better deal with the fried chicken hawking establishment: She could have told KFC to change their buying practices, and only serve free-range chicken, and THEN give away free chicken. Had she done that, producers would start to see the value in letting their chickens outside to scratch the soil, eat grubs and peck grass.

Share and Enjoy:

Paula Crossfield is the managing editor of Civil Eats. She is also a contributing producer at The Leonard Lopate Show on New York Public Radio where she focuses on food issues. She is currently developing a plan for an urban vegetable garden on her rooftop in Manhattan.

MORE FROM CIVIL EATS

Wisconsin Fourth-Graders Boycott School Lunch Food Policy In the Kitchen

May 5th, 2009 By Gordon Jenkins

Patricia Mulvey reported on the blog F is for French Fry that a group of fourth-grade students at Nuestro Mundo Elementary School in Madison, WI had planned to protest the unhealthy food served in their cafeteria by staying behind in class during recess and enjoying a home-cooked meal.

Their “Real Food Picnic” – you might call it an Eat-In – was cancelled, however, when the school district’s assistant superintendent alerted parents and school administrators and asked them to discourage the event, citing concerns about food allergies, lack of supervision and the presence of news media.

The fourth-graders are members of a student-run group called “Boycott School Lunch (BCSL)” that they founded last fall after conducting some “gross experiments” in the school cafeteria, like measuring how much grease they could squeeze out of a hamburger. At the time, the students happened to have been learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement in history class.

When teacher Joshua Forehand showed them a movie about the Children’s Crusade that took place in Birmingham, AL in 1963, the students were inspired to organize a peaceful protest in support of bringing healthier food into the school.

Fourth-grader Sierra Mueller-Owens told The Capital Times that “We had planned really good meals [for the protest], and I was hoping a lot of people would enjoy it.” She also had hoped that the school district’s food service program would feel the impact of fewer lunches sold that day.

Instead of organizing a protest potluck, the students involved in Boycott School Lunch are now planning a letter-writing and petition campaign. Their parents have requested a meeting with the school district to discuss supporting the students’ efforts and ensuring that the lunch program provides the real, nourishing food they want to eat............More on CIVIL EATS

WisPACT, the Wisconsin Pooled and Community Trust Program

WisPACT, the Wisconsin Pooled and Community Trust Program, offers special needs trust for disabled clients.

Jack Longert, executive director, Wisconsin Pooled and Community Trust program.

Are you an attorney who works with disabled clients? Do you encounter situations where your client faces the dilemma of either accepting assets or retaining eligibility for a means-tested government benefits program? That situation is not uncommon for disabled individuals.

If your client is receiving Supplemental Security Income or Medical Assistance or both, and becomes eligible for spousal maintenance, child support, or a personal injury or worker’s compensation award, then your client will face this dilemma.

To resolve this dilemma favorably so your client can continue to receive government benefits while having access to supplemental assets, consider turning to WisPACT, the Wisconsin Pooled and Community Trust organization.

WisPACT offers and administers special needs trusts and has features that help many people who would not otherwise consider a special needs trust. Assets that would not be considered “exempt” under government assistance programs are deemed exempt by federal and state government administrative rules when deposited in WisPACT.

WisPACT was formed in 2003 through the efforts of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Elder Law Section in conjunction with disability advocacy organizations. WisPACT is the only statewide organization offering special needs trusts regardless of the trust beneficiary’s type of disability.

Some WisPACT trust account features are as follows:

The trust documents are already prepared with attorneys needing only to fill in the blanks with their clients’ information. WisPACT has negotiated the language with the state and federal governments, ensuring that all assets in the accounts will not count towards means-tested government benefits programs.

Assets in all accounts are pooled together and invested by a knowledgeable corporate trustee, Associated Wealth Management. This method of investment allows for individual accounts to have lower fees due to economies of scale, and allows for family members to be free of the burdens of investments. WisPACT’s investment performance has exceeded the performance of the market as a whole in each year of WisPACT’s operation.

WisPACT is a nonprofit organization, which further lowers costs and enhances its charitable mission for its beneficiaries.
Accounts can be started with as little as $750 in a funded account; or can be unfunded if a third party wishes to start an account for a beneficiary only at the third party’s death;

WisPACT has knowledgeable and caring employees who work with beneficiaries and their loved ones in setting up of trust accounts and in distributing trust asset. The goal is to maintain eligibility for public benefits while enhancing the quality of the beneficiary’s life through timely and significant trust distributions.

WisPACT has no age restrictions for setting up self-funded trusts. It also allows third-party trusts to be set up with assets that can be passed on to other heirs at the beneficiary’s death.

WisPACT has experienced significant growth, with more than 500 funded trust accounts and more than 250 unfunded accounts since its inception. WisPACT trust accounts allow individuals with disabilities to live independently in their communities, and free family members from investment responsibilities.

This popular program also is used by people with disabilities who do not receive means-tested government assistance.

WisPACT employees are available to speak with you or your client directly, and to groups of individuals who have disabilities and their advocates. Go to their website for more information.

Jack Longert, Illinois 1978, is the executive director of WisPACT, the Wisconsin Pooled and Community Trust organization. He has supervised U.W. clinical law students, worked as an attorney in legal assistance programs for poor people, and managed a men’s homeless shelter.

COALITION AGAINST ISLAMIC SUPREMACISM & VIOLENCE

NYC: A RAINBOW IN A STORM: HUMAN RIGHTS DEMONSTRATION
By Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

Organized by The Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam, the Rainbow Coalition protested the violation of human rights by political Islam and shariah law. Though drenched in the rain, 300-500 decent and good people made their way to Times Square in NYC and stood up to the Islamic violence and oppression of free men (? AND WOMEN) across the world. Spectacularly diverse but unified in our purpose - life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and an absolute end to jihad.

Speaker list:

Steven Gerson - British human rights activist - introduction
Bobbie Grei - singer (Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, God Bless America)
Gerald Bell - pastor, active in anti-slavery movement (also spoke on behalf of Charles Jacobs, active in the anti-slavery movement)
Tawfik Hamid - Islamic scholar, active in reforming Islam
Beth Gilinsky - Human rights activist, also spoke on behalf of Phyllis Chesler, feminist
Joy Brighton - Act for America
Shlomi Azulay - Israeli victim of terrorism
Simon Deng (Sudanese activist and former slave)
Mohamed Yahya (Muslim Sudanese activist)
Bruce DeCell - 9/11 Families
Mike Cutler - 9/11 Families
Arish Sahani - Hindu human rights activist
Rajinder Singh Khalsa and Bhupinder Singh Bhurji - Sikh human rights activists

SEE Phyllis CHESLER'S DESCRIPTION OF THE PROTEST HERE.




















More pictures here.

Carrie Prejean

I will not defend a woman role model who is given fake breasts so she can parade around naked to encourage young girls to want to be like her. Prejean is a fake -- women's bodies do not look like her's -- her body was created by men for men and so is her so called "viewpoint".

She is not speaking her mind -- there was no original thought in her answer at the beauty pageant nor in her role as spokesMAN for the National Right of Marriage Organization-- she spoke what she was taught to believe.

She obviously has done what she has been told her entire life. She gets air time because she parades around with bleached hair, slathered on make up with fake breasts looking just like the boys tell us all women should look.

Don't attack her looks, you say. Not feminist, you say. SHE MAKES HER LIVING BY REFLECTING THE MALE STANDARD OF HOW ALL WOMEN SHOULD LOOK. Therefore, her looks are an issue. Not only that, but she is given a platform to defend the right of organized religion to rule in this secular country because she accepted a sexist command to look a certain way to win her "crown". HER LOOKS AND THE REWARDS SHE GETS FOR THEM ARE THE ISSUE.

Women who remain natural, who do not alter their looks to fit some porn standard, who are independent, who think for their self, do not get equal time, fame or money.

This woman is not Palin or Hillary with a record of achievement.

I am told I have to defend this woman because she is a woman and I am a feminist. No, I do not. I wouldn't defend a female abuser and I don't defend Prejean's right to join men in oppressing other women and gay people.

The whole pageant crapola is a pedophilic training ground for girls, starting as babies, groomed by their unfulfilled mothers seeking vicarious male approval through their children. In a sexist world, women who are exploited in the workplace and are reluctant to appear in porn are given a pseudo-legitimate stage in "beauty" pageants. Artificial, man made beauty pageants.

Pageants, along with Hannah Montana teen video creations of sexualized children, encourage young women to try to look and act like whores for men. Pornography, prostitution, rap, sexualized teen exploitation videos and movies, beauty pageants all equal = women to sex objects .

Women are praised and rewarded for being male created obedient sex objects. Do you see anything like this extravaganza for women who actually make something significant of their lives??

No, I am not going to join with the cult of the religious right to elevate their soft porn media queen to the status they desire for her. A role-model for speaking her mind? Not one original thought came from her mind or mouth. In fact, she was just barely coherent with the propaganda she had been spoon fed.

The right wing wants us to ignore the porn aspects of what this woman does and what Trump profits from, because they want all women to humiliate their selves and parade provocatively in front of "judges". It makes the Right hot and they do not have to apologize because some how they have sold this slave ritual as "wholesome"

You all need to read "The Female Eunuch" by Germaine Greer. It was a great book and opened my eyes big time. Shave your legs, arms, vulva, for men who want children or boys; buy breasts, starve yourself for men who want to screw their mother; -- accentuate the differences between male and female as much as possible to encourage role playing --- look helpless and show blind obedience to the word of your fathers and you shall receive your bread.

In other words, reward comes from arousing men sexually, playing to their fantasies. That is what women are elevated and rewarded for doing. If you do not arouse men your life and achievements will not be admired or celebrated. You could be the butt of jokes and jeers when you appear in front of your peers. Better to be a Queen with a crown.

I would not parade around 3/4 naked in front of Judges in a manufactured body to make money for pimp Trump, but if I HAD been asked the question, this is how I would have answered it.

I believe that religions should be allowed to marry whoever they choose and such marriages if they conformed to secular laws against polygamy and age requirements should be recognized by the secular state.

However, the secular state should not discriminate in conferring benefits because of marital status or relationships. The federal and state benefits should be awarded to individuals regardless of marital status. All tax categories should be equal. No special deals for married couples, only for those individuals with dependents.

In a secular state "marriage " should be a contract. Such contract of shared rights and obligations should be available to any relationship. Civil unions can be created between sexual partners and non sexual relationships.

Where the government and private employers now allow a benefit to be shared by a spouse or child, that benefit should be allowed shared by all individuals with whomever they designate. Thus a single woman such as myself with medical benefits from an employer could designate my niece or an unrelated child to receive benefits under the family plan. People living together could designate each other. I believe social security and other federal benefits should be so treated in a secular society which would not discriminate on the basis of marital status. A benefit that can be given to "a wife" should be conferable on any individual designated by the benefit holder including any related or unrelated individuals.

That would be all the time allotted to answer but I could go on and on -- They would have to cut off the mike.

Top justice sent racy video to colleagues

The next time someone tells you BO should only appoint objective non activist judges, remember this:

Myron Steele used state e-mail to share video with 38 male friends, lawyers

By MAUREEN MILFORD
The News Journal

Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron T. Steele, the national face of Delaware's powerful and highly respected courts, used his state e-mail account Monday to send a sexually suggestive video to 38 men.

The e-mailed video obtained by The News Journal, called "Wine-Opener," depicts a professional-looking young woman in a bar competing with a glamorous blonde for the attention of a man by simulating oral sex with a wine bottle. Steele, who received the e-mail from a man, forwarded it with the message: "Write your own caption for this one."

Steele said Wednesday that he viewed the e-mail video attachment as a harmless joke that would not offend anyone.

"I don't think there was anything offensive to women," Steele said. "I forwarded it to people I thought would find it amusing."

Steele, who said he has daughters who are professionals and a businesswoman wife, said he felt the video showed "assertive" women in their "own right."

Steele said he didn't think his action violated the Delaware Judges' Code of Judicial Conduct, which requires judges to "avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety." Steele added that it would be a "very serious mischaracterization" for anyone to think he could not be impartial to women in his court.

Despite the fact it was on his state e-mail account, Steele said he didn't view it as a public e-mail because he didn't expect it to be "broadcast widely."

"I apologize to anyone who might have seen it who might be offended," Steele said. "All the ones who know me know there's nothing behind this. They know my character and history and that this was just a frivolous joke. Probably, in retrospect, I wouldn't send it again."

Most of those to whom Steele sent the video did not return e-mails or phone calls from The News Journal. One said he was "drawing a blank."

One out-of-state corporate law professor said, "There's no way I'm going near this."

But Wilmington lawyer Mike Kelly confirmed he had received Steele's e-mail.

"It is a years-old television commercial for a defunct European Web site," Kelly said. "Anyone can pull it up in 10 seconds on You Tube. Chief Justice Steele only sent it to some of his friends."

Susan Koniak, a professor of law at Boston University School of Law and co-author of "The Law and Ethics of Lawyering" legal casebook, said Steele should resign.

"I can't tell you how offended I was," said Koniak, who agreed to view a copy of the video for The News Journal. "Don't think anything about how wonderful a judge he is makes up for doing this. It undermines the judiciary completely."

Describing the video as "soft porn," Koniak said most people will be reluctant to comment on the incident because Steele is such an influential jurist. Delaware's Supreme Court often hears appeals on matters related to the nation's biggest corporations, including the 2005 high-profile shareholder suit involving executive compensation at The Walt Disney Co.

She said the fact he sent the e-mail gives the impression that "he can't be impartial to women."

The fact that the woman in the video who simulates the sex act is a professional-looking woman only makes the offense worse, she said.

"It could be a lawyer, a clerk in the court, a stenographer, a secretary. She's a woman in professional garb. It's a classic theme in porn. She's being ignored by men. She's unworthy of attention except to give men [oral sex]."

Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University School of Law who specializes in legal ethics, said the split-second nature of the Internet is a danger for users. People push the send button before thinking of the ramifications and then they can't take it back, he said.

Steele himself has written about the informal nature of Internet postings. In a 2005 opinion, Steele wrote that "the Internet is a unique democratizing medium unlike anything that has come before. The advent of the Internet dramatically changed the nature of public discourse by allowing more and diverse people to engage in public debate."

Gillers said judges are held to a higher standard than most people and must accept "they have to give up certain freedoms."

"It shows a lack of sensitivity to the position," Gillers said. "He shouldn't have done it."

While he doesn't think the e-mail violated the Delaware Judges' Code of Judicial Conduct, Gillers finds it problematic that the e-mail was sent on Steele's official e-mail account to lawyers.

"Law firms have very severe rules because it could be seen as harassing," Gillers said. "Many American law firms would look askance on this and it would violate use of office computers."

William Hodes, a professor emeritus of law at Indiana University School of Law, who helped draft the recent American Bar Association revision of the code of judicial conduct, said "the chief justice ought to have a little bit more self-control, certainly, because it was on his work account."

Hodes said the incident raises the issue of Steele fraternizing with lawyers who go before him. Somebody who had a recent, pending or impending matter before the court could file an ethics complaint, he said.

In Delaware, complaints concerning a judge are filed with the state's Court on the Judiciary.

"Who were these lawyers and why were they selected? Obviously, they're buddies," Hodes said.

Steele said most of the e-mail recipients were former clerks. Other recipients included lawyers, another Delaware judge and a Delaware businessman.

"In the Delaware Bar, it's difficult not to have contact" with lawyers, he said. Steele said he is not concerned that someone will try to overturn a case.

Steele said the incident is embarrassing, but added that Delawareans who know his character and history will understand that there was no ill intent behind it.

Delawareans will be unhappy with those who raise the issue of impropriety, he said.

"In retrospect, I never should forward any joke of any kind," he said.

Pandemic

From the Socio-Economics History Blog: Who caused this pandemic flu? Cui Bono?

Listen to Dr Len Horowitz. YouTube


This unprecedented H1N1-H5N1 flu outbreak implicates the Ango-American Vaccine Pipeline, says world leading consumer health protector, Dr. Leonard Horowitz

Consider the skyrocketing stock values of Novavax, Inc., precipitated by dozens of alleged flu deaths in Mexico. Then investigate the leading Anglo-American network of genetic engineers manipulating, mutating, and distributing these viruses. The evidence compels you, for the benefit of public health and safety to seriously consider, even decree, a conspiracy to commit genocide, according to this Harvard trained expert in emerging diseases.

Here, Dr. Horowitz urges an investigation of Dr. James S. Robertson, Englands leading bioengineer of flu viruses for the vaccine industry, and avid promoter of U.S. Government funding for lucrative biodefense contracts, along with collaborators at the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

These suspects helped Novavax, Inc., in Bethesda, Maryland, produce genetically-modified recombinants of the avian, swine, and Spanish flu viruses, H5N1 and H1N1, nearly identical to the unprecedented Mexican virus that is allegedly spreading to the United States at the time of this posting. The outbreak was precisely timed to promote the companys new research and huge vaccine stockpiling contracts.

Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are implicated through collaborations and publications involving private contracts with Novavax, a company that obtains its biosimulars through CDC Influenza Branch director, Ruben O. Donis, and Dr. Rick Bright, previously working with Donis at the CDC, now Novavaxs Vice President of Global Influenza Programs.

Descriptions of this virus is pathognomonic, or diagnostic, of a virus that came from Robertsons circle of friends, Dr. Horowitz charges. No other group in the world takes H5N1 Asian flu infected chickens, brings them to Europe, extracts their DNA, combines their proteins with H1N1 viruses from the 1918 Spanish flu isolate, additionally mixes in swine flu genes from pigs, then reverse engineers them to infect humans.

The end product could only have ended up in Mexico via the United States from Britain in care of the CDC. The CDC had to have sent them to Novavax, where Rick Brights team is now implicated in a conspiracy to commit genocide—the mass killing of people for profit.

Sojourner Truth used to cover BO's Sexist Foreign Policies

When I received the below Press Release from the Office of the SpokesMan in the US State Dept, I wrote the following reply:

It is charming how you don't have any email address that citizens can use to post reply messages in order to have their voices heard but that is probably in the spirit of Sojourner Truth as well. In contrast, Condi Rice, who did not make a big deal over statutes, had many ways for women to contact the Office of International Women's Issues. But you have a one way SpokesMan. How Sojourner - How BO. So I send this message to god knows what to be thrown in the garbage where feminists all go in this administration.

If you want to honor Sojourner Truth then work to liberate Afghan women who are still slaves. Work to liberate Iraqi women who are raped in prison and honor killed when their rape produces pregnancy. Instead of Obama saying we are not in Afghanistan to liberate women and we must be "culturally sensitive", state that without equality for women these countries will not receive our help or aid. Make foreign aid dependent on the reduction of violence against women and the acceptance of equality for women. Reinstate the projects of the Office of International Women's Issue as they flourished under Condoleezza Rice.

You have gutted the Office of International Women's Issues and send these PR releases from a spokeMAN instead of a spokesperson. That says everything about your true nature and intentions.

I see Hillary's State Dept as flaming hypocrites honoring a woman who freed slaves while you ignore women who are still slaves all over the world under the Muslim theocracies. Hillary is disgracing herself by her embrace of the Obama Sharia accepting attitude toward women's rights. All the speeches in the world will not cover the sexist state dept policies.

We see you and know what you are.

Sojourner Truth would say: Honor me by freeing the slaves. Act like Me. You save your self if you save your sisters, who are slaves all over the world and trafficked in the US. Save women who are the slaves of violent men in my name. That is the way to honor me.

PR Release:
Subject: Women: Congressional Tribute: Bust Unveiling of Sojourner Truth
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Emancipation Hall, U.S. Capitol
Washington, DC


SECRETARY CLINTON: What a wonderful day it is to be here in Emancipation Hall for this great occasion when Sojourner Truth takes her rightful place alongside the heroes who have helped to shape our nation’s history.

This is an achievement that did not come easily or quickly. It took years of hard work and faith by many people to make this day possible. And what a great honor and pleasure it is to have with us for this extraordinary moment in our nation’s history our First Lady, Michelle Obama.

I want to thank the Speaker for her leadership and also Congressman Boehner and Leader Reid and Senator McConnell, because this was a bipartisan effort. But I especially want to thank my partner in this project from the very beginning when we first co-sponsored the legislation for this extraordinary memorial years ago, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee.

This dream began with C. DeLores Tucker. All of us who knew and admired and loved C. DeLores remember that when she had her mind made up, you could not change it. She saw this through almost to the very end, and I know she is smiling down on us today in celebration and pride. And it is such a great delight to have with us her husband, William “Bill” Tucker. Mr. Tucker, thank you.
All the members of the National Congress of Black Women deserve our thanks, because you raised the money for this memorial. You raised it one dollar and five dollars at a time. It was a true grassroots effort. And you have every reason to be so proud of what you have achieved here.

I also want to take a moment of personal privilege and recognize another one of my heroines, Dr. Dorothy Height, who is here with us. You know, leaders like Dr. Height and E. Faye Williams and Michelle Battle and so many others stand in the footsteps of Sojourner’s legacy. It is all around us today. You heard the bishop. We’re here because of barriers she challenged and fought to tear down and paths she helped to forge and trod alone. So we honor her memory and we pay tribute to her life’s work, and we recommit ourselves to fighting to end injustice and inequality wherever it remains.

One hundred and fifty-eight years ago, hundreds of women and men from across the country gathered in a church in Akron, Ohio to declare a simple but revolutionary idea, that the rights afforded to men, particularly the right to vote, belonged to women too.

Now, in a few minutes, we’re going to hear from one of our great actresses, Cicely Tyson, who will recount those words. But inside that crowded church when this former slave stood to speak, at first, people were not paying attention. Some were kind of rude, if you read the history. But she knew firsthand the cruelties of slavery and oppression and the burden of gender inequality, and she drew vital connections between the two.

On that day in Ohio, she told the crowd of suffragettes that if they cared about women’s rights, they had to fight for the rights of current and former slaves, and that slaves deserved their support, just as the larger society should support the rights of women that they were campaigning for.

She lived for nearly 90 years. She never stopped fighting to extend the rights and protections of our democracy. She preached against capital punishment and advocated for prison reform. She recruited African American troops for the Union Army. She helped to desegregate the streetcars that ran through Washington, and she worked diligently to improve living conditions for freed men and women.

She did not know how to read or write. Her life was from the most humble and improbable circumstances. But she ended up counting President Lincoln and President Grant among her acquaintances. She never, never, despite what she went through, stopped believing in the promise of liberty. She lived long enough to see the end of slavery, but not the establishment of voting rights for women. The 19th Amendment would not be passed until 37 years after her death. But today, she takes her place in this Capitol, and we are the better for it.


Was any person ever better named? Think about it. She is a sojourner of truth, by truth, and for truth. And her words, her example, and her legacy will never perish from this earth, so long as men and women stand up and say loudly and clearly: We hear you echoing down through the years of history, we believe that your journey is not yet over, and we will make the rest of that journey with you. God bless the memory of Sojourner Truth.