Riverbend's recent posts have given me a chilling perspective on what it's like for an average Iraqi to live amongst the chaos of the last few weeks. She truly has a way with words.
"I’m reading, and hearing, about the possibility of civil war. The possibility. Yet I’m sitting here wondering if this is actually what civil war is like. Has it become a reality? Will we look back at this in one year, two years… ten… and say, “It began in February 2006…”? It is like a nightmare in that you don’t realise it’s a nightmare while having it- only later, after waking up with your heart throbbing, and your eyes searching the dark for a pinpoint of light, do you realise it was a nightmare…"
27 February 2006
26 February 2006
CSA: Confederate States of America
Last night John and I went with SecretRudy and his beau to see a very interesting, and frightening movie called CSA. It's a satirical mock documentary in History Channel format (complete with fake comercial breaks) that details American history as if the South won the Civil War and if slavery was still common practice in the US.
The general assessment was that we couldn't tell if it was "good" or "bad" per se, except John who said it turned his stomach. I think, like Bamboozled, the trailer presented this movie with a comical feel that ended up not being there. Several people left the theatre in the middle of it. It wasn't violent in the strict sense of the word, but it was extremely in-your-face racist, which to some can be considered a form of violence. However, I think that was the purpose. The way I see it, the movie shows what life might be like for African-Americans if the South had won, but also provokes you to think that the systematic racism shown in the movie does exist in our society today, it's just more subtle.
Images of "escaped slaves" being re-captured on a spoof commercial for a COPS style show, show images of angry black men being carried away by police. Isn't that what we see on the news every day? Isn't that what we see on shows like COPS? Isn't that the stereotype that still exists today? Black boys being over-represented in classes for "disciplinary problems" in school? The "dangerous" black man.
Many moments were downright uncomfortable, because what you were being bombarded with was the reality that many people in this country still see non-white people as sub-human on some level.
I can't say I'd recommend it for everyone, but I think it's worth seeing.
The general assessment was that we couldn't tell if it was "good" or "bad" per se, except John who said it turned his stomach. I think, like Bamboozled, the trailer presented this movie with a comical feel that ended up not being there. Several people left the theatre in the middle of it. It wasn't violent in the strict sense of the word, but it was extremely in-your-face racist, which to some can be considered a form of violence. However, I think that was the purpose. The way I see it, the movie shows what life might be like for African-Americans if the South had won, but also provokes you to think that the systematic racism shown in the movie does exist in our society today, it's just more subtle.
Images of "escaped slaves" being re-captured on a spoof commercial for a COPS style show, show images of angry black men being carried away by police. Isn't that what we see on the news every day? Isn't that what we see on shows like COPS? Isn't that the stereotype that still exists today? Black boys being over-represented in classes for "disciplinary problems" in school? The "dangerous" black man.
Many moments were downright uncomfortable, because what you were being bombarded with was the reality that many people in this country still see non-white people as sub-human on some level.
I can't say I'd recommend it for everyone, but I think it's worth seeing.
24 February 2006
Way to go Blago!
Apparently when Rod Blagojevich, the Governor of Illinois agreed to do the Daily Show interview, he didn't realize it was a comedy show. Uh, sure pal. I find it hard to believe that anyone in public office would be unaware of the Daily Show and the fact that it's fake news.
So at first I thought his appearance was his attempt to appear hip to the youngsters. Now it just shows he's either got his head up his ass or he's a liar.
I personally thought he did a good job in the interview (about his Executive order forcing pharmacies to fill emergency contraception prescriptions). It's not like he's complaining that he was made fun of, just that he didn't realize it would be turned into a comedy piece. Which just makes him look dumb.
It seems he's now posturing for his re-election - trying to balance his image with the liberal hipsters and the rest of the state. Personally, I think he's done a mediocre job. Sure, he's done some good things, but not enough to be considered a "keeper". We'll see who comes up against him in the Primaries.
So at first I thought his appearance was his attempt to appear hip to the youngsters. Now it just shows he's either got his head up his ass or he's a liar.
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't in on the joke.
Blagojevich says he didn't realize "The Daily Show" was a comedy spoof of the news when he sat down for an interview that ended up poking fun at the sometimes-puzzled governor.
"It was going to be an interview on contraceptives ... that's all I knew about it," Blagojevich laughingly told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a story for Thursday's editions. "I had no idea I was going to be asked if I was 'the gay governor.' "
I personally thought he did a good job in the interview (about his Executive order forcing pharmacies to fill emergency contraception prescriptions). It's not like he's complaining that he was made fun of, just that he didn't realize it would be turned into a comedy piece. Which just makes him look dumb.
It seems he's now posturing for his re-election - trying to balance his image with the liberal hipsters and the rest of the state. Personally, I think he's done a mediocre job. Sure, he's done some good things, but not enough to be considered a "keeper". We'll see who comes up against him in the Primaries.
22 February 2006
Interesting Article
I should preface this by saying I haven't been watching the Olympics, so I don't know anything about any of these incidents. But I have heard of Shani Davis, the speed skater from Chicago.
(Edited to add: Eric Zorn, a Tribune Columnist had a different opinion.)
Shani breaks the rules
When black men feel unconstrained by the nation's racial rules
By Melissa Harris-Lacewell
Published February 22, 2006
Chicago Tribune
Olympic gold-medal winner Shani Davis is not playing by the rules. I don't mean the Olympic rules of international athletic competition. He has abided by those. He trained hard, practiced long, competed honestly. He should be a momentary national hero. But Davis' press is ambivalent rather than celebratory. The reason: The speedskater is not playing by the unspoken, but powerful, racial rules that constrain black men in America.
- Davis was labeled selfish for deciding not to complete in a "team pursuit" event that would have given a white teammate a chance to win five gold medals.
- Davis was labeled rude for his terse interview on NBC after his medal win in the 1,000-meter race.
- He made a decision to put his personal goals for success above those of another athlete.
- He chose not to grin for the cameras and announce he was heading to Disney World.
These hardly seem like headline provoking choices. But when these choices are made by a black man, the first black man of U.S. winter Olympic glory, they provoke America's racial angst.
Black men in America face very strict constraints on their public behavior. Powerful images of black men as aggressive, sexual predators emerged at the same time that black men first assumed the role of citizen following Reconstruction. These myths were used to justify a system that terrorized African-American communities and limited black men's public expressions.
Under lynch-mob rules, black men could be murdered for the slightest infraction of the social code. They learned to play by the racial rules by appearing meek, deferential and grateful in public.
Social scientific studies continue to show that rambunctious black boys are perceived as threats in our nation's classrooms, while unruly white male behavior is excused. Unabated racial profiling in our nation's cities means that black men live under the constant threat of criminalization. When Shani Davis failed to act sufficiently gleeful after his win, he was asked: Are you angry? Our nation continues to read black male autonomy as frightening, angry and aggressive.
What does all of this have to do with Shani Davis? It helps explain the angst about his actions. White athletes regularly behave in similar ways: Bode Miller anyone? But the subtext here is racial. How dare you keep a white skater from reaching his goals, just so that you can pursue your own? How dare you not smile broadly for the cameras, in order to reassure the nation that you are a safe black man?
Shani Davis is not a race hero. He does not belong, politically speaking, in the same league as conscientious athletic dissenters like Tommie Smith and John Carlos of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Shani Davis is just a world-class athlete; fiercely competitive and not media friendly. And that is OK. Black men have the right to claim their victories and their humanity unconstrained by the nation's racial rules.
----------
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Chicago and the author of "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought."
(Edited to add: Eric Zorn, a Tribune Columnist had a different opinion.)
Shani breaks the rules
When black men feel unconstrained by the nation's racial rules
By Melissa Harris-Lacewell
Published February 22, 2006
Chicago Tribune
Olympic gold-medal winner Shani Davis is not playing by the rules. I don't mean the Olympic rules of international athletic competition. He has abided by those. He trained hard, practiced long, competed honestly. He should be a momentary national hero. But Davis' press is ambivalent rather than celebratory. The reason: The speedskater is not playing by the unspoken, but powerful, racial rules that constrain black men in America.
- Davis was labeled selfish for deciding not to complete in a "team pursuit" event that would have given a white teammate a chance to win five gold medals.
- Davis was labeled rude for his terse interview on NBC after his medal win in the 1,000-meter race.
- He made a decision to put his personal goals for success above those of another athlete.
- He chose not to grin for the cameras and announce he was heading to Disney World.
These hardly seem like headline provoking choices. But when these choices are made by a black man, the first black man of U.S. winter Olympic glory, they provoke America's racial angst.
Black men in America face very strict constraints on their public behavior. Powerful images of black men as aggressive, sexual predators emerged at the same time that black men first assumed the role of citizen following Reconstruction. These myths were used to justify a system that terrorized African-American communities and limited black men's public expressions.
Under lynch-mob rules, black men could be murdered for the slightest infraction of the social code. They learned to play by the racial rules by appearing meek, deferential and grateful in public.
Social scientific studies continue to show that rambunctious black boys are perceived as threats in our nation's classrooms, while unruly white male behavior is excused. Unabated racial profiling in our nation's cities means that black men live under the constant threat of criminalization. When Shani Davis failed to act sufficiently gleeful after his win, he was asked: Are you angry? Our nation continues to read black male autonomy as frightening, angry and aggressive.
What does all of this have to do with Shani Davis? It helps explain the angst about his actions. White athletes regularly behave in similar ways: Bode Miller anyone? But the subtext here is racial. How dare you keep a white skater from reaching his goals, just so that you can pursue your own? How dare you not smile broadly for the cameras, in order to reassure the nation that you are a safe black man?
Shani Davis is not a race hero. He does not belong, politically speaking, in the same league as conscientious athletic dissenters like Tommie Smith and John Carlos of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Shani Davis is just a world-class athlete; fiercely competitive and not media friendly. And that is OK. Black men have the right to claim their victories and their humanity unconstrained by the nation's racial rules.
----------
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Chicago and the author of "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought."
Is Bush Stupid?
I know, I know... you're thinking "do you really have to ask?"
In light of the whole port security issue, I actually do have to ask. I think the answer is "yes" for many reasons, but this is the most obvious.
Think about it: Bush's "war on terror" and the support he received for the war in Iraq depended on his confidence in the average American's inability to tell one raghead from another. I remember being tempted at Richard Clarke's book signing a couple years ago to have him write in "Against All Enemies" that Sadaam Hussein <> Osama bin Laden. (that means not equal to).
Now, all the sudden he's counting on the ability of the average American to tell the good Arab terrorist from the bad Arab terrorist? I can just see him "The United Arab Emirates never attacked the United States!" --pssst! Neither did Iraq.
I personally don't think that any foreign country should have control over our port security, period. Why don't we outsource our airport security to Mexico next! Or how about a Police force straight from Thailand!
In light of the whole port security issue, I actually do have to ask. I think the answer is "yes" for many reasons, but this is the most obvious.
Think about it: Bush's "war on terror" and the support he received for the war in Iraq depended on his confidence in the average American's inability to tell one raghead from another. I remember being tempted at Richard Clarke's book signing a couple years ago to have him write in "Against All Enemies" that Sadaam Hussein <> Osama bin Laden. (that means not equal to).
Now, all the sudden he's counting on the ability of the average American to tell the good Arab terrorist from the bad Arab terrorist? I can just see him "The United Arab Emirates never attacked the United States!" --pssst! Neither did Iraq.
I personally don't think that any foreign country should have control over our port security, period. Why don't we outsource our airport security to Mexico next! Or how about a Police force straight from Thailand!
21 February 2006
What the FUCK is wrong with some people?????
Donna alerted me to this story today on CNN.com and it just makes me sick.
No, you didn't read that wrong. We have an asswipe extraordinarre in our midst who actually thinks military deaths in Iraq are God's punishment for the US 'harboring' homosexuals.
I have to commend the bikers for going out in the bitter cold of winter to help overshadow this asshole's protestors. I mean, any demonstration at a funeral is tacky, but the reason they are doing it is to try and have someone at each funeral to show support for the family.
This makes me sick on so many levels that I cannot begin to sort out the reasons.
If you want to demonstrate for or against the war in Iraq, that is your right. If you want to run a website called godhatesfags, that is your right also. But what kind of crazy douchebag thinks war has anything to do with domestic policies regarding homosexuals?
And what kind of a person purports to be a man of God and then uses some stranger's family's funeral for someone who lost their life in Iraq as a political propoganda stunt! Even war protestors or supporters should have the decency to realize that funerals are off-limits.
I know, some people are thinking about Cindy Sheehan and may think she used her son's death for political statements. But it was HER son and HER family. It was HER choice. I highly doubt that any of these families being subject to this mental torture actually invited the Reverend Phelps to their funerals.
This sick fuck needs a bullet. I don't say that often, but he just needs to die. People like that have no place in a civilized society. Though, I suppose the word "civilized" is a relative term nowadays.
FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) -- Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier's funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.
They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals.
Phelps believes American deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. His protesters carry signs thanking God for so-called IEDs -- explosives that are a major killer of soldiers in Iraq.
No, you didn't read that wrong. We have an asswipe extraordinarre in our midst who actually thinks military deaths in Iraq are God's punishment for the US 'harboring' homosexuals.
I have to commend the bikers for going out in the bitter cold of winter to help overshadow this asshole's protestors. I mean, any demonstration at a funeral is tacky, but the reason they are doing it is to try and have someone at each funeral to show support for the family.
This makes me sick on so many levels that I cannot begin to sort out the reasons.
If you want to demonstrate for or against the war in Iraq, that is your right. If you want to run a website called godhatesfags, that is your right also. But what kind of crazy douchebag thinks war has anything to do with domestic policies regarding homosexuals?
And what kind of a person purports to be a man of God and then uses some stranger's family's funeral for someone who lost their life in Iraq as a political propoganda stunt! Even war protestors or supporters should have the decency to realize that funerals are off-limits.
I know, some people are thinking about Cindy Sheehan and may think she used her son's death for political statements. But it was HER son and HER family. It was HER choice. I highly doubt that any of these families being subject to this mental torture actually invited the Reverend Phelps to their funerals.
This sick fuck needs a bullet. I don't say that often, but he just needs to die. People like that have no place in a civilized society. Though, I suppose the word "civilized" is a relative term nowadays.
20 February 2006
You know how sometimes you don't feel like doing anything?
This was one of those weekends. I guess it was just a long week. I had class Tuesday night (I got home about 9pm). Wednesday, I helped out with the production of the Vagina Monologues at school (I got home at 8:30). Thursday, I went with mom and the Queen of the Universe to see said monologues (I got home at 10pm). Friday we went to my cousin's wedding, and I don't remember when we got home.
Thursday's show was fun though. They were holding a raffle as part of the fundraiser, and one of the prizes was a nice fluffy pillow -- shaped like a vagina.
Red velvet & satin (and fur, of course), with a little gem for the clitoris. So guess who won the pillow... no, not me. Mom. ~R looked right at her two seconds before they drew the name and said 'You are totally gonna win that thing"... and she was right. Mom made me go up and claim it though. After the show I got her a shopping bag from my office so she didn't have to display her newly won vagina on the el home. And she says she never wins anything. It was pretty funny.
Friday's wedding was fun too. My cousin has been waiting a while for this (his first wife kept the divorce proceedings dragging on for what is now going on 3 years). It's a long story that I won't get into except to say that I hope he's happy.
Saturday John's dad & stepsister came over to claim my old iPod. She got a deal - a (granted, used) 30G iPod with 3,500 songs for less than half the cost of the device itself. I would feel horrible if it died though - seeing how Apple doesn't support the old ones anymore. Everyone else I know has had theirs die - but John got me the original 30G before the slightly newer 40G ones came out (those are the ones that died) - so I guess they don't make 'em like they used to. Cuz I beat the hell out of that thing too, and I have never had a problem with it at all.
Sunday we just sat around all day. I didn't even get dressed. It's nice sometimes to just sit in your jammies all day. I got this Yoga DVD called AM/PM - and it has two routines (morning/evening - duh). I tried it yesterday and it seems like a good starting point for me. The people in the tape look like Stretch Armstrong compared to Ms. Can't touch her head to her knees... I used to be more flexible. I'm hoping it will help with muscle tone and with loosening up my joints.
I guess those are the highlights. I don't want to go to work.
Oh, and some folks are having problems publishing to Blogger... I changed the link to the Great White Bear, temporarily.
Thursday's show was fun though. They were holding a raffle as part of the fundraiser, and one of the prizes was a nice fluffy pillow -- shaped like a vagina.
Red velvet & satin (and fur, of course), with a little gem for the clitoris. So guess who won the pillow... no, not me. Mom. ~R looked right at her two seconds before they drew the name and said 'You are totally gonna win that thing"... and she was right. Mom made me go up and claim it though. After the show I got her a shopping bag from my office so she didn't have to display her newly won vagina on the el home. And she says she never wins anything. It was pretty funny.
Friday's wedding was fun too. My cousin has been waiting a while for this (his first wife kept the divorce proceedings dragging on for what is now going on 3 years). It's a long story that I won't get into except to say that I hope he's happy.
Saturday John's dad & stepsister came over to claim my old iPod. She got a deal - a (granted, used) 30G iPod with 3,500 songs for less than half the cost of the device itself. I would feel horrible if it died though - seeing how Apple doesn't support the old ones anymore. Everyone else I know has had theirs die - but John got me the original 30G before the slightly newer 40G ones came out (those are the ones that died) - so I guess they don't make 'em like they used to. Cuz I beat the hell out of that thing too, and I have never had a problem with it at all.
Sunday we just sat around all day. I didn't even get dressed. It's nice sometimes to just sit in your jammies all day. I got this Yoga DVD called AM/PM - and it has two routines (morning/evening - duh). I tried it yesterday and it seems like a good starting point for me. The people in the tape look like Stretch Armstrong compared to Ms. Can't touch her head to her knees... I used to be more flexible. I'm hoping it will help with muscle tone and with loosening up my joints.
I guess those are the highlights. I don't want to go to work.
Oh, and some folks are having problems publishing to Blogger... I changed the link to the Great White Bear, temporarily.
15 February 2006
Crazy Shit
Cillic recently turned us onto Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. It's one of those weird 15 minute long shows and they play random snippets of bizzarre claymation scenes. One is a two-second blurb with a guy standing on the corner selling purple baby vampires who are in a carboard box squawking like puppies. Another is Harry Potter with his broom stuck in his ass.
But this is the funniest one yet (and one of their longer segments).
Voltron gets served!
Or the Star Wars Spoiler. (John showed me this one, so I added it to the post). If you were disappointed with the prequels, you'll love it.
We've also grown to love Moral Orel, another 15 minute claymation show about a naiive boy named Orel who lives in Moralton, Statesota (wedged between Kansas and Missouri) who always takes his Bible lessons a little too literally. For instance, when learning waste is a sin, he starts drinking his own urine. Or when he's told to help the homeless, he does so giving a guy money for crack, but since it's a sin to waste money, he has to use whatever he buys... It's really funny.
John sent me dead flowers at work yesterday, it was very sweet. It's an arrangement of dried lavendar stems to keep my office smelling nice (on days I get tacos for lunch), but I don't have to water it. If it's already dead, I can't kill it...
But this is the funniest one yet (and one of their longer segments).
Voltron gets served!
Or the Star Wars Spoiler. (John showed me this one, so I added it to the post). If you were disappointed with the prequels, you'll love it.
We've also grown to love Moral Orel, another 15 minute claymation show about a naiive boy named Orel who lives in Moralton, Statesota (wedged between Kansas and Missouri) who always takes his Bible lessons a little too literally. For instance, when learning waste is a sin, he starts drinking his own urine. Or when he's told to help the homeless, he does so giving a guy money for crack, but since it's a sin to waste money, he has to use whatever he buys... It's really funny.
John sent me dead flowers at work yesterday, it was very sweet. It's an arrangement of dried lavendar stems to keep my office smelling nice (on days I get tacos for lunch), but I don't have to water it. If it's already dead, I can't kill it...
14 February 2006
Happy Birthday Puppy
Yeah, I know it's cheesey, but when she fell into our laps (quite literally) four years ago in May, the vet estimated that she was 3 months old and because she's a sentimentalist, wrote down her birthday as February 14th.
Now, we don't have birthday parties for her like some people we know, but we do give her a special treat with her food.
Call us queer, it's ok. ;)
Now, we don't have birthday parties for her like some people we know, but we do give her a special treat with her food.
Call us queer, it's ok. ;)
11 February 2006
V-Day
Help make Valentine's day more than just a vapid excuse for Hallmark cards and dead flowers.
"V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery."
Take a moment this week to think about all the women and girls in your life. Many colleges and schools had V-Day fundraisers - make your Valentine's date one of these events.
Enjoy your chocolates and roses...
"V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery."
Take a moment this week to think about all the women and girls in your life. Many colleges and schools had V-Day fundraisers - make your Valentine's date one of these events.
I've abridged these since they are quite long. To see the original and the links to the statistics, go here. (Editor's note: Sorry, I forgot the link - it's active now)
- 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17.
- 64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date.
- Only about half of domestic violence incidents are reported to police. African-American women are more likely than others to report their victimization to police.
- The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.
- The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years.
- Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women.
- Every 90 seconds, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
- According to the 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey, 62% of rape and sexual assault victims knew the perpetrator.
- Sexual violence is associated with a host of short- and long-term problems, including physical injury and illness, psychological symptoms, economic costs, and death.
- About half of all rape victims are in the lowest third of income distribution; half are in the upper two-thirds.
- Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships.
- Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes.
- An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually for sexual exploitation or forced labor.
- Somewhere in America a woman is battered, usually by her intimate partner, every 15 seconds.
- A University of Pennsylvania research study found that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to low-income, inner-city Philadelphia women between the ages of 15 to 44 - more common than automobile accidents, mugging and rapes combined.
GLOBAL STATISTICS - At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect.
- Globally, at least one in three women and girls had been beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime.
- In a recent survey by the Kenyan Women Rights Awareness Program, 70% of the men and women interviewed said they knew neighbors who beat their wives. Nearly 60% said women were to blame for the beatings. Just 51% said the men should be punished.
- 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually.
- An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year.
- In Bangladesh, 47 % of adult women report physical assault by a male partner (UNFPA)
- In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia):
- 62% reported having been raped in prostitution.
- 73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution.
- 92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.
- So-called "honour killings" take thelives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in North Africa, Western Asia and parts of South Asia. In 1999, more than 1000 women in Pakistan were victims of honour crimes.
- More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation. (Heise: 1994)
- In Uganda HIV infection is 6 times higher among young girls than boys with the difference in rates beginning as early as 9 years old and reaching a peak for the age-12-19 years old. This is due to old men seeking young girls for sexual exploitation with the belief that they are free form HIV.
- In Canada, 62% of women murdered in 1987 died at hands of an intimate male partner.
- In Zimbabwe, domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of murder cases that go through the high court in Harare.
- a study in Zaria, Nigeria found that 16 percent of hospital patients treated for sexually transmitted infections were under 5.
Enjoy your chocolates and roses...
10 February 2006
Some Stuff
Not to detract from the previous post, because I want that to keep going, but I have some random stuff to say:
London:
It looks like the London trip is going forward. The class is actually on the books officially, and we've decided one way or another we're going. If the class falls through for some reason, we might just put the trip off until my birthday in October. John's decided that he probably just wants to tag along, rather than taking the class, for several reasons I totally understand.
Music:
Barely Man-enough? Seriously? Come ON people! I had more faith in human beings than that. Ok, that's a damn lie, but still.
Work:
I rarely talk about work on my blog, just because you never know who reads what. I have to say one thing though (and those of you in the Education field should know what I mean). Does everyone who works in every Education department (those who educate teachers) take the short bus to school? I'm not talking about just here. It's the same where I was previously, and I've heard the same comments from people and colleges across the country. These are the people training our future teachers. It's really ironic.
Politics:
Libby said that his "superiors" authorized him to leak Valerie Plame's name to the press. Hm... now who could the former chief-of-staff to the Vice President of the United States' "superiors" be... Bozo the Clown? Cindy Sheehan? I know! George Clooney. No, that doesn't sound right either. It'll come to me in a second. When are these cock knockers going to get their due? Honestly - how much more clear could it be? They offered up Libby as the fall guy, thinking he'd throw himself on the rack for them. Ooops.
Fatty-Fatty 2 x 4:
Does anyone know of a good, low or medium-impact, home workout video? I need to get off my ass, and I don't want to just pick something off Amazon and hope it doesn't suck. I'd rather do it at home, since I can do it whenever I want, vs. having to go to a gym. Maybe if I get into the groove I'll get a gym membership, but right now it's just not worth it for me.
I was tempted to get Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease video (not). I'm not kidding. I saw this and laughed by ass off. "Aerobic Striptease helps you look good, feel great and spice up your personal life in the comfort of your own home!" My personal favorite? Disc #4, the lapdance. Why do I think I would look like one of the dancing hippos from Fantasia?
No, seriously, Donna recommended a good yoga video, but I need something more cardio to go with it. Any ideas? Low impact and little need for coordination is best.
London:
It looks like the London trip is going forward. The class is actually on the books officially, and we've decided one way or another we're going. If the class falls through for some reason, we might just put the trip off until my birthday in October. John's decided that he probably just wants to tag along, rather than taking the class, for several reasons I totally understand.
Music:
Barely Man-enough? Seriously? Come ON people! I had more faith in human beings than that. Ok, that's a damn lie, but still.
Work:
I rarely talk about work on my blog, just because you never know who reads what. I have to say one thing though (and those of you in the Education field should know what I mean). Does everyone who works in every Education department (those who educate teachers) take the short bus to school? I'm not talking about just here. It's the same where I was previously, and I've heard the same comments from people and colleges across the country. These are the people training our future teachers. It's really ironic.
Politics:
Libby said that his "superiors" authorized him to leak Valerie Plame's name to the press. Hm... now who could the former chief-of-staff to the Vice President of the United States' "superiors" be... Bozo the Clown? Cindy Sheehan? I know! George Clooney. No, that doesn't sound right either. It'll come to me in a second. When are these cock knockers going to get their due? Honestly - how much more clear could it be? They offered up Libby as the fall guy, thinking he'd throw himself on the rack for them. Ooops.
Fatty-Fatty 2 x 4:
Does anyone know of a good, low or medium-impact, home workout video? I need to get off my ass, and I don't want to just pick something off Amazon and hope it doesn't suck. I'd rather do it at home, since I can do it whenever I want, vs. having to go to a gym. Maybe if I get into the groove I'll get a gym membership, but right now it's just not worth it for me.
I was tempted to get Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease video (not). I'm not kidding. I saw this and laughed by ass off. "Aerobic Striptease helps you look good, feel great and spice up your personal life in the comfort of your own home!" My personal favorite? Disc #4, the lapdance. Why do I think I would look like one of the dancing hippos from Fantasia?
No, seriously, Donna recommended a good yoga video, but I need something more cardio to go with it. Any ideas? Low impact and little need for coordination is best.
08 February 2006
Function of Education
In my last post, Zombie Slayer said "School's a good investment for the gov't. The more education someone has, the more money they make, and the more they pay in taxes. If you were Uncle Sam, wouldn't you want everyone in the country to have fat degrees?"
The plain answer to this question, is "no".
Why? Because our system of education is not set up to create whole generations of highly educated professionals. Our system is set up to reproduce the status quo social order.
Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor and a brilliant man, predicted that in the new global economy, only 20% of all jobs would be high-paying, "good" jobs. Twenty percent - world wide. The government, more and more influenced by corporate interests and neo-liberal political thought, is not benefited from educating everyone to their fullest potential. Rather, it only makes sense for them to educate those people who they think are worth educating. Who are those people? It's not the poor "urban" youth, I'll tell you that much. If the government truly believed in equal education for all, they wouldn't base school funding on property-taxes, ensuring that the richest students get the best schools. In our current mode of thinking, education's primary purpose is preparation for he job market, regardless of whether you think that's a good thing or bad. That said, it's not a good return on investment for the government to pay for higher education for everyone knowing full well that most of those people will not get a job that requires that education. Also, when the market is saturated with too many people who have degrees and not enough jobs requiring degrees, the value of the degrees themselves is decreased.
Now, let me back up a minute and ask a very important question: What do we expect from our educational system? Is education for the sole purpose of training workers for the labor market? Are we worth more than that?
Remember those early elementary school lessons: walk in a straight line, be on time, raise your hand to ask a question, passively listen to an authority figure and never question the information you're given... These are all remnants from when education served the factory owners.
Schools were expanded in the 1880s to teach children how to be obedient factory workers and lessons served to socialize them to assembly-line life (Spring). It was assumed that middle and lower class kids would always hold middle and lower class jobs. The sons of the business owners went to expensive prep schools where they learned philosophy, business and other creative thinking tasks that prepare them to become the next generation of factory owners.
So I ask again: What do you want from the education system? Who benefits from the current system where poor kids go to poor schools, get poor jobs, and have poor kids who go to poor schools? Who benefits in ensuring that schools reproduce the current social order?
The same people who are getting those tax cuts my friends.
I will be honest, I used to be shocked when I would talk to people at my undergrad institution about the high schools they went to and realize that they didn't have psychology classes, and philospophy classes and two swimming pools a field house and five foreign languages. Why do I deserve that when the kid who grew up in Berwyn and has to go to Proviso gets a school with none of that? Then we both end up at DePaul and I wonder what this kid's problem is because this stuff is easy! Can he really be held personally accountable for being unprepared for college algebra when he has never experienced the material in class? Am I really "smarter" than him because my school required four years of math and science?
This system is perpetuated when we buy into the whole concept of a meritocracy - that everyone has an equal chance to make it if they really try. The fallacy in this is that it only exists in a truly equal society (Spring). You could take a rich kid and a poor kid and put them in the same classroom and teach them the same things - but the outcome for the children will be vary different because of their circumstances outside the school. The rich kid may have a room filled with educational toys, books, parents that read to him, a stable home where both parents work. The poor kid could live in a high-stress environment where both parents work two jobs, don't have time to help him with his homework (and even if they did they don't understand it because they never graduated high school).
Another problem is the actual time-on-task spent in schools in higher-income vs. lower-income neighborhoods. I can't remember the statistic, but I can look it up if anyone wants to know - a significant percentage of time in poor schools is spent with students in study halls, or sitting quietly at their desks rather than learning because regular teachers are few and far between, teacher attrition is high, and substitutes are rarely qualified to teach the material for the classes. So students aren't actually learning anything.
Money isn't the solution. vouchers aren't the solution. Testing isn't the solution. Privitization isn't the solution.
None of these will reform education until education ceases to mirror the current social, economic and political problems and ceases to be seen as nothing more than workforce preparation for all but the select few.
Spring, Joel. American Education. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006.
The plain answer to this question, is "no".
Why? Because our system of education is not set up to create whole generations of highly educated professionals. Our system is set up to reproduce the status quo social order.
Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor and a brilliant man, predicted that in the new global economy, only 20% of all jobs would be high-paying, "good" jobs. Twenty percent - world wide. The government, more and more influenced by corporate interests and neo-liberal political thought, is not benefited from educating everyone to their fullest potential. Rather, it only makes sense for them to educate those people who they think are worth educating. Who are those people? It's not the poor "urban" youth, I'll tell you that much. If the government truly believed in equal education for all, they wouldn't base school funding on property-taxes, ensuring that the richest students get the best schools. In our current mode of thinking, education's primary purpose is preparation for he job market, regardless of whether you think that's a good thing or bad. That said, it's not a good return on investment for the government to pay for higher education for everyone knowing full well that most of those people will not get a job that requires that education. Also, when the market is saturated with too many people who have degrees and not enough jobs requiring degrees, the value of the degrees themselves is decreased.
Now, let me back up a minute and ask a very important question: What do we expect from our educational system? Is education for the sole purpose of training workers for the labor market? Are we worth more than that?
Remember those early elementary school lessons: walk in a straight line, be on time, raise your hand to ask a question, passively listen to an authority figure and never question the information you're given... These are all remnants from when education served the factory owners.
Schools were expanded in the 1880s to teach children how to be obedient factory workers and lessons served to socialize them to assembly-line life (Spring). It was assumed that middle and lower class kids would always hold middle and lower class jobs. The sons of the business owners went to expensive prep schools where they learned philosophy, business and other creative thinking tasks that prepare them to become the next generation of factory owners.
So I ask again: What do you want from the education system? Who benefits from the current system where poor kids go to poor schools, get poor jobs, and have poor kids who go to poor schools? Who benefits in ensuring that schools reproduce the current social order?The same people who are getting those tax cuts my friends.
I will be honest, I used to be shocked when I would talk to people at my undergrad institution about the high schools they went to and realize that they didn't have psychology classes, and philospophy classes and two swimming pools a field house and five foreign languages. Why do I deserve that when the kid who grew up in Berwyn and has to go to Proviso gets a school with none of that? Then we both end up at DePaul and I wonder what this kid's problem is because this stuff is easy! Can he really be held personally accountable for being unprepared for college algebra when he has never experienced the material in class? Am I really "smarter" than him because my school required four years of math and science?
This system is perpetuated when we buy into the whole concept of a meritocracy - that everyone has an equal chance to make it if they really try. The fallacy in this is that it only exists in a truly equal society (Spring). You could take a rich kid and a poor kid and put them in the same classroom and teach them the same things - but the outcome for the children will be vary different because of their circumstances outside the school. The rich kid may have a room filled with educational toys, books, parents that read to him, a stable home where both parents work. The poor kid could live in a high-stress environment where both parents work two jobs, don't have time to help him with his homework (and even if they did they don't understand it because they never graduated high school).
Another problem is the actual time-on-task spent in schools in higher-income vs. lower-income neighborhoods. I can't remember the statistic, but I can look it up if anyone wants to know - a significant percentage of time in poor schools is spent with students in study halls, or sitting quietly at their desks rather than learning because regular teachers are few and far between, teacher attrition is high, and substitutes are rarely qualified to teach the material for the classes. So students aren't actually learning anything.
Money isn't the solution. vouchers aren't the solution. Testing isn't the solution. Privitization isn't the solution.
None of these will reform education until education ceases to mirror the current social, economic and political problems and ceases to be seen as nothing more than workforce preparation for all but the select few.
Spring, Joel. American Education. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006.
07 February 2006
I hate people
I really do. Sure there's some good people out there who do good things, but in the long run, I think the Human race is just plain no-good.
If you haven't heard, Bush's new budget proposal includes a measure to completely cut TRIO programs from the education budget. TRIO is a program designed to help low-income, disabled, and/or first generation (neither parent has a college degree). At least at the Higher Ed level, it includes funding for tutors, and other special programs to help these students, who research show, have the toughest time persisting in school for a variety of reasons. Way to go Bush! We're well on our way back to an aristocracy. I mean, how is a meritocracy supposed to function when certain groups of people are locked out of the system from the get-go?
Then I saw this story about a church pastor throwing puppies from the back of his pick-up truck. Fucking horrible. Why is it that stories of animal abuse hit me harder than stories of people abusing other people? I really don't know. There ought to be stiffer penalties for animal abuse. This asshole is probably going to get a fine and 6 months in jail, if that. Personally, I think someone ought to throw HIS ass out of the back of a truck.
If you haven't heard, Bush's new budget proposal includes a measure to completely cut TRIO programs from the education budget. TRIO is a program designed to help low-income, disabled, and/or first generation (neither parent has a college degree). At least at the Higher Ed level, it includes funding for tutors, and other special programs to help these students, who research show, have the toughest time persisting in school for a variety of reasons. Way to go Bush! We're well on our way back to an aristocracy. I mean, how is a meritocracy supposed to function when certain groups of people are locked out of the system from the get-go?
Then I saw this story about a church pastor throwing puppies from the back of his pick-up truck. Fucking horrible. Why is it that stories of animal abuse hit me harder than stories of people abusing other people? I really don't know. There ought to be stiffer penalties for animal abuse. This asshole is probably going to get a fine and 6 months in jail, if that. Personally, I think someone ought to throw HIS ass out of the back of a truck.
05 February 2006
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
I dunno what all you losers are doing on Super Bowl Sunday, but John and I (who barely know who's playing in the Super Bowl) are going to be watching a couple movies we rented and the PUPPY BOWL II on Animal Planet.
I mean, what's cuter than watching a bunch of puppies (under 4 months) play a game of football with a bunch of toys on a fake field.
Blog Update: Ok, so we're watching the PuppyBowl for the last half hour and I can tell you that John and I feel more queer than a 3 dollar bill. It is the cheesiest thing I've ever seen! Not that we expected it to be anything but cheesy. I can feel my IQ dropping as we watch. But they sure are cute. I think it will become background images as we play Scrabble... Plus, we can't miss the kitty half time! ;)
Speaking of puppies, Annie has discovered the Mother Load of rawhide chews. The place we order them from had a gigantic chewie, so we decided to try it. It's funny to watch her try and drag this thing around since it's nearly as long as her whole body.
We also saw The Wedding Crashers, which I expected to be horrible. But for those of you that liked Anchorman and Dodgeball, it's actually really funny. I was surprised.
Have fun!
I mean, what's cuter than watching a bunch of puppies (under 4 months) play a game of football with a bunch of toys on a fake field.
Blog Update: Ok, so we're watching the PuppyBowl for the last half hour and I can tell you that John and I feel more queer than a 3 dollar bill. It is the cheesiest thing I've ever seen! Not that we expected it to be anything but cheesy. I can feel my IQ dropping as we watch. But they sure are cute. I think it will become background images as we play Scrabble... Plus, we can't miss the kitty half time! ;)
Speaking of puppies, Annie has discovered the Mother Load of rawhide chews. The place we order them from had a gigantic chewie, so we decided to try it. It's funny to watch her try and drag this thing around since it's nearly as long as her whole body.
We also saw The Wedding Crashers, which I expected to be horrible. But for those of you that liked Anchorman and Dodgeball, it's actually really funny. I was surprised.
Have fun!
03 February 2006
Opportunity Knocks
There's a two-week, intensive course being taught during the Summer here called "Cities at War" where the first week is in Chicago and the second is in London. It's Political Science, so it will fit into my program, and is offered as graduate credit. I really want to go. I'm trying to convince John to go with. He could enroll as a student-at-large and take the course for 50% (my tuition is 100% covered by the tuition remission for employees). I know we can swing it, and spend a few extra days in London and maybe take the chunnel to Paris for a short weekend. My folks have said that they could watch Annie for the week, if necessary. The only thing we'd have to worry about is airfare etc. I'd even be willing to forego my 30th birthday celebration in Vegas to do this. I'm going to get more details about it, but isn't that cool?
02 February 2006
Women vs. Sprawl Mart
The reasons to hate Wal Mart are abundant. The demise of small, local businesses, the asthetic nightmare of mini-malls scarring the landscape, bad wages and treatment of workers, flooding the market with cheap, poorly made goods taking manufacturing jobs away from the US... the list goes on.
Not that this is new, this has been going on for a while, but a group of women are suing Wal-Mart to require the stores to stock emergency contraception in the pharmacies.
The suit says that Wal-Mart violates state laws requiring pharmacies to stock commonly prescribed medications.
Hmm... I suppose the community "needs" boner pills though, right? Gotta keep those flacid, crusty, old men knee-deep in poontang!
That's easier said than done in some areas of the country. Sure, here in Chicago I can walk 2 blocks to the next Walgreens, Osco, CVS, Target or Drugs R' Us. What about people who live in rural areas, or depressed areas where Wal-Mart is the only option they have because (see above) Wal-Mart has summarily executed the mom n' pop pharmacy that used to be on Main Street? What about low-income women whose crappy work schedules prevent them from making the 20 mile trip to the next Wal-Mart that might or might not carry what they need? Remember also, that EC has to be taken within a certain period of time for it to work.
My other problem with this whole debacle is this: I understand why some people are against abortion. I really do. And I respect their opinions and their right to choose what is right for them and their family. But Why. Why. Why. would anyone in their right mind, in this day and age, be against contraception? Seriously folks. Contraception prevents abortion. I know, it's a radical idea.
I know, you're saying "but this is emergency contraception." That's only for sluts and harlots who couldn't keep their knees in an upright, locked position. For those of you who might have that point of view, I have two words:
Someone could be being responsible and still need emergency contraception. Condoms break, thousands of women are raped every year, other birth control methods can fail.
What right does some schmuck behind a pharmacy counter have to judge me for asking for emergency contraception?
Not that this is new, this has been going on for a while, but a group of women are suing Wal-Mart to require the stores to stock emergency contraception in the pharmacies.
The suit says that Wal-Mart violates state laws requiring pharmacies to stock commonly prescribed medications.
Said the attorney for the company: "[Wal-Mart has] long had the corporate policy of declining to make available EC (emergency contraception) medication, based on, among other things, a view that EC medication is not 'commonly prescribed' and within the 'usual needs of the community.'
Hmm... I suppose the community "needs" boner pills though, right? Gotta keep those flacid, crusty, old men knee-deep in poontang!
He also said: "if a Wal-Mart pharmacy doesn't carry a certain prescription, the pharmacist is instructed to refer the customer to a different drug store."
That's easier said than done in some areas of the country. Sure, here in Chicago I can walk 2 blocks to the next Walgreens, Osco, CVS, Target or Drugs R' Us. What about people who live in rural areas, or depressed areas where Wal-Mart is the only option they have because (see above) Wal-Mart has summarily executed the mom n' pop pharmacy that used to be on Main Street? What about low-income women whose crappy work schedules prevent them from making the 20 mile trip to the next Wal-Mart that might or might not carry what they need? Remember also, that EC has to be taken within a certain period of time for it to work.
My other problem with this whole debacle is this: I understand why some people are against abortion. I really do. And I respect their opinions and their right to choose what is right for them and their family. But Why. Why. Why. would anyone in their right mind, in this day and age, be against contraception? Seriously folks. Contraception prevents abortion. I know, it's a radical idea.
I know, you're saying "but this is emergency contraception." That's only for sluts and harlots who couldn't keep their knees in an upright, locked position. For those of you who might have that point of view, I have two words:
Fuck.
Off.
Off.
Someone could be being responsible and still need emergency contraception. Condoms break, thousands of women are raped every year, other birth control methods can fail.
What right does some schmuck behind a pharmacy counter have to judge me for asking for emergency contraception?
01 February 2006
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