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Los Angeles: falle nella giustizia antiviolenza
A Los Angeles, in California, 12.000 rape kits rimangono giacenti in attesa di essere testati. Questo significa che 12.000 donne e ragazze vittime di violenza sessuale attendono di avere delle possibilità concrete che i loro assalitori vengano trovati e, di conseguenza, processati e condannati.
La ricercatricce Sarah Tofte ha svolto un'indagine per conto di Human Rights Watch che ha anche pubblicato una relazione.
Women who are raped have a right to expect police to do all they can to thoroughly investigate their case, but in LA they often feel betrayed to learn that their rape kits are never even tested. And in some cases, failure to test means that a rapist who could have been arrested will remain free.
Sarah Tofte, researcher for the US program at Human Rights Watch12,000 Untested Kits Undermine Investigations and Justice for Victims
Women who are raped have a right to expect police to do all they can to thoroughly investigate their case, but in LA they often feel betrayed to learn that their rape kits are never even tested. And in some cases, failure to test means that a rapist who could have been arrested will remain free.
Sarah Tofte, researcher for the US program at Human Rights Watch
(Los Angeles) - Los Angeles County officials should move urgently to test a backlog of more than 12,000 rape kits - the physical evidence collected after a sexual assault - to ensure justice for rape victims, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 68-page report, "Testing Justice: The Rape Kit Backlog in Los Angeles City and County," reveals that the backlog of untested rape kits in Los Angeles County is larger and more widespread than previously reported. Through dozens of interviews with police officers, public officials, criminalists, rape treatment providers, and rape victims, the report documents the devastating effects of the backlog on victims of sexual abuse.
"Women who are raped have a right to expect police to do all they can to thoroughly investigate their case, but in LA they often feel betrayed to learn that their rape kits are never even tested," said Sarah Tofte, researcher with Human Rights Watch's US program and author of the report. "And in some cases, failure to test means that a rapist who could have been arrested will remain free."
Women who report being raped are asked to undergo a lengthy, extensive examination to collect DNA and other physical evidence that might identify their attacker, corroborate testimony about the assault, or connect their case to other rape crime scene evidence. The resulting rape kit is then booked into police evidence. However, although rape victims may believe it is automatically tested, that is often not the case in Los Angeles County. Rape treatment providers told Human Rights Watch that victims assumed silence from the officers investigating their case simply meant no evidence was found, or that there was no DNA match.
But Human Rights Watch analyzed data from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, and Los Angeles County's 47 independent police departments, and found that as of March 1, 2009, there were at least 12,669 untested rape kits sitting in storage facilities. In those cases, officers never sent the kits on for forensic testing.
Of these 12,669 untested kits, at least 1,218 are from unsolved cases in which the attacker was a stranger to the victim. And 499 kits are attached to cases past the 10-year statute of limitations for rape in California, making it impossible to prosecute the alleged assailants even if they were to be identified. Under California law, if those 499 kits had been opened within two years of the attack, the statute would no longer apply. Thousands more rape kits were destroyed untested.
The backlog grew even as the Police and Sheriff's Departments received millions of federal dollars from the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant, a program the US Congress created to address rape kit backlogs, the effect of which is blunted by the fact that grantees can use the money to test any kind of DNA backlog.
Human Rights Watch's report also contains previously unpublished data on the extent of the rape kit backlog in the 47 cities in Los Angeles County that have independent police departments. For example, records obtained by Human Rights Watch show that the City of Long Beach booked 1,911 rape kits into evidence in the past 15 years. Of those, 51 were sent to the crime lab, an estimated 780 untested kits were destroyed, and 1,072 currently sit untested in their police storage facility. (A chart of data from the 47 cities is available in chapter VI of the report.)
Backlogs of rape kits exist at police stations and crime labs throughout the United States, but nowhere is the problem known to be more acute than Los Angeles. The accumulation of rape kits in Los Angeles County is due to a combination of police discretion regarding which rape kits get tested; a lack of financial commitment to testing; and the length of time it took officials to acknowledge the nature and extent of the problem, Human Rights Watch said.
"Failing to test rape kits denies justice to women who've suffered sexual violence," said Tofte. "If officials had spent federal money to test more kits, they might have prevented future rapes and allowed for prosecution in cases that are now beyond the statute of limitations."
The backlog can have tragic results. In one case documented in the report, in the time it took police to test one woman's rape kit, the alleged perpetrator had attacked at least two other victims, including a child.
Per leggere tutto l'articolo cliccate sul link riportato sopra.
Per chi avesse interesse a leggere la relazione nella sua interezza ecco il file pdf:
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/rapekit0309web.pdf
Usa: Sara Hurwitz diventa morateinu
Sara Hurwitz, ebrea ortodossa, ha ricevuto il titolo di morateinu presso l'Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.
Nei blog ebraici si è parlato di lei come di una quasi-rabbina o di una donna che, pur non avendo ufficialmente il titolo è come se fosse un rabbino.
Riverdale Press ha pubblicato un interessante profilo su di lei. Riporto alcuni paragrafi che trovo particolarmente interessanti.
Su Youtube c'è, suddivisa in tre parti, tutta la Conferral Ceremony.
"Sometimes I feel like there is a cement ceiling, let alone a glass ceiling," Ms. Hurwitz said in a recent interview. "And other times I feel like there are opportunities waiting for me and it's just a matter of me taking hold of them."
The one-time congregational intern now holds one of the highest leadership positions possible for a woman in her Orthodox synagogue.
As Ms. Hurwitz explained, the title, which will be given to her by Rabbi Weiss, is in many ways synonymous with that of a rabbi, but it denotes a major difference: its holder is a woman and she will not be on equal footing with the synagogue's rabbis. Even with the new designation, she is not permitted to read from the Torah or perform weddings or bar mitzvahs. She will also not count toward the formation of a minyan - the quorum of 10 men needed for a prayer service.
Ms. Hurwitz finds herself conflicted over the disparity.
"I completely ascribe to the Orthodox movement and accept it, but I still grapple with the restrictions on women," she said.
http://www.riverdalepress.com/atf.php?sid=3437¤t_edition=2008-03-13
Usa: Forze Armate contro la violenza sessuale
L'organizzazione Men can stop rape ha cominciato una collaborazione con Department of Defence per combattere la violenza sessuale nei ranghi militari.
La Campagna è intitolata Our Strengh is for defending: preventing sexual assault is part of our duty. Un'iniziativa lodevole della quale sarebbe auspicabile si parlasse di più, se non altro perchè potrebbe essere presa a modello presso gli eserciti di altre nazioni.
In support of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and as part of their recent efforts to create a “culture of prevention” to reduce sexual violence, this week the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) is launching a social marketing campaign it developed with internationally recognized expert, Men Can Stop Rape, Inc. (MCSR).
Patrick McGann, MCSR’s Project Director for the development of the DoD campaign adds, “While the realization of a culture of sexual assault prevention is still off in the distance for the military and for us all, we take hope in what the Department of Defense and all of us are doing starting in April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month and throughout the year to prevent sexual assault.”
http://www.mencanstoprape.org/info-url2699/info-url_show.htm?doc_id=872912
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53377Usa: lo Stato di Washington approva CEDAW
Gli Stati Uniti sono l'unica nazione del mondo occidentale che, al momento, non abbia ancora ratificato la Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations Against Women. Sinora 185 nazioni l'hanno ratificata.
Il documento approvato chiede che "President Obama and Secretary Clinton place the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in the highest category of priority in order to accelerate the treaty's passage through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the full United States Senate with the goal of ratification by the United States."
Ecco il testo del documento:
Usa: suore cattoliche investigate dal Vaticano
La Leadershio Conference of Women Religious è attualmente oggetto di inestigazione da parte del Vaticano.
Le suore, apparentemente, hanno posizioni dottrinarie in merito al ruolo della donna all'interno della chiesa e nella società e in merito alle persone gay che evidentemente infastidiscono le gerarchie vaticane composte, occorre ricordarlo, solo da uomini.
Riporto gli articoli del Washington Post, del National Catholic Reporter ed il comunicato stampa della Leadershio Conference of Women Religious
The Vatican has launched a doctrinal investigation into the leadership of Catholic sisters in the United States, reportedly because they have not sufficiently promoted the Vatican line on homosexuality and other issues.
Calls to the Vatican spokesman were not returned late Wednesday. A spokeswoman of the conference, Sister Annmarie Sanders, declined to comment beyond the statement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041502829.html
http://ncronline.org/news/women/vatican-investigates-us-women-religious-leadership
http://ncronline.org/news/women/women-religious-meet-vatican-accusers-rome
http://www.lcwr.org/lcwrpressreleases/publicstatements/Statement2-20-09.pdf
Usa: donne ebree a Louisville monitorano sistema giudiziario in favore delle donne vittime di violenza
Le aderenti alla sezione di Louisville del National Council of Jewish Women hanno monitorato per due anni il locale sistema giudiziario presentando proposte che utili per una migliore e più rispettosa gestione dei casi giudiziari in cui sono coinvolte le donne vittime di violenza. Il Court Watch Program ha ottenuto i risultati sperati ed ora queste infaticabili donne ebree sono disponibili per far conoscere nei dettagli l'esito della loro opera.
the Jefferson County Judge Executive and The Office for Women approached the NCJW Louisville Section about going into the Jefferson County District Court to monitor how the courts handled domestic violence cases.
Following our research in the courts, our section recommended that a program be initiated to provide support and advocacy to women and families in their time of need that would ensure that all parties are treated justly and respectfully. Our recommendation led to the creation of the separate Enhanced Family Supervision Docket in the Louisville/Jefferson County courts. This docket takes a therapeutic approach to solving the cycle of domestic violence by intensely supervising select domestic violence cases and supporting the individuals involved in the cases.
Both the NCJW Louisville Section and Judge Bisig are proud to be able to share our programs and efforts with the world community. It warms our hearts, knowing that we are not only making a difference in our local community, but also internationally.
Potete leggere l'articolo nella sua interezza qui:
Usa: premiate cinque donne scienziate
Wings Worldquest, il cui scopo è "to celebrate and support extraordinary women explorers and to promote scientific exploration, education and conservation to inspire future generations" ha annunciato la selezione delle cinque donne scienziate ed esploratrici per il 2009.
Potete leggere la biografia e i dettagli sulle ricerche compiute nel link che riporto.
Usa: la Chiesa Presbiteriana rifiuta ancora i pastori gay e lesbiche
Ancora una volta la Presbyterian Church (USA) ha deciso di mantenere le porte chiuse all'ordinazione di pastori gay e lesbiche. Dopo che la scorsa estate la chiesa aveva deciso a livello nazionale di procedere ad una cauta apertura, lasciando ad ogni singola comunità di scegliere secondo coscienza di avere o meno pastori gay, ora la conta dei voti a livello dei sinodi locali necessaria per la ratifica definitiva del cambiamento, ha dato esito negativo.
Unico segnale positivo appare il fatto che la maggioranza omofoba pare essere divenuta meno ampia rispetto al passato.
So even though a majority of the 173 presbyteries have voted to retain “fidelity and chastity,” there’s been a visible, almost visceral shift in the support – with the final vote when all the presbyteries have weighed in expected to be closer than ever before.
his year, a record number of local church bodies voted for inclusion of our GLBT brothers and sisters in the ordained leadership of the Presbyterian Church. And although the amendment did not pass, the conversation has changed forever.Usa: lotta alla disparità salariale tra uomini e donne
Negli Usa la disparità salariale tra uomini e donne persiste. L'American Assocation of University Women ha di recente pubblicato una serie di documenti approfonditi inerenti la questione.
Lo stesso ha fatto la National Organisation for Women.
Altre due organizzzaioni aiutano le donne nella lotta per la parità salariale.
Il National Commitee on Pay Equity e Wage offrono informazioni dettagliate su leggi esistenti, azioni di sensibilizzazione, iniziative legislative e modalità per le lavoratrici su come calcolare e confrontare la propria busta paga.
Census statistics released on Women's Equality Day--August 26, 2008--show that the gap between men's and women's earnings changed by less than one percent from 2006 to 2007, narrowing only slightly from 76.9 to 77.8 percent. Based on the median earnings of full-time, year-round workers, women's earnings were $35,102, and men's earnings were $45,113.
It is important to note that women's choices regarding work are not made in a vacuum. Factors that impact women's decisions include: workplace discrimination, either experienced or anticipated; a lack of women-friendly policies and resources in the workplace; persistent stereotypes that steer women and men toward different education, training and career paths; different societal expectations for wives compared to husbands and mothers compared to fathers; and myriad forms of sexism, both subtle and blatant.Usa: l'attrice Kelly McGillis si dichiara lesbica
Intorno alla metà degli anni 80 era diventata famosa per il suo ruolo in Top Gun. Ora l'attrice, sempre una bella donna, si dichiara lesbica nel corso di un'intervista alla cantante e vlogger gay Jennifer Corday.
Qua potete vedere l'intervista video:
http://www.shewired.com/Article.cfm?ID=22511
Kelly said it took her a long time to accept she was a lesbian. 'I think that was an ongoing process from the time I was probably 12.
'It was a long arduous journey for me. I had a lot of bad things happen to me that made me think God was punishing me for being gay.
'Life is a freaking journey about coming to terms with who and what you are.'
Usa: Katie Visco corre attraverso l'America
Le ragazze come Katie sono da ricordare. Per la loro forza, la loro perseveranza, la grinta, lo spirito di sacrificio e gli ideali che trasmettono ad altre ragazze attraverso lo sport.
Katie, il cui obbiettivo è traversare gli Stati Uniti correndo, diventando cosi' la più giovane donna a portare a termine tale impresa, raccoglie anche fondi per l'organizzazione Girls on the Run oltre a "Empowering people to find their passion, create a plan to embrace it, and run towards it fully!"
L'atleta ha un sito internet con tutte le informazioni riguardanti la sua corsa.
òa ers
young girls through running.
Usa: donne ebree leader nell'ambientalismo
Se si ha davvero a cuore l'ambiente si dovrebbe, per coerenza, riconoscere e dare visibilità a chi lotta per un futuro eco-compatibile.
Tra costoro le donne ebree sono le leader sia dal punto di vista della qualità che della qualità di impegno in tale ambito.
L'edizione primaverile di Jewish Women International dedica un approfondito articolo con una serie di profili di donne ebree impegnate nei vari settori dell'ambientalismo.
The women you met in “Down to Earth” are only a representative group—and a small one at that—of the Jewish women who are leading lights in the green movement. Lillian Siegel, a Schusterman Insight Fellow who worked in the JWI Program Department, has gathered a list of some of the other Jewish women who are making a significant mark in the burgeoning environmental field.http://www.jwmag.org/site/c.fhLOK0PGLsF/b.5026997/k.92C0/Down_to_Earth.htm
Usa: Alice Dustin, 66 anni, artista di circo
Si dice che la vita può ricominciare a 40 anni. A volte anche dopo.
Alice Dustin, artista pittrice, a 66 anni, possiede l'energia di una ragazzina ed è un chiaro esempio di quanto donne non più giovani siano ancora in grado di fare.
Ammiratela nel video:
Usa: Maine approva il matrimonio tra coppie dello stesso sesso
Lo stato del Maine ha approvato una legge che rende legale il matrimonio civile tra coppie gay. Negli Usa è il quinto stato che garantisce la piena eguaglianza giuridica tra coppie eterosessuali e coppie gay e lesbiche. Gli altri stati sono il Massachussetes, il Connecticut, il Vermont e l'Iowa.
The bill authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows.
The activist group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders has targeted all six New England states for passage of a gay marriage law by 2012.
"I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage," Baldacci, a Democrat, said in a statement released as he signed the bill.
"This law is simply about making sure that loving, committed couples, and their families, receive equal rights and responsibilities. This is a step that will strengthen Maine families," Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said in a written statement.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/06/maine.same.sex.marriage/index.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30602151/Iran: liberata Roxana Saberi
Ms. Saberi had been held in Evin prison since January. The court ruling meant that she can leave the country immediately if she decides to,
Her father, Reza Saberi, told journalists that Ms. Saberi was “exhausted but in good condition.” “Her release was a big surprise,” he said.
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was “heartened” by the ruling. The State Department had called the charges against Ms. Saberi baseless and urged her release.
The head of the New York based group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, said he was “thrilled” that Roxana Saberi has been released from prison and look forward to welcoming her home.
“But this is also a moment to reflect on the difficult conditions that Iranian journalists endure every day,” said Joel Simon, the group’s executive director. “Several Iranian journalists remain jailed today. We urge they be given the same opportunity for judicial review that was afforded to Roxana Saberi."http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/world/middleeast/12iran.html?_r=1&hp
Usa: donne ricercatrici del paranormale
Il sito Ghostvillage riporta una serie di interviste che, ricordo, non sono recentissime riguardo alle donne leader nei gruppi di ricerca del paranormale, molto diffusi negli Stati Uniti.
Dalle interviste, tutte estremamente interessanti, emerge un quadro in cui, a fianco della quasi totale assenza di aprte discriminazioni, si lamentano le difficoltà che le donne incontrano in qualunque altra attività lavorativa oltre alla carenza di donne leader.
Coloro che sono appassionati di ricerche sul paranormale troverano queste interviste utili per più puntuali ed approfondite riflessioni anche se, in Italia, almeno stando alla ricerca da me fatta per l'articolo a cui faccio riferimento nella presentazione, davvero non sussistono problematiche di tale natura.
http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_02162008.shtmlhttp://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_03022008.shtml
http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_03052008.shtml
http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_02192008.shtml
http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_02222008.shtml
http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_02252008.shtml
http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_02282008.shtml
Usa: Melodia Women Choir
Melodia Women's Choir is an ensemble of 32 singers who explore, create and perform music for women’s voices. Our repertory is an eclectic mix of rarely performed women's choral music, including classical, contemporary and premiere works. Melodia aspires to achieve the highest level of performance while offering innovative programs that appeal to audiences across a wide spectrum of musical taste.
Usa: l'attrice Clementine Ford si dichiara lesbica
L'attrice Clementine Ford, figlia d'arte di Cyblil Shepherd, si è recentemente dichiarata lesbica. Annunciando la sua relazione con la cantante Linda Perry che aveva fatto il suo coming out anni addietro.
Riporto il link diretto all'intervista:
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid76945.asp
Ecco la Ford con la fidanzata Linda
Di seguito la Ford con la mamma:
Entrambe le foto sono state scattate nel corso della serata di gala An evening with Women presso il Lesbian and Gay Center di Los Angeles.
Riguardo alla reazione della Shepherd al coming out della figlia il sito afterellen riporta la sientesi delle sue dichiarazioni. Ma, come si può dire, l'immagine parla da sola.
http://www.afterellen.com/blog/thelinster/cybill-shepherd-couldnt-be-more-proud-and-happy-for-clementineUsa: vandalizzata clinica del Dottor George Tiller
George Tiller ha una lunga storia di persecuzione da parte dei fanatici antiabortisti della destra cristiana evangelica negli Stati Uniti.
Per approfondire la sua storia qua troverete materiale che lo riguarda. Dopo un momento di sollievo gli integralisti cristriani sono di nuovo tornati alla carica vandalizzando la sua clinica.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29918417/
http://www.kansas.com/457/story/805346.html?story_link=email_msg
Usa: busto di Sojourner Truth a Capitol Hill
A renderle omaggio c'erano MIchelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi e tante altre donne influenti a Washington.
Sojourner Truth, suffragista afro-americana, ha finalmente il posto che le spetta.
"I hope that Sojourner Truth would be proud to see me, a descendant of slaves, serving as first lady of the United States," Obama told the crowd of more than 1,000 in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitor Center. She added that she was glad that African American children touring the Capitol -- "boys and girls like my own daughters" -- could now "come to Emancipation Hall and see the face of a woman who looks like them."
The predominantly female crowd roared its approval to both lines.
The idea began with the late C. DeLores Tucker, former chair of the National Congress of Black Women, a nonprofit advocacy organization devoted to advancing the causes of African American women. Tucker originally wanted to add Truth's likeness to the eight-ton "Portrait Monument" statues of the heroines of the suffrage movement: Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042803936.html
http://www.now.org/issues/legislat/052109truth.html
Usa: Ursula Burns prima donna di colore a capo di grande azienda
Xerox's announcement today that CEO Anne Mulcahy will retire on July 1 and transfer control to her president, Ursula Burns, marks two firsts: the transition of power from one woman to another at a large public company, and the first to be run by a black woman.
The women's partnership earned them media attention--partly, perhaps, because a female tandem at the top is so unusual.
Several years ago, when she was asked on a women's panel how she gained the confidence to be ambitious, Burns quickly responded, "I came from a very poor single-parent household, but [had a mother] who was extremely confident and had nothing but outstanding expectations of me and my siblings. There was no expectation that I would be anything but great at whatever I did."
http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/21/xerox-ceo-mulcahy-burns-forbes-woman-leadership-tech.html
http://www.women-omics.com/951-0-woman-to-woman-succession-at-xerox-as-mulcahy-steps-down.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/22/technology/companies/22xerox.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=new%20ceo,%20xerox&st=cseUsa: Obama nomina una donna alla Corte Suprema
Decisamente una bella differenza rispetto al predecessore George. Posso dire che Obama è un bravo ragazzo! Sicuramente è anche importante il fatto che sia una donnalatina, oltre che, ovviamente, una giudice competente.
President Obama has named Sonia Sotomayor, the federal appeals judge, as America’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, a woman with a remarkable personal story that began on a housing project in the south Bronx.
In making the first Supreme Court nomination by a Democratic president in 15 years, Mr Obama has said that the most important quality he was looking for was someone with empathy for ordinary citizens. Announcing his choice in the White House he said: “Even as she has accomplished so much in her life she has never forgotten where she began, never lost touch with the community that supported her. What Sonia will bring to the court is not only the experience acquired over the course of a brilliant legal career but the wisdom accumulated from an inspiring life’s journey.”
Judge Sotomayor said that Mr Obama’s decision to pick her was “the most humbling honour of my life” and that “never in my wildest childhood imaginings did I ever envision this moment”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8068637.stm
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6368289.ece
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/01/sonia-sotomayor-supreme-c_n_194470.html
Los Angeles: approvati fondi per testare referti medici di donne vittime di violenza
The Los Angeles City Council's approval on May 18 of funds for testing the physical evidence in rape cases is a major step toward reducing a huge backlog of "rape kits," Human Rights Watch said.
The new funding, while very positive, only addresses one element of the problem. The City Council's allocations only affect the testing of rape kits under the Los Angeles Police Department's jurisdiction, but will not help reduce the backlog of about 7,000 more rape kits stored by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and independent police departments in the 47 other cities in Los Angeles County.
The new funding enables the Los Angeles Police Department to allocate more resources and expedite testing. New York City was able to eliminate its backlog of over 17,000 rape kits through similar means within three years.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/05/19/us-la-vote-rape-evidence-backlog-major-step
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-tofte/making-rape-victims-pay_b_203212.htmlUsa: inaugurata scuola rabbinica ortodossa aperta anche alle donne
I also admire the rabbi who leads the Hebrew Institute, Avi Weiss, who is recognized as a great trailblazer within modern Orthodoxy. Weiss is the founder and president of a rabbinical seminary, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, which is dedicated to intellectual openness, including the expansion of women's role in Judaism. The seminary is an alternative to Yeshiva University, increasingly seen as dogmatic and insular. Hurwitz studied privately for six years with Weiss, and it is he who devised the new title.
Names do matter, and the title "rabbi" -- as with "priest" for Catholics -- brings with it a high level of respect and awe that "Maharat," let's face it, does not replicate. "Rabbi" is the pinnacle of Judaic authority. Many people regard their rabbi as a mediator of sorts between themselves and God. Children and adults alike look up to their rabbi as a role model. Eventually, I suppose, "Maharat" will cease to sound silly and gobbledy-gooky, and we will accept it as a legitimate title. But it will continue to belittle the women who hold it -- and, by extension, all women -- because it will always signify "she who is not fit to be called 'rabbi.'"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leora-tanenbaum/a-rabbi-is-not-a-rabbi-in_b_189767.html
Yesterday, the opening of Yeshivat Mahara"t, a new training program for Orthodox Jewish women to become spiritual leaders was announced. It's a big step, but women may still be barred from becoming rabbis. The school was founded by Rabbi Avi Weiss of New York's Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, who is an advocate for the expansion of women's rights in Orthodox Judaism
http://jezebel.com/5256244/new-school-for-orthodox-jewish-women-opens-but-will-they-be-rabbis
Known as Yeshiva Maharat, the school is expected to be up and running in September and will offer women part-time instruction in all areas of Jewish law, pastoral training and a synagogue internship.
A number of advocates for the rights of Orthodox women have been steadily pushing for several decades to expand the education and role of women in Orthodoxy. One major trend in recent years has been a greater emphasis on Jewish education for Orthodox women through such programs as the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education, which has offered intensive programs in Talmud study for women. Women have also taken on more high-profile instructional roles at Jewish day schools and some have taken official spiritual roles within synagogues. Though there have been only a few reported instances, some women have even been privately ordained as Orthodox rabbis.
Blu Greenberg, a leading Orthodox feminist, praised the yeshiva initiative as a “path-breaking and revolutionary” extension of long-standing efforts to advance the role of women in Orthodox society. She said that the title of “rabbi” might have been preferable, but added, “There’s nothing like facts on ground. The power of one model or 10 models is worth more than a thousand discussions or arguments on the subject.”
http://www.forward.com/articles/106320/
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1087780.html
http://www.jofa.org/pdf/JOFA%20Press%20Release.pdf
http://www.jofa.org/pdf/Responsa%20on%20Ordination%20of%20Women.pdf
Usa: ucciso il Dottor George Tiller
As one of the few doctors in the nation to perform late-term abortions, Tiller had been a high-profile target of abortion opponents for decades. His clinic, Women's Health Care Services, was bombed in 1985, and Tiller was shot in both arms in 1993 by abortion protester Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon of Grants Pass, Ore.
In 1991, the Summer of Mercy protests organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of anti-abortion activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and mass arrests.
Late-term abortion doctor George Tiller, a prominent advocate for abortion rights wounded by a protester more than a decade ago, was shot and killed Sunday at his church in Wichita, his attorney said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,523581,00.html
George Tiller, who had been picketed, bombed and shot in the arms in previous incidents, was killed outside the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas.
Mr Tiller, 67, one of the few doctors who still performed late-term abortions in the United States, was demonised by abortion opponents who regularly protested outside his clinic, located just off a busy road that runs through Wichita.
Usa: lo stato del New Hampshire legalizza i matrimoni tra coppie gay
The governor of New Hampshire has signed legislation making the US state the sixth to allow same-sex marriage.
John Lynch was surrounded by cheering supporters as he signed the three bills shortly after a key vote by both houses of the New Hampshire legislature.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont e Iowa sono gli altri stati che finora hanno riconosciuto legalmente il matrimonio civile tra coppie dello stesso sesso. Con il New Hampshire il numero sale a 6.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8082250.stm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/03/gay-marriage-new-hampshir_0_n_211063.html
“As people get to know the loving and committed couples at the heart of marriage equality,” said Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, “our culture is moving to equality.”
Usa: Obama dimentica le donne
Barak Obama, pur essendo un eccellente difensore dei diritti delle donne negli Stati Uniti, ha quasi completamente dimenticato la tematica nel suo recente discorso al mondo islamico.
Riporto la parte del discorso che riguarda la condizione femminile:
"I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.
Now let me be clear: issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.
Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity � men and women � to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams."
Riporto alcuni commenti che in massima parte condivido:
First of all, Obama's discourse is addressed to 'Islam', as if an idea, a concept, a belief, could hear him; as if those were not necessarily mediated by the people who hold these views, ideas, concepts or beliefs. As Soheib Bencheikh, former Great Mufti of Marseilles and now Director of the Institute of High Islamic Studies in Marseilles, used to say: “I have never seen a Qur'an walking in the street...”
Can we imagine for one minute that Obama would address himself to '’Christianity' or to 'Buddhism'? No, he would talk to Christians or Buddhists – to real people, keeping in mind all their differences.
Obama is essentialising Islam, ignoring the large differences that exist among Muslim believers themselves, in terms of religious schools of thought and interpretations, cultural differences and political opinions. These differences indeed make it totally irrelevant to speak about 'Islam' in such a totalizing way. Obama would not dare essentialise, for instance, Christianity in such a way, ignoring the huge gap between Opus Dei and liberation theology...
In this religious strait-jacket, women's rights are limited to their right to education, and Obama distances himself from arrogant westerners by making it clear that women covering is not seen by him as an obstacle to their emancipation – especially if it is 'their choice'... Meanwhile, Iran is next door, with its morality police that jail women whose hair slips out of the aforementioned covering, in the name of religious laws. And what about Afghanistan or Algeria where women were abducted, tortured, raped, mutilated, burnt alive, killed for not covering***?
At no point does he raise the issue of who defines culture, who defines religion, who speaks for 'the Muslims' – and why they could not be defined by individual women themselves, without clerics, without morality police, without self-appointed, old, conservative, male, religious leaders – if their fundamental human rights were to be respected. Obviously, Obama trades women's human rights for political and economic alliances with 'Islam'... 'Islam' definitely owns oil, among other things.
http://www.wluml.org/english/newsfulltxt.shtml?cmd[157]=x-157-564633
At one stage when Obama made reference to Bang-ladesh and Indonesia and Turkey, my heart fluttered in anticipation. Yes, I thought. He is now going to make the argument directly to the men who rule the Arab world with an iron fist. Talking about women’s rights, Obama said: “In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.”
Bravo, I thought. I hoped his next sentence would say: Now is the time for Arab countries to take a lead from their non-Arab co-religionists and learn how to bring women to the forefront of politics and leadership.
But he didn’t.
Instead his next line was almost an apology for why the Arab world is so hostile to women’s equality. Obama said, “Meanwhile, the struggle for women’s equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.”
To me he sounded as if he was saying to the kings and generals: Do not despair, we Americans too are not without blame as far as women’s rights are concerned.
Of course America has miles to go before it rests, but to even hint of a parallel between the challenges facing women in America and the appalling condition of women in the Arab world is downright dangerous and only feeds the mullahs who will say, “Look, even America discriminates against women — Obama said it.”
En attaquant la laïcité et en défendant le port du voile, le Président des Etats-Unis, dans son discours au Caire, a mis à mal le combat de millions de femmes qui paient de leur vie tous les jours pour sortir de la violence des fondamentalistes. Le président Obama nous réduit ainsi toutes au silence.
http://www.niputesnisoumises.com/blog/2009/06/05/obama-part-en-croise-contre-les-femmes/#more-1975
Usa: sessismo nelle istituzioni ebraiche
You know from the wide coverage of this week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., that there were several surprises in the statements delivered from the podium. We expected some surprises. What I, for one, did not expect -- given how the Jewish community has evolved in the past 30 years -- was the astonishing fact that of the 77 speakers listed for this year's plenaries and on-the-record press schedule, only two were women. Two!! You can see for yourself at aipac.org. And one of these was Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.).
When I began to observe and report on the American Jewish scene more than 30 years ago, I was alert to how few women were asked to speak at national meetings and to express their opinions in the Jewish press (except on obvious gender-related issues).
I was struck in those days by the absence of women leading major American Jewish organizations -- those big, co-ed "legacy" institutions. But this is 2009, for heaven's sake.
For any conference organizer or program planner to claim that he or she doesn't know of enough qualified speakers or presenters is absurd. Years ago, I would hear, "Just give me a list." Well, the lists have existed for a while now. The organization Advancing Women Professionals in the Jewish Community, the Talent Bank that Lilith magazine has maintained for many years and the faculty roster of every university are logical places to start.
Usa: successo del George Tiller Abortion Fund
In response to requests from Dr. Tiller's clinic staff, emails and phone calls we received from Dr. Tiller's friends and former patients, and a groundswell of support online, the National Network of Abortion Funds created the George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund late in the evening of Sunday, May 31, 2009.
Within the first 24 hours of the Fund's existence, we received more than $15,000 in donations.
The George Tiller Memorial Abortion Fund will provide assistance to the same women Dr. Tiller served: women seeking abortions in their second-trimesters, women facing extreme obstacles to abortion, and women who often must travel from their homes to obtain the abortion care they need. The Fund will assist with the cost of the procedures as well as the costs of travel and lodging. Notably, this Fund will be available to patients of the late Dr. Tiller's clinic, Women's Health Care Services in Wichita, at such time when the clinic is able to regroup and reopen.
http://www.nnaf.org/documents/GeorgeTillerMemorialAbortionFund6.2.09.pdf
http://www.nnaf.org/tiller.html
Usa: Hillary Clinton riceve l'Alice Award
This year’s prestigious Alice Award, named after Alice Paul, founder of the National Woman’s Party, will be presented to Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton for putting "eighteen million cracks" in the glass ceiling.
Riporto una parte del discorso della Clinton, sotto potrete leggerlo nella sua interezza.
So giving heart and support to women who are willing to take steps to have their voices heard, to really take the risks that go with speaking out, running for office, starting a business, defending the rights of others, is so important. And it means so much. I sometimes think we don’t give enough weight to what it means to just reach out person to person and say we’re with you, we care about you; to look for ways to support projects, by setting up foundations and going even on to a website like Kiva, K-i-v-a, and helping a woman who wants to start a business in El Salvador or who wants to create a better opportunity for her community somewhere in Africa. We have so many tools at our disposal that Alice Paul never had. And each of you here today has a unique ability to carry that message.
So I am deeply honored to receive this award named for one of the real giants of American history. But I know how much more we have to do, and as Secretary of State I see it every single day. But I am more encouraged than discouraged. I am more optimistic because I think history is on our side. We can see the tectonic plates shift. And I know that each of us want to see more progress on behalf of more women and girls, and together that’s exactly what we will help to bring about.
http://www.sewallbelmont.org/mainpages/AliceAward.html
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/06/124457.htm
Usa: chiusa la clinica del Dottor George Tiller
"I am currently exploring every option to be able to continue to make second- and early, medically indicated third-term abortions available," said Tiller associate LeRoy Carhart in a statement. Carhart, a Nebraska physician, performed abortions at Tiller's clinic on a rotating basis with two California doctors.
Warren Hern, one of the few remaining doctors in the U.S. who perform late-term abortions, said that the closing was understandable and was "the hideous consequence of 30 years of harassment." This week, he said, he has begun to see some of Tiller's patients at his clinic in Boulder, Colo.
Among the many things that may come out of the tragedy is "the recognition that more physicians need to step up and provide abortion care," said Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas & Mid-Missouri.
Brownlie said that with the closure of Tiller's clinic, Wichita joins the ranks of cities that have no abortion providers at all.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tiller10-2009jun10,0,6032915.story
"Part of what is a tragedy about this is that violence has achieved its objective," said Nancy Northup, president of Center for Reproductive Rights. "There is a concerted, ongoing effort at harassment and restriction with an aim to make doctors leave the field."
Operations at Women's Health Care Services Inc. were suspended following Tiller's death last month. In a statement released by his attorneys, Tiller's family said relatives had chosen to honor him with charitable activities instead of reopening the clinic.
"We are proud of the service and courage shown by our husband and father and know that women's health care needs have been met because of his dedication and service," the family said in the statement. They did not elaborate on their reasoning to close.
At least one doctor, LeRoy Carhart, had expressed an interest in reopening Tiller's clinic. Following the family's decision to shut it down, the Nebraska doctor said he wouldn't abandon his effort to make sure third-term abortions are available but did not elaborate on his plans.
"I completely understand and sympathize with this decision," he said in a statement. "I am currently exploring every option to be able to continue to make second and early medically indicated third trimester abortions available."
Reaction to the clinic's closing ranged from sympathy from abortion rights supporters to relief from some anti-abortion groups. Planned Parenthood Federation of America saod the decision to close was difficult for the Tiller family, while Randall Terry, who founded Operation Rescue before a falling-out with the organization, said "good riddance" when he heard about the closing.
"If his replacement was going to continue to kill late-term children, the protests would continue, the investigations would continue, the indictments would continue," said Terry, who stopped using the Operation Rescue name following numerous lawsuits in 1990. He said history would remember Tiller's clinic as it remembers Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/09/george-tillers-clinic-clo_n_213184.htmlUsa: lesbica tra le partecipanti a reality show con fotomodelle senior
C'è chi pensa che una donna oltre i 35 anni non valga più nulla e che non possa essere bella, affascinante e sexy. E c'è chi pensa che una lesbica non possa avere nessuna di queste qualità. A smentire entrambe gli stereotipi c'è il reality Usa "She's got the look" che vede impegnate in un contest come fotomodelle un gruppo di donne tutte rigorosamente over 35.
Tra loro Sandy Young, cantante rock indipendente e lesbica dichiarata. Eccola:
This Thursday night, cable channel TV Land (one of the many channels owned by Viacom, which also owns this website) premieres the second season of She's Got the Look — a modeling competition for women over 35 — with a lesbian among the contestants.
Sandy manages to convince the judges she can embody femininity as well as masculinity, so she lands one of the coveted finalist spots, and quite ably displays her femininity in one of the first challenges.
http://www.afterellen.com/TV/2009/6/shes-got-the-lookUsa: francobollo in memoria di Anna Jullia Cooper
Anna Julia Cooper (1858-1964) is a noted educator and activist, the fourth African-American woman to get a Ph.D. Her most well known work is A Voice from the South: A Woman of the South and is considered one of the first expressions of Black Feminism. Cooper is the 32nd person depicted in the U.S. Postal Service's Black Heritage series.
Usa: disparità razziale nell'assistenza medica alle donne
The report, "Putting Women's Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level," documents the persistence of disparities on 25 indicators between white women and women of color, including rates of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, AIDS and cancer, as well as insurance coverage and health screenings. It also documents disparities in the factors that influence health and access to care, such as income and education. Women of color fared worse than white women on most measures and in some cases the disparities were stark.
Among different racial and ethnic groups, American Indian and Alaska Native women had among the worst outcomes on many health indicators, often twice as high as white women. The percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native women in serious psychological distress was more than 1.5 times that of white women. They exhibited the highest rates of smoking and cardiovascular disease and had considerably higher rates of access problems, such as not having a recent checkup and not getting early prenatal care. One in three American Indian and Alaska Native women lived in poverty, and the median household income for such women was less than half that of white women.
Usa: in aumento odio antiebraico, razzismo e sessismo tra gli estremisti bianchi
President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court has unleashed a fusillade of anti-Semitic and anti-Hispanic vitriol among white supremacists and racists angry at the nomination of the first Hispanic to the high court.
White supremacists and anti-Semites have flooded Internet sites with messages charging the Sotomayor nomination is the result of "Jewish power" and conspiracy theories about Jewish control of the government and media.
Usa: in aumento donne supervisori Kosher
There are no hard figures, but very few kosher supervisors are women, despite no prohibitions in Jewish law.
Unlike with rabbis or cantors, Jewish law holds that an observant woman has the authority to supervise kosher standards in a kitchen. Kashrut is one of the few areas of Orthodox Jewish life where women have the same legal status as men.
As the kosher food industry continues to swell, so does the number of female kosher supervisors. And now they are receiving professional recognition.
"I've been jealous of the guys for years," she says. "I wanted to go to their course, but it wouldn't be appropriate for me to sit in a roomful of men."
When Kaner started doing kosher supervision 30 years ago, she was not paid nearly the same as her male counterparts. Today at Pearlstone, she makes a good salary and has full benefits and a 401K plan.
Most female supervisors work in the food services industry and tend to be found in cities outside New York and Los Angeles, where plenty of Orthodox men are available to fill the jobs.http://jta.org/news/article/2009/06/28/1006182/women-kosher-supervisors-on-the-rise-earning-respect
Usa: fondi per studi scientifici a studentesse
Women's tennis legend and Women's Sports Foundation founder Billie Jean King, 65, traded knowing smiles with a giddy Valerie Jarrett, president Barack Obama's senior advisor and the leader of a panel that discussed the challenges of furthering the letter and spirit of the law.
This celebration came against the backdrop of a study released Tuesday showing 12,000 more athletic scholarships available for females than males in sports played by both men and women. The College Sports Council, a watchdog group that charts the impact of Title IX on men's sports, says the NCAA is not making decisions based on interest when it comes to women's sports but is looking for sports with large rosters "to satisfy the gender quota," said chairman Eric Pearson.
Duncan also announced $2.4 million in grants for 13 organizations to support projects that will help high school girls gain higher proficiency in math and science, according to a White House press release.
"These grants go hand-in-glove with our efforts to improve equity and access for women and girls in the classroom and on the playing field," Duncan said. "While much has been accomplished since Title IX was enacted, we must continue to push for further progress. The Obama administration strives to remove the obstacle of gender discrimination as a way to increase access to college and careers for all students."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2009-06-23-title-ix-study_N.htm
Usa: scuola del Bronx vota coppia di lesbiche di colore come migliore coppia
Vikky 17, and Deoine, 18, were overwhelmingly voted “best couple” by their peers in the graduating class at Mott Haven Village Preparatory High School, a first for the small public high school
Vikky said she was approached by the yearbook’s editor, a friend who admired how she and Deoine have been together for two and a half years during what is often a tumultuous period in young dating lives.
”I think now, for other gay people who might go to my school, they will have a chance at getting in the yearbook, since we were the first,” she said.
The pair, who met in a 10th grade class and essentially went through the coming out process together, say their unique relationship has educated their classmates about gay and lesbian issues. No gay student organization exists at the school, although they describe the climate and teachers as generally supportive.
Neither young woman considers herself an activist, but Deoine hints that she follows gay rights developments somewhat closely. She mentions Cynthia Nixon and Ellen DeGeneres as role models
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid93795.asp
Usa: Lynn Rosenthal nominata da Joe Biden White House Advisor on Violence Against Women
Joe Biden continua il suo lodevole impegno nel campo della lotta alla violenza contro le donne.
Vice President Biden, the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, announced today the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal as the new White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. Ms. Rosenthal is one of the nation’s foremost experts in domestic violence policy, and has worked at the local, state and national levels to create an environment where violence against women is not ignored and perpetrators are held accountable. This is a newly created position at the White House, dedicated specifically to advising the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.
"President Obama and Vice President Biden could not have named a more qualified, visionary leader to advise the White House on violence against women," said Sue Else, President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. "Lynn Rosenthal is a pioneer in the movement against domestic abuse and sexual assault. Her expertise will help to shape federal policies that will serve countless survivors of domestic and sexual violence."
In this new position, Ms. Rosenthal will serve as an advisor to the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues; be a liaison to the domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy community; coordinate with the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) on implementation of Violence Against Women Act programs; coordinate with the Department of Health and Human Services on implementation of Family Violence Prevention Act services (including the National Domestic Violence Hotline); coordinate with the State Department and USAID on global domestic violence initiatives; and drive the development new initiatives and policy aimed at combating domestic violence and sexual assault with advocacy groups and members of Congress.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Violence-Against-Women
Usa: nuovo tentativo di introduzione dell'Equal Rights Emandament
Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Judy Biggert (R-IL) today reintroduced the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S. House, along with Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and over 50 other original co-sponsors.
“Women have made incredible progress in the past few decades. But laws can change, government regulations can be weakened, and judicial attitudes can shift. The only way for women to achieve permanent equality in the United States is to write it into the Constitution,” Rep. Maloney said. “These 54 words, when passed by Congress and ratified by 38 states, will make equal rights for women not just a goal to be desired but a constitutional right.”
“The time is long overdue for a constitutional guarantee of equality between the sexes. Throughout the history of this country, women have faced systematic and purposeful discrimination. Women were conspicuously absent from the Constitution when it was drafted more than 200 years ago, and today, women still have no explicit legal guarantee of equal protection. As such, we know the ERA must be ratified to ensure meaningful and lasting equality for all women,” Terry O’Neill, newly-elected President of the National Organization for Women said.
The ERA was first introduced as the “Lucretia Mott Amendment” at the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the 1848 Seneca Falls “Declaration of Sentiments,” considered the founding of the women’s rights movement in the U.S. It came closest to ratification in the 1970’s, when 35 states approved it, falling just 3 states short of the two-thirds necessary for a constitutional amendment to be ratified.
http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1899&Itemid=61Usa: Chiesa Episcopale riconosce le benedizioni per coppie dello stesso sesso
Ma come? Tutte le religioni, tutte le chiese non sono omofobe alla stessa identica maniera? Ma guarda un pò, sembrerebbe proprio di no!
Inoltre la Chiesa Episcoopale Usa ha sanzionato ufficialmente la possibilità per gay e lesbiche di diventare preti e vescovi. E scusate se è poco.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/us/19episcopals.html?_r=2
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-episcopal18-2009jul18,0,2066151.story
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56H01I20090718
Episcopalians on Friday authorized bishops to bless same-sex unions and research an official prayer for the ceremonies, capping a meeting that moved the church closer to accepting gay relationships despite turmoil over the issue in the Anglican family.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhOJ4iRJ_TnGrWTv4l8RPZrtnmuwD99GFC200
Usa: i farmacisti non possono rifiutare di prescrivere la pillola del giorno dopo
Una buona notizia. Ci mancherebbe solo che un farmacista si permettese di interferire sulla base delle sue convinzioni morali sulle scelte fatte da altri.
Pharmacists are obliged to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the "morning after" contraceptive on religious grounds, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The plaintiffs asserted that their Christian beliefs prevented them from dispensing the pills, which can prevent implantation of a recently fertilized egg. They said that the new regulations would force them to choose between keeping their jobs and heeding their religious objections to a medication they regard as a form of abortion.
Although the courts have yet to pronounce judgment on other aspects of the lawsuit, the unanimous ruling on the free-exercise clause could portend further judgments, as the case moves forward, that a patient's right to timely medication supersedes a pharmacist's personal convictions.
The three 9th Circuit judges found common ground despite differing outlooks: Two conservatives named to the court by President George W. Bush and a liberal named by President Clinton made up the panel.
The right to freely exercise one's religion "does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of general applicability," the 9th Circuit panel wrote.
"Any refusal to dispense -- regardless of whether it is motivated by religion, morals, conscience, ethics, discriminatory prejudices, or personal distaste for a patient -- violates the rules," the panel said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pill-ruling9-2009jul09,0,6469894.story
U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton blocked the rules statewide four months later in a suit by a family-owned pharmacy in Olympia, which was under state investigation for refusing to stock Plan B, and by two pharmacists who said they feared losing their jobs because of their objections.
Leighton also failed to consider the effect of his order on "sexually active women of childbearing age (who) will be denied reasonable access to Plan B," said Judge Kim Wardlaw in the 3-0 ruling.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/09/BA2G18L49P.DTL&type=health
http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/07/09/Court_Allows_Wash_to_Enforce_Pharmacy_Rules.htmUsa: azioni di sensibilizzazione sull'impatto di genere dei cambiamenti climatici
Appoggio con passione la causa ambientalista (anche se non condivido l'impostazione estrema di alcuni gruppi integralisti) ma ritengo che la stessa sia insufficiente se non è associata ad un approccio di genere.
Segnalo questi due documenti molto interessanti:
http://feministcampus.org/know/global/docs/WomenWater.pdf
http://www.wedo.org/learn/campaigns/climatechange/new-training-manual-on-gender-and-climate-change
Usa: 35 anni di ordinazione delle donne nella Chiesa Episcopale
On July 29, at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, 11 women were ordained to the priesthood by three bishops of the Episcopal Church. At the time, this was a life-changing moment;
"I would never take women's leadership as a 'given,'" said EDS faculty emerita, Dr. Fredrica Harris Thompsett. "Our number of women bishops, parish rectors, etc. has not grown to reflect our population, let alone among Latina women and women of African descent. As Sue Hiatt would say, 'Pharaoh's army has not been wiped out by the Red Sea.' [Presiding] Bishop Katharine is a plus to be sure, yet even she is badly treated and/or ignored by many members of the Anglican Communion's leadership."
"Thirty-five years later, my sons presume women deacons, priests, and bishops. And yet, as the data presented at the Episcopal Women's Caucus breakfast at the General Convention make clear, barriers continue to exist to equal access for ordained women in the leadership of the church,"
Usa: ancora difficoltà per le giornaliste sportive
A woman ran a seminal and nearly successful race for the Democratic nomination for president, and the Republican Party placed a woman on the national ticket for the first time. A woman is sitting in Walter Cronkite's chair. But give a woman a notebook or a microphone and ask her report on sports and it becomes a gross-out contest for the numskull players and their overgrown frat-boys fans.
The U.S. District Court in New York ordered the New York Yankees to grant a woman reporter from Sports Illustrated the same locker room access it granted male reporters, and Major League Baseball was forced to open its locker rooms to women reporters.
The Sun sent me to the Orioles locker room to report on the scene, and manager Earl Weaver refused to let me enter unless I had a note from my father.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.reimer03aug03,0,7679461.column
USA: Abortion Providers Facing Threats, Restrictions, and Harassment
Abortion providers in the U.S. are human rights defenders. They work, often against great odds, to help women realize their reproductive rights. They ensure that all women have access to accurate medical information, a secure place to make private decisions, and, most importantly, access to safe medical procedures.
These courageous and tenacious professionals are frequently denied governmental and social support for their vital work. The much-publicized murders of abortion providers are exclamation points in what is often a culture of daily harassment and intimidation. Discriminatory legal restrictions and pervasive abortion-related stigma present additional obstacles to their efforts to defend women’s fundamental rights.
This constant assault doesn’t just endanger and marginalize abortion providers; it denies the rights of the one in three American women who will seek an abortion in their lifetimes.
http://reproductiverights.org/en/defending-human-rightshttp://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5971/t/6770/signUp.jsp?key=1103
Usa: difficoltà di carriera per le donne nere avvocate
The study is the fourth and final in Catalyst’s Women of Color in Professional Services Series examining how the “intersectionality,” or combined identities of gender and race/ethnicity, puts women of color at a unique disadvantage in the workplace. Despite widespread existence of systems created to develop and advance women of color, research has shown that more than 75 percent of these women will leave their employer within five years, costing an amount potentially greater than each person’s total salary and benefits.
Yet retention and advancement of women of color attorneys is still a challenge. Law firms are well positioned—and it will be to their advantage—to take the next critical step to address the unique differences among women, which can lead to more successful outcomes.”
These challenges emphasize the importance of recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach to tackling workplace inclusion cannot meet the needs of an increasingly diverse talent pool. Furthermore, the report found stark differences between groups of women of color in their perceptions surrounding workplace culture and diversity. For example, black women compared to Asian women and Latinas were more likely to believe diversity programs fail to address workplace biases, feel that partners, as well as other supervising attorneys, receive insufficient training on how to work effectively with diverse cultures, and cite a lack of access to challenging work assignments on client engagements.
Usa: Sonia Sotomayor confermata giudice della Corte Suprema
She will become the third woman to sit on the nine-member bench that serves as the final arbiter of the US constitution. Her appointment will be for life, giving her the opportunity to shape issues like gun rights and abortion for a generation.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/06/sonia.sotomayor/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32312026/ns/politics-white_house/
Sotomayor replaces retiring Justice David Souter, a liberal named by a Republican president, and she is not expected to alter the court's ideological split.
Usa: aumento di popolarità delle squadre sportive femminili
As the popularity of youth tournaments has intensified over the past decade, a peculiar trend has emerged: girls’ sporting events tend to attract more relatives and generate more revenue for tourism than similar events for boys. And that is drawing increased attention from economic development officials.
“There are far more people who will travel with 12-year-old girls than even 12-year-old boys,” said Don Schumacher, executive director of the National Association of Sports Commissions, a trade group that advises communities on attracting sporting events. “And vastly more people will travel with 12-year-old girls than 18-year-old boys.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/sports/29softball.html?_r=4
Usa: con l'inclusione della boxe femminile raggiunta la parità di genere alle Olimpiadi
The International Olympic Committee said today that women's boxing would be included in the Olympic games for the first time in 2012.
The decision, announced by the IOC president, Jacques Rogge, following a meeting of the executive board in Berlin means that the Olympics in London will be the first to feature women and men competing in all of the sports.
"It's a bit like fencing with gloves on. It's technical and it's tactical," said Rebecca Gibson, the national women's boxing development manager at the Amateur Boxing Association of England. "The girls who box are from very diverse backgrounds, from those using it as a way out of crime, to navy officers."
The decision was welcomed by campaigners for gender equality who said it was an important staging post towards their ultimate aim of redressing the Olympic gender imbalance that sees men competing for 38 more medals than women.
Sue Tibballs, chief executive of the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation, said the inclusion of boxing could help provide the sorts of role models that might boost participation among young women and address the drop-off in activity among teenage girls.
"We are delighted that women's boxing will be at London 2012. With the sport dating back to the 1720s, it's been a long, hard, fight to get to [this] decision but we hope it represents a wider move towards gender equality at the games," she said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/aug/13/olympics-women-boxing
"It's a great addition," IOC president Jacques Rogge said. "The sport of women's boxing has progressed a lot, a tremendous amount, in the last five years. It was about time to include it in the Olympic Games."
Female boxers will compete in three weight classes, with 12 competitors each in flyweight, lightweight and middleweight.
"There are still major disparities in the number of medals women can win compared to men but this is a step in the right direction," British Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090813/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_london_women_s_boxing
Usa: l'artista Andrea Arroyo rende omaggio alle donne vittime di violenza a Ciudad Juarez
Over 400 young women to date have been killed in the booming border town, home to dozens of corporations’ factories. Their stories have been memorialized in novels, films, and other art, but artist Andrea Arroyo has chosen a different way to draw attention to the women of Juarez.
“As I thought about the theme, I was increasingly intrigued by the idea that these women died before their full potential was realized, and that each victim may have become a modern day Joan of Arc, Marie Curie, Rosa Parks or Frida Kahlo.”
http://www.andreaarroyo.com/artwork.html
http://www.andreaarroyo.com/artistsinfo.html
http://thatbrowngirl.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/women-of-juarez-art/
Usa: in aumento sostegno per le donne nelle unità di combattimento
“I did everything there,” Ms. Alfaro, 25, said of her time in Iraq. “I gunned. I drove. I ran as a truck commander. And underneath it all, I was a medic.”
Before 2001, America’s military women had rarely seen ground combat. Their jobs kept them mostly away from enemy lines, as military policy dictates.
But the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, often fought in marketplaces and alleyways, have changed that. In both countries, women have repeatedly proved their mettle in combat. The number of high-ranking women and women who command all-male units has climbed considerably along with their status in the military.
Women are barred from joining combat branches like the infantry, armor, Special Forces and most field artillery units and from doing support jobs while living with those smaller units. Women can lead some male troops into combat as officers, but they cannot serve with them in battle.
In gradually admitting women to combat, the United States will be catching up to the rest of the world. More than a dozen countries allow women in some or all ground combat occupations. Among those pushing boundaries most aggressively is Canada, which has recruited women for the infantry and sent them to Afghanistan.
Usa: appello per una riforma dei fondi ai centri antiviolenza
Negli Stati Uniti un numero importante di donne non riceve assistemnza dai centri antiviolenza. Alcune di loro hanno organizzato una petizione per chiedere un maggiore controllo dei fondi pubblici ed un maggior rigore riguardo all'utilizzo degli stessi.
Tutti i centri contro la violenza alle donne dovrebbero essere opportunamente finanziati in modo che nessuna donna e nussun bambino si trovi in condizione di non ricevere aiuto. Al contempo ci deve essere trasparenza di come i fondi vengono inpiegati.
Survivors In Action, Inc. the leading national Crime Victims advocacy organization for all victims of crime is asking all victims that have been re-victimized by their local or State Domestic Violence Coalitions to sign their petition for Domestic Violence Reform.
Organizations like the Coalition to end Family Violence are federally funded by the Department of Justice to assist victims of domestic violence, so if they are turning away victims, where is the money going? These questions need to be answered and the only way this will take place if we the people take action and hold them accountable. Reform is the only answer, Domestic Violence Reform is the only solution, get active, get involved, sign the petition and let’s fight together for the solution.
Usa: suore cattoliche sotto attacco da parte del Vaticano
It may be some effort to kind of rein us in.
- Sister Camille D'Arienzo, former president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious
"As women religious, we wouldn't believe that we've done anything to create the need for this," says Nancy Schreck, president of Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa. "It feels like an affront to us."
"I don't know what they're afraid of," she says. "What I would guess is some of the more conservative bishops in the U.S. might see the sisters moving with spirit of Vatican II in a way they're not comfortable with. So it may be some effort to kind of rein us in."
That's fine by Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan. After all, she says, the Roman Catholic Church is not a democracy.
"We knew what we were getting into when we came to the altar and said, 'I promise, I do vow indeed poverty, chastity and obedience,' " she says. "I was old enough to know what I was talking about. For those of us who live it and love it, we can say, yes, sometimes it grinds us, but we're better for it."
But Sister Nancy Schreck says as followers of Jesus, the sisters must voice their views when they feel the Vatican is wrong — on things like caring for gay men and lesbians, and the equality of women. Such discussion is the American way, she says, adding that these disagreements reflect the larger tension between Rome and the U.S. church.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112080711
Usa: Women of Wall Street
Wall Street may seem like the ultimate boys’ club, but there are plenty of women who gained notoriety by participating in trading (including suffragist Victoria Woodhull, who opened the first female-owned brokerage). This exhibit examines their legacy, and looks to the future of women in the financial world.
http://newyork.timeout.com/events/museums/288142/women-of-wall-street
Usa: la Chiesa Luterana accetta i pastori gay e lesbiche
La Chiesa Luterana degli Stati Uniti ha eliminato il bando che impediva ai pastori dichiaratamente gay e lesbiche di servire nella chiesa. Nessuna congregazione sarà obbligata ad impiegare un pastore omosessuale ma quelle che lo desiderano potranno farlo.
Di seguito i comunicati ufficiali della chiesa e del gruppo di luterani gay.
http://www.goodsoil.org/press/Goodsoil%20Press%20Release%208-21.pdf
Usa: Ruth Messinger leader del movimento filantropico ebraico
L'intervista alla Messinger riguarda il lavoro svolto dall'American Jewish World Service di cui una buona parte è incentrato sulle tematiche ambientali e sui diritti delle donne.
In tempi carichi di pregiudizi ritengo sia opportuno ricordare la generosità e l'impegno di tanti ebrei, in particolare delle donne ebree.
Shortly after a failed mayoral bid in New York City ended her political career in 1997, Ruth Messinger became president of the American Jewish World Service, an international human rights organization that works to alleviate poverty, hunger and disease in the developing world. Since then, the organization has seen its annual budget jump from $2 million to $29 million. It distributes about $13 million in grants each year to more than 400 grassroots projects around the world and has sent 3,000 Jewish volunteers overseas.
We wouldn't have built a list of 70,000 activists or 3,000 alumni and face a demand for more service programs if people weren't attracted to our mission. Part of being Jewish is to put Jewish values into practice where the poorest people are. This is not some new piece of Judaism: The rabbis and Jewish leaders have discussed the balance between helping Jews and non-Jews, the balance of working with different communities, the balance of showing who we are and building a better world not only ourselves but for others. It doesn't say, “Build justice for Jews.”
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/24/1007423/qa-with-ruth-messinger
Usa: minacciata la famiglia del Dottor Hern da un estremista antiabortista
A man who allegedly threatened to kill the family of Boulder abortion provider Dr. Warren Hern has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver.
Donald Hertz, 70, of Spokane, Wash., was indicted on charges of making telephone threats to Hern's office and violations of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE).
"We received an anonymous call saying there were two Vietnam veterans coming from Spanish Fork, Utah, to Boulder to hurt my family," Hern said.
"Why is it necessary for a doctor who is helping women to be protected from the anti-abortion movement?" Hern said. "We live in fear of these people."
Usa: Diane Sawyer seconda donna a condurre un telegiornale di una grande rete
Diane Sawyer will take the helm of “ABC World News” in January
After graduating from Wellesley College in 1967, Sawyer scored her first TV gig, working as a "weather girl" at a Louisville station.
"That was literally the only job held by a woman at the station at the time," she told the Times in a 1994 interview.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/09/diane-sawyers-journey-to-abc-world-news.htm
l
Usa: suora cattolica riceve ultimatum per il suo sostegno all'ordinazione femminile
After serving as a voice for justice for 40 years in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and beyond, Sister of Charity Louise Akers has been told by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk to publicly disassociate herself from the issue of women’s ordination if she wishes to continue making any presentations or teaching for credit in any archdiocesan-related institutions.
Akers and Pilarczyk met for 30 minutes Aug. 10 in his archdiocesan office in Cincinnati. She had requested the meeting after being informed that persons upset with her teaching had registered official complaints with church officials. Central to those complaints were both the presence of her name and photo on the Women’s Ordination Conference web site and her membership on its advisory board.
“Women’s ordination is a justice issue. Its basis is the value, dignity and equality of women. I believe this to my very core. To publicly state otherwise would be a lie and a violation of my conscience. I love, support and cherish the part of Church that upholds the gospel mission and vision of Jesus.”
She quoted the words of Martin Luther, uttered centuries ago: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.”
http://ncronline.org/news/cincinnati-nun-given-ultimatum-over-ordination-viewsUsa: causa giudiziaria contro la segregazione tra ragazzi e ragazze nelle scuole
“We have seen time and time again that sex segregated programs are inherently unequal for both girls and boys and in some instances, can shut students out of the best classes in the school simply because of their sex," said Emily Martin, Deputy Director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project. “One of the strengths of public schools is the opportunity they provide for students to learn from those different from themselves. Sex segregation leaves students less prepared for success in a coeducational world. In fact, there is no consistent evidence that segregating students by sex improves learning for either boys or girls.”
The ACLU charges that mandatory sex segregation in public schools violates Title IX of the Education Amendments, the Equal Education Opportunities Act and the U.S. Constitution.
"Mandatory sex segregation in public schools is not only clearly against the law, it's also an empty promise for failing schools," said Katie Schwartzmann, Legal Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. "Inevitably, these experimental programs deny equal opportunity to girls and boys and distract much needed time and money from efforts that we know work like smaller classes, highly trained teachers, sufficient funding and involved parents."
http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/edu/40956prs20090908.htm
l http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/womensrights/janedoevvermilionparish_complaint.pdf
Usa: Glennda Testone prima donna direttrice esecutiva del Gay Center di New York
Testone, a 33-year-old out lesbian, becomes the first woman to head the center and one of the youngest leaders of a major LGBT organization. The center, founded in 1983, is the second-largest LGBT community center in the world, following the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, led by Lorri L. Jean.
http://www.advocate.com/printArticle.aspx?id=98566
“At a time when the opportunities and challenges faced by our community are limitless, the Center is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of LGBT people,” said Testone. “I am honored and excited to lead the Center in providing the kind of thriving, nurturing community that we all want to come home to. It is an ambitious goal, but my commitment to serving the LGBT community, the passion of the people involved and the possibilities for this institution are also limitless.”
http://www.gaycenter.org/press/20090915
Usa: Obama nomina Chai Feldblum lesbica ebrea, Commissaria della Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:
Chai R. Feldblum, Nominee for Commissioner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Chai Feldblum is a Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center where she has taught since 1991. She also founded the Law Center’s Federal Legislation and Administrative Clinic, a program designed to train students to become legislative lawyers. Feldblum previously served as Legislative Counsel to the AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. In this role, she developed legislation, analyzed policy on various AIDS-related issues, and played a leading role in the drafting of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and, later as a law professor, in the passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. She has also worked on advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and has been a leading expert on the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. As Co-Director of Workplace Flexibility 2010, Feldblum has worked to advance flexible workplaces in a manner that works for employees and employers. Feldblum clerked for Judge Frank Coffin and for Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and B.A. from Barnard College.
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/facinfo/tab_faculty.cfm?Status=Faculty&ID=251
“We commend President Obama for his nomination of Chai Feldblum to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Professor Feldblum’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Americans makes her eminently qualified for Commissioner of the EEOC.”
On Monday, President Obama announced his nomination for Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and I couldn't be happier about his pick: Chai Feldblum, Professor of Law at Georgetown, who also happens to be an out Jewish lesbian.
http://jwablog.jwa.org/chai_feldblumUsa: prima donna di colore a capo di una scuola militare
Si tratta della prima donna ad occupare tale posizione in assoluto, ho però voluto nel titolo sottolieneare che si tratta di una donna afroamericana.
King's elevation marks another barrier broken in a still male-dominated service of 550,000 soldiers, of which only about 14 percent are female.
There were few women training alongside men when she first entered the military in 1980, just out of high school. Several years later, she was chosen to train as a drill sergeant.
King rose to become the first female first sergeant named to oversee the heart and soul of Army warfighters: the headquarters company of the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C., where she was responsible for 500 paratroopers, 22 sergeant majors, 22 colonels and three general officers. She's served in South Korea and Europe and held jobs at NATO and the Pentagon.
While opportunities for women have increased over the past two decades, they are still excluded from assignments where soldiers engage in direct combat, such as infantry and tank units.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/ap_on_re_us/us_drill_sergeant_commandant
But Sergeant Major King’s ascension is also a reminder of the limits of gender integration in the military. Just 8 percent of the active-duty Army’s highest-ranking enlisted soldiers — sergeants major and command sergeants major — are women, though more than 13 percent of Army personnel are female.
In particular, the Army has struggled to recruit women as drill sergeants, citing pregnancy, long hours and the prohibition against women serving in frontline combat positions as reasons. Sergeant Major King said one of her priorities would be to recruit more women into her school.
But she pushes back at the notion that she has risen because she is a woman. “When I look in the mirror, I don’t see a female,” Sergeant Major King said. “I see a soldier.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/us/22sergeant.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=us
Usa: Jane Castor, nominata capo della Polizia di Tampa
Per la prima volta la polizia di Tampa ha al suo vertice una donna e, per la prima volta, una persona gay, visto che la Castor è apertamente lesbica.
She is the first woman in Tampa's history to hold that title.
Castor will oversee the department's $133 million budget and 1,300 employees, 981 of them sworn officers.
Only two years after getting hired, she was prepping to become an academy instructor. Two years after that, she told her supervisors she wanted to get a master's degree.
"She clearly is a born leader in her demeanor," Iorio said. "I have total confidence in Jane."
Castor credited Hogue and Iorio as visionaries and thanked them for their tutelage.
She stopped short of reflecting too much on her gender.
"The significance of being the first female is certainly not lost on me," she said, before citing Iorio as another strong female leader in the area. "Frankly, I'd rather be known as a good chief than the first female."
There are nine female police chiefs in Florida, including Pinellas Park Chief Dorene Thomas, according to the Florida Police Chiefs Association.
Nationwide, about 300 out of 18,000 police chiefs are women, according to women-in-policing expert Dorothy Schulz of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
Castor's promotion had added significance for another reason. Openly gay, she has served for more than six years as a liaison to Tampa's gay and lesbian community.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article1036669.ece
Usa: impatto della recessione economica sulla salute riproduttiva delle donne
"The recession has put many women—including middle-class women who are having trouble making ends meet—in an untenable situation. They want to avoid unintended pregnancy more than ever, but at the same time are having difficulty affording the out-of-pocket costs of prescription contraception,” says Dr. Sharon Camp, Guttmacher president and CEO. “Unfortunately, while delaying a prescription refill or skipping pills may save women money in the short term, it increases their risk of an unintended pregnancy and results in greater costs related to abortion and unplanned birth later on.” Conducted in July and August, the survey covered a nationally representative sample of nearly 1,000 low- and middle-income sexually active women to determine how the current economy has affected them and their families, their views of contraceptive use, their ability to access contraceptives, and their decisions on whether or when to have a child. The women were aged 18–39 and had annual household incomes of less than $75,000.
http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2009/09/23/index.html
Usa: morta Christal Lee Sutton
Crystal Lee Sutton was 68. She had struggled for several years with meningioma, a form of brain cancer.
She became a hero to the labor movement in the 1970s, when she took on her employer, a North Carolina textile plant, and unionized the factory floor. Her story became famous nationwide in 1975 after New York Times reporter Hank Leiferman wrote Crystal Lee: A Woman of Inheritance.
Usa: omaggio al lavoro del Dottor Tiller
Slain Wichita abortion provider George Tiller was honored posthumously in Washington over the weekend with one of the highest honors given by the International Federation of Planned Parenthood Foundation, the group announced Monday.
Tiller was named recipient of the group's Medal of Honor for "outstanding individual contribution to sexual and reproductive health."
The medal was presented at the international group's Western Hemisphere meeting. Tiller's widow, Jeanne, accepted it on her late husband's behalf, according to a statement from the organization.
The award was presented by Alexander Sanger, grandson of Margaret Sanger, a nurse who crusaded for women's access to birth control in the early 20th century and co-founded Planned Parenthood.
"For 30 years, George Tiller stood up to protests, harassment and assaults, even being wounded some years ago in a shooting," Alexander Sanger said. "He kept his clinic doors open to give a choice to women who never imagined they would ever need it — women with a wanted pregnancy that had gone terribly awry as it progressed."
http://www.kansas.com/topstories/story/990656.htmlUsa: Obama nomina Jenny Durkan, lesbica dichiarata, alla posizione di US attorney
"I'm thrilled to finally get into the office and get to work," she said Tuesday shortly after the confirmation was announced. "There's a lot going on, from this new round of terrorism investigations to the ongoing targeting of financial crimes."
The U.S Attorney's job involves overseeing the Justice Department's efforts west of the Cascades, including overseeing federal criminal investigations and defending the federal government in court.
Durkan is the second woman to hold the job and is likely the first openly gay appointed federal prosecutor in the country.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009969288_durkan30m.html?syndication=rss
http://www.mombian.com/2009/09/30/lesbian-mom-named-u-s-attorney/
Usa: prima donna vince il Nobel per l'economia
Ostrom becomes the first woman to win the prize in its 40-year history.
The award was a "great surprise... I'm still a little bit in shock," she said by phone at the news conference announcing the prize.
Ostrom, a professor of political science at Indiana University, was praised "for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons."
Ostrom's work shows that local communities often manage common resources -- such as woods, lakes and fish stocks -- better on their own than when outside authorities impose rules, the committee said.
"Bureaucrats sometimes do not have the correct information, while citizens and users of resources do," she said to explain the significance of her work.
The committee highlighted her research on a dam in Nepal as an example, saying her research has moved analysis of nonmarket institutions "from the fringe of economic analysis to the very center."
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/12/nobel.economics/index.html
Her work -- inspired by her mother's "Victory Garden" during World War II to feed Allied troops -- challenged the notion that common property is poorly managed and should be either regulated by central authorities or privatised, the jury said.
"If we want to halt the degradation of our natural environment and prevent a repetition of the many collapses of natural-resource stocks experienced in the past, we should learn from the successes and failures of common-property regimes," it said.
She conducted numerous studies of user-managed fish stocks, pastures, woods, lakes and groundwater basins, and concluded that the outcomes are "more often than not, better than predicted by standard theories," it added.
Ostrom told a news conference at the university: "I have been studying how local people as well as government officials have attempted to solve very difficult problems," such as deforestation and loss of fisheries.
"When individuals have this way of working together officially and can build trust and respect they may be able to solve problems."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091013/bs_afp/nobeleconomy
Usa: la città di Chicago difende le cliniche dagli attacchi degli estremisti cristiani antiabortisti
"You're just trying to make sure no one's being harassed. If someone is going into a medical complex and I disagree with them going there, I should not harass and scream and yell at them. It doesn't matter whether it deals with the word abortion or anything else," the mayor said.
Daley is Catholic and pro-choice. But, unlike several of the dissenting aldermen, the mayor said he draws a line between religion and politics.
"My religion is very personal. . . . Religion does not play a part when I make a decision on behalf of the people of Chicago," he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/1816975,CST-NWS-abortion10.article
Women say they're routinely approached and handed flyers in anti-abortion activists' last-ditch effort to counsel or change the woman's mind.
Usa: maggioranza degli elettori cattolici sostiene fondi pubblici per l'aborto
"Last week, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wrote a letter to Congress urging legislators to "produce final health reform legislation that will reflect our principles." In the letter, the bishops laid out their three priorities; at the top of the list was strict opposition to abortion funding.
"The bishops' principles may lead them to oppose funding for abortion. However, the bishops' principles in no way reflect the principles of Catholics. According to a new poll of Catholic voters carried out by Belden Russonello and Stewart for Catholics for Choice, Catholics support a healthcare reform plan that would include funding for abortion.
"Large majorities of Catholic voters support health insurance coverage for abortions--either in a private- or a government-run scheme:
- when a pregnancy poses a threat to the life of a woman (84 percent)
- when a pregnancy is due to rape or incest (76 percent)
- when a pregnancy poses long-term health risks for the woman (73 percent)
- when test results show a fetus has a severe abnormal condition (66 percent)
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/CatholicsdonotsupportBishopsStanceonHealthcare.asp
Usa: studio sull'importanza dei contraccettivi per la salute riproduttiva delle donne
Increases in global contraceptive use have contributed to a decrease in the number of unintended pregnancies and, in turn, a decline in the number of abortions, which fell from an estimated 45.5 million procedures in 1995 to 41.6 million in 2003. While both the developed and the developing world experienced these positive trends, developed regions saw the greatest progress
The new report makes three key recommendations:
- Expand access to modern contraceptives and improve family planning services.
- Expand access to legal abortion and ensure that safe and legal abortion services are available to women in need.
- Improve the coverage and quality of postabortion care, which would reduce maternal death and complications from unsafe abortion.
“The gains we’ve seen are modest in relation to what we can achieve. Investing in family planning is essential—far too many women lack access to contraception, putting them at risk,” notes Dr. Camp. “Legal restrictions do not stop abortion from happening, they just make the procedure dangerous. Too many women are maimed or killed each year because they lack legal abortion access.”
Usa: svastiche dipinte su centro di ritrovo per studenti ebrei
The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity has not yet moved into the house on fraternity row at the University of Memphis, but the swastikas spray-painted Tuesday were accompanied by the message "welcome to frat row, Jews," according to media reports in Memphis.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/10/14/1008501/memphis-zbt-house-painted-with-swastikasUsa: preoccupazione per la risoluzione Onu sui valori tradizionali
Ci si aspetterebbe maggiore interesse su tale tematica eppure dai media permane un grande silenzio rispetto alla questione.
The resolution passed with 26 member states in favour, 15 against, and 6 abstentions. During the 12th session of the Human Rights Council, the original draft resolution was amended to remove the stipulation that "traditional values" must be subject to human rights standards.
Following so soon after the UN General Assembly has expressed strong and unanimous support for adopting a resolution to create the new gender equality entity to be headed by an Under Secretary-General, this resolution sends entirely the wrong message. The Human Rights Council cannot be seen to be turning the clock back on human rights, particularly the human rights of women.
Usa: le donne sono maggiornza della forza lavoro
Se questa è sicuramente un'eccellente notizia rimane il fatto che il contratto sociale deve cambiare e che devono essere rimossi tutti gli ostacoli alla realizzazione delle piene pari opportunità in ambito lavorativo e non solo tra uomini e donne.
Il rapporto Shriver, che analizza nel dettaglio la tematica, affronta esattamente tutte le questioni irrisolte per la forza lavoro femminile.
Usa: la cantante Brandi Carlile si dichiara lesbica
E anche in questo caso lo stereotipo della lesbica brutta dai capelli rasati è nuovamente smentito. Un coming out fatto con naturalezza, col pensiero di come la visibilità di artista lesbica di successo possa essere come modello e conforto a chi, giovane o meno giovane, è gay e non ha modelli positivi non stereotipati di riferimento. Brava Brandi!
She discovered rock music, through Elton John, an artist whom she calls "my greatest hero of all time." Much to her amazement, John became her duet partner on her new album, collaborating with Carlile on the "Honky Chateau"-style rambler "Caroline." He's one of several prominent guests who appear on "Give Up the Ghost," including Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and her "childhood hero and dearest friend" Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls. Carlile has something more personal in common with John: She is gay. But unlike her idol, who suffered many travails in his long trip out of the closet, she feels that her sexuality has neither helped nor hindered her. "I don't think it factors in to the way people relate to the lyrics," she said.
"I hope that somewhere in Small Town, USA, a 15-year-old kid looks to me as a role model the way I looked at the Indigo Girls and Elton John as role models," she said. "And I hope they also recognize that the reason why I don't have to have a lot of formality around it, the reason why I don't have to wear it on my sleeve and make a spectacle of it, is because there were people before me who paved the way so I wouldn't have to."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-brandi-carlile17-2009oct17,0,1274085.story
http://www.brandicarlile.com/
Usa: alti livelli di morte tra le neomamme negli Stati Uniti
Four million American women give birth every year, and about 500 die during childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications.
In the richest nation in the world, giving birth is more risky than you would think.
So why are women in America more likely to die during childbirth than they are in most other developed nations?
The answers are complex. A healthcare system which leaves what Dr Lu estimates are 17 million women of child-bearing age without health insurance could be one factor.
Obesity, poverty and the high rate of C-sections in America all play a part.
JoAnne Fischer, Executive Director of the Maternity Care Coalition, which works with low income women to help them stay healthy during their pregnancies, says: "We do know that there is extraordinary stress involved in racism and in being poor. "
"And we know that sometimes this creates hypertension.
"Hypertension, obesity and diabetes are all linked, so we have to make sure women start their pregnancies healthy."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8325685.stmUsa: Obama firma legge contro crimini motivati da odio misogino ed omofobo
Uccidere una persona a causa dell'odio motivato dalla disabilità, dal genere, dall'orientamento sessuale e dall'identità di genere della vittima sarà un'aggravante.
Questi crimini non solo solo attacchi personali ma mandano un messaggio ad un determinato gruppo sociale, ad esempio le donne, con il quale si intende trasmettere la paura ad entrare negli spazi pubblici.
US President Barack Obama Wednesday condemned crimes meant not to break only bones "but to break spirits" as he celebrated a landmark hate crimes law as a new step forward for US civil rights.
Obama signed an act outlawing offenses motivated by a person's race, gender, identity, color, sexual orientation, or mental of physical disability, ending a years-long crusade by crime victims and relatives.
"Today, we have taken another step forward," Obama said. "This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091028/ts_alt_afp/uspoliticssocialrightsobama
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.htmlUsa: Bernice Scott KIng, figlia di Martin Luther King, eletta presidente del Southern Christian Leadership Conference
King, 46, was elected as the SCLC's first female president, said Renee Richardson.
King is a minister at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia. She also is a motivational speaker and author.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/10/30/sclc.king/index.html?eref=time_us
http://sclcnational.org/net/content/go.aspx?s=85803.0.0.2607
Usa: lo stato di New York protegge dipendenti e volontari delle cliniche dove si pratica l'aborto
Governor David A. Paterson today signed five bills into law including a bill to protect women’s access to reproductive health care facilities and a bill to ensure voters’ access to their correct polling places. Additionally, the Governor vetoed two bills that would have cost taxpayers $18.6 million over the next two years.
The signed bills include A.8924/S.6112, which provides enhanced penalties if a person causes physical injury to someone seeking to provide, obtain or assist in reproductive health care services. The bill was written shortly after the murder of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas, a tragedy that many health workers believe has emboldened those who engage threatening behavior and violent rhetoric at reproductive health care clinics.
“Given the history of violence committed against patients and employees of women’s health clinics across the United States and in New York State, establishment of these new offenses is appropriate,” Governor Paterson said. “I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to quality, affordable health care in a safe environment.”
http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/press_1028092.html
The main provisions of the new law include:
• Causing physical injury to someone at a reproductive health clinic rises from a misdemeanor to a new Class E felony that can lead to a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
• Causing serious physical injury becomes a Class C felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
• Repeat offenders can face more serious charges and longer sentences than they now do.
• Volunteers are explicitly covered under the new law, in addition to people providing or obtaining reproductive health care.
The bill’s quick bipartisan passage by large measures in both the Assembly and the State Senate proves that clinic violence has no place in New York, said Karen J. Nelson, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Western New York.
Lynne Slepian has made few public appearances in the 11 years since her husband, an abortion provider, was gunned down in their Amherst home by a sniper James C. Kopp, firing from a wooded area behind the house.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/844548.html
Usa: gli elettori del Maine rifiutano il matrimonio civile gay
Gay marriage has now lost in every single state — 31 in all — in which it has been put to a popular vote. Gay-rights activists had hoped to buck that trend in Maine — known for its moderate, independent-minded electorate — and mounted an energetic, well-financed campaign.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_el_st_lo/us_gay_marriage_maine
Usa: gli elettori di Kalamazoo approvano a larga maggioranza ordinanza contro la discriminazione antigay
Dopo le brutte notizie dal Maine, qualcosa di positivo.
Kalamazoo city voters decisively adopted an ordinance Tuesday that extends anti-discrimination protections to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals.
The ordinance passed 7,671 to 4,731, making Kalamazoo the 16th city in Michigan to adopt such a gay-rights ordinance that grants the protections in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations.
“There’s a lot of people who will wake up and breathe easier tomorrow knowing they won’t be fired or kicked out of their homes for being gay, lesbian or transgender,” said Jon Hoadley, campaign manager One Kalamazoo, the pro-ordinance campaign committee. “It was astounding the overwhelming support that we had. Kalamazoo said this is what it wants.”
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/11/anti-discrimination_ordinance_1.html
Usa: tassista musulmano espelle coppia gay
Porastella! Deve essere davvero terrorizzante vedere alcuni abbracci tra innamorati. O forse il solerte tassista è stato sconvolto perchè almeno uno dei due fidanzati non corrisponde alo stereotipo degli omosessuali? Per capire cosa intendo vi invito a vedere la foto di Paul Bruno all'interno dell'articolo.
Battute a parte, ancora un altro esempio di come i cosidetti diritti religiosi non siano altro che un pretesto per non seguire le regole comuni ed imporre al resto del mondo la propria visione retrogada.
An overzealous cabby allegedly booted a gay couple when he spotted the duo sharing a warm embrace in the back of his cold car.
Paul Bruno and his partner hailed the yellow cab Monday night at 13th Street and First Avenue and sat close, Bruno told The Post.
But the driver, identified by Bruno and city records as Medhat Mohamed, was apparently appalled by their shows of affection -- and pulled the cab over two blocks into the trip.
"You guys have to get out of the taxi! Hugging is not allowed in here!" the driver said, according to Bruno.
Stunned, the lovebirds exited and watched the taxi peel away.
"I was shocked," said Bruno, 27, who called the act "discrimination against homosexuals."
Bruno said he and his partner immediately filed an official complaint against the driver via 311.
Both men want a formal apology from the driver, and say they believe hacks should be put though more rigorous sensitivity training.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/crabby_cabby_boots_same_sex_lovebirds_elzOqITxWd7Y7q2HLFiSFPUsa: poche donne leader nelle istituzioni ebraiche
Despite notable gains for women in the past year, a Forward survey of 75 major American Jewish communal organizations found that fewer than one in six are run by women, and those women are paid 61 cents to every dollar earned by male leaders.
The numbers are especially striking when compared with the overall composition of the Jewish communal work force. Women comprise about 75% of those employed by federations, advocacy and social service organizations, and religious and educational institutions, but occupy only 14.3% of the top positions. Of the 11 female leaders identified in this survey, three are in interim roles.
When asked to put these numbers into historical context, Shulamit Bahat, who for decades was in the executive leadership of the American Jewish Committee, said she was “rather stunned” by the statistics. “I thought greater gains had been made,” said Bahat, currently CEO of Beit Hatfutsot of America.
Gorovitz, the first woman to break the glass ceiling in the federation system, concurred, crediting the women who mentored her during her own career. “It is incumbent on us to ensure that we have diversity in our professional ranks, that we are mentoring all our staff equally, so that we have positive role models,” she said in an interview just a few weeks into her new job. “Unfortunately, sometimes the Jewish community is not great at doing this.”
Usa: Derartu Tulu vince la Maratona di New York
Una grande atleta ed un grande esempio di sportività.
Derartu Tulu was more than halfway to the most unexpected laurel crown of her career, her 37-year-old legs churning over the Queensboro Bridge, when she turned to the struggling runner next to her and extended a lifeline.
“Come on,” Tulu said to Paula Radcliffe, the defending champion and world-record holder from Britain. “We can do it.”
When Radcliffe, with a painful left hamstring, dropped back on the slope of Fifth Avenue, about four miles from the finish line, Tulu waited for her. Radcliffe could barely lift her legs, though, and Tulu raced back to the diminished lead pack with plenty in reserve.
Her victory came 17 years after she became the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the Barcelona Games, and more than a year since she nearly abandoned a comeback after the birth of her second child.
“I did not come here necessarily expecting to win,” Tulu said through an interpreter. “But I knew I could be a good competitor. I’m very happy to have won.”
Usa: la diocesi dell'Ohio della Chiesa Episcopale approva la benedizione per coppie gay e lesbiche
Bishop Thomas E. Breidenthal announced at the annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio on Friday that he would lift the prohibition on blessing same-sex unions.
The diocese includes Columbus and the lower half of the state, a territory of about 25,000 Episcopalians in more than 80 churches.
To allay the fears of some conservatives, Breidenthal added that no priest will be required to perform a same-sex blessing.
Among the stipulations, Breidenthal said: No blessings of same-sex unions can take place without his written permission, which will require 60 days notice. At least one of the people seeking the blessing must be a confirmed Episcopalian in good standing.
Counseling with the priest or a substitute will be required before the blessing.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/11/episgay.ART_ART_11-11-09_A6_91FKV8I.html?sid=101Usa: ancora poche donne leader nel mondo del lavoro
Women account for just 18 percent of top leadership roles in 10 sectors, including business, nonprofit groups, law and religion, according to the new report, "Benchmarking Women's Leadership."
"Women's leadership is stuck in every sector of American society at a time when we need their innovation ... when we need their talent, and the research tells us [to] bring in the women if you want to change things," said Marie Wilson, president of The White House Project, the nonprofit organization in New York that produced the report.
In pockets of corporate America, it's far below that number. Among the Fortune 500 companies, only 66 have females on their boards, according to the report. In the corporate ranks, women are known for promoting greater transparency and for being more averse to risk. The bottom line, too, gets a boost when women are at the top. For instance, there's a 34 percent greater return on equity and shareholders' investment, according to the report.
This has prompted some firms to consider putting more money in the hands of women.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/YourMoney/white-house-project-reports-womens-leadership-hurdles/story?id=9068095
Usa: la fotomodella lesbica Jessica Clark intervistata per la rivista patinata Allure
Ovviamente è un colpo tremendo, micidiale per coloro che credono che tutte le lesbiche siano brutte come la fame e che una fotomodella lesbica sia un ossimoro.
The gorgeous mixed-race (lesbian!) model is featured in this month's Allure magazine, specifically in a feature about how the face of modeling is changing to be more inclusive of women of color.
http://www.afterellen.com/blog/trishbendix/jessica-clark-shows-off-her-allure
Since the focus of the article was on models who are bringing some color into the modeling industry, they didn't feel the need to make mention of Jessica's sexuality. However, Jessica tells me that they were aware of her being a lesbian, and found it very cool.
"They all knew I was gay," Jessica wrote to me in an e-mail. "The photographer Marilyn Minter is a phenomenally talented artist who paints from her photographs and she loved that I was a lesbian because of the whole additional dimension it gave things — how different the faces of the future were, etc."
http://www.myspace.com/jessicaclarklife
Sotto Jessica con la fidanzata Lacey Stone
Usa: prima donna pakistana ordinata prete anglicana
Azariah hoped her "miraculous" day sent a powerful message to women back home.
"Ever since I was a young child, I have felt God had a special calling for me but I was told there was no place for me in the church," said Azariah, 60. "This day is a miracle. I never knew this day would ever come. I always prayed to God that one day the Church of Pakistan would ordain women," she added tearfully.
No stranger to barriers, Khushnud Mussarat Azariah became the first Pakistani woman to attend seminary. "I could not get admission to seminary in Pakistan, so I went to Singapore," she said. There, she attended Trinity Theological Seminary from 1974-1977 and was the first Pakistani woman to receive a bachelor of divinity degree.
There are four women deacons in the Church of Pakistan currently, but the path to priesthood remained closed, Khushnud Mussarat Azariah said.
"The established church did not accept me as an ordained minister, but people always embraced me and accepted me," she said.
http://www.episcopal-life.org/81831_116565_ENG_HTM.htm
Usa: studio a favore delle pratiche family-friendly nei luoghi di lavoro
A major new study by researchers at Harvard and McGill Universities — the largest ever to look at working conditions worldwide — finds the United States far behind other economically successful nations in terms of adopting policies that support workers and families. The new study finds that 14 of the world’s 15 most competitive countries provide paid sick leave, 13 guarantee paid leave for new mothers, 12 provide paid leave for new fathers, 11 provide paid leave to care for children’s health needs, eight provide paid leave to care for adult family members, and seven guarantee breastfeeding breaks to nursing mothers on the job. At the federal level, the United States offers its workers none of those supports. Raising the Global Floor: Dismantling the Myth that We Can’t Afford Good Working Conditions for Everyone examines policies, protections and supports in 190 of the world’s 192 United Nations countries. It is the most extensive study ever conducted on these issues.
“The world’s most successful and competitive nations are providing the supports the United States lacks, without harming their competitiveness,” Heymann said. “Globally, we found that none of these working conditions are linked with lower levels of economic competitiveness or employment. There simply is no negative relationship at all between decent working conditions and competitiveness or job creation. In fact, we found that a number of these guarantees are associated with increased competitiveness. Ensuring a floor of decent working conditions is crucial for the majority of Americans. The United States lags far behind most of the 190 countries whose labor laws we examined.”
Raising the Global Floor also finds that:
- 163 nations around the world guarantee paid sick leave; the U.S. does not.
- 164 nations guarantee paid annual leave; the U.S. does not.
- 177 nations guarantee paid leave for new mothers; the U.S. does not.
- 74 nations guarantee paid leave for new fathers; the U.S. does not.
- 48 nations guarantee paid time off to care for children’s health; the U.S. does not.
- 157 nations guarantee workers a day of rest each week; the U.S. does not.
- 148 nations guarantee a wage premium for mandatory overtime, including the U.S.
http://researchtoaction.mcgill.ca/public_html/wfei/
Usa: Verizon Wirelress finanzia programmi di prevenzione alla violenza domestica
At a ceremony today, Verizon Wireless presented checks for $1,000 each to two Virginia community groups working to address domestic violence, an issue that devastates many families: the Chesterfield County Domestic Violence Task Force and the Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence. Chesterfield and King George Counties were recognized for their contributions through the Attorney General's Safe in Our Communities program. To date, Verizon has provided a total of $10,000 in grant funds for the program.
Both programs join four other community programs -- Fairfax County's Women's Group of Mount Vernon, Inc.; Loudoun County's Abused Women's Shelter; the YWCA of Richmond; and the Tazewell County's Clinch Valley Community Action -- which received monetary awards from the Safe in Our Communities initiative in April of this year.
Verizon Wireless, through the company's HopeLine Phone Recycling program, provided $10,000 in initial funding for Safe in Our Communities in October 2008. Each of the six programs certified to date through Safe in Our Communities has also received $1,000 in funding through HopeLine. Additional nonprofits chosen for recognition in the next round of applications will share the remaining $4,000, from the original $10,000 HopeLine grant.
"We're pleased to partner with Verizon Wireless in honoring two more communities which are taking a stand against domestic violence," said Attorney General Mims. "Chesterfield County and King George County now bring the total to six programs across Virginia which are being recognized for the innovative solutions they have implemented to help bring an end to domestic abuse."
Verizon Wireless regional president Mike Maiorana noted, "We're proud to continue our longstanding partnership with Virginia's Office of the Attorney General and Virginia's Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, and applaud the important work being done by communities across the Commonwealth that has resulted in improved response, enhanced protections and enabled victims of domestic violence to become survivors."
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=PR&Date=20091116&ID=10727605&Symbol=VODUsa: selezionate le vincitrici dello Stevie Award for women in business
Finalists in the 6th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business were determined by the average scores of preliminary judges worldwide. Every entry with an average score of at least 7.0 out of a possible 10 was automatically designated a Finalist and was eligible to be considered in final judging, which determined the Stevie Award winner in each category.
Andando al link troverete la lista delle vincitrici per ogni categoria.
http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/women/awards/414_2252_20190.cfmUsa: declino della presenza femminile ai vertici delle aziende di Chicago
The Chicago Network 2009 Census found women directors decreased from 15 percent in 2008 to 14.1 percent this year. And seven companies have no women directors, up from six in 2008.
The number of Chicago companies with no women executive officers grew to 17 from 16. And 34 percent of the 50 largest companies have no women officers.
The census also found that the percentage of women of color in business leadership is down. In all, 2.7 percent of all directors are women of color, down from 3.1 percent last year and 3.5 percent in 2007.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-chicago-womenlead,0,1459247.story
Usa: donne ancora in minoranza tra gli executives della California
Our fifth annual study details the presence of women at the very top of the 400 largest publicly held corporations headquartered in the state. Our findings paint a disappointing picture of female representation on the boards and in the executive suites of these high-profile companies.
It's clear that women continue to be an untapped resource. The same innovative thinking that drives the world's eighth largest economy is not propelling women into top leadership positions at the largest public companies in the Golden State.
- Women hold only 10.6% of the board seats and top executive officer positions, down slightly but virtually unchanged from last year's 10.9%.
- 118 (29.5%) of California’s 400 largest public companies have no women board directors and no women executive officers.
- Only 15 of these 400 companies have a woman CEO.
- The Bay Area has the county with the greatest percentage of women directors, San Francisco County (15.7%), as well as the county with the least: Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County, 8.2%).
Usa: prima donna prete nella diocesi di Fort Worth della Chiesa Episcopale
Kneeling during an ancient laying-on-of-hands ritual, the Rev. Susan Slaughter on Sunday became the first woman ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.
She had pursued her dream of becoming a priest since the 1980s but faced many obstacles because bishops of the Fort Worth Diocese opposed the ordination of women on theological grounds.
"Today is the day many people have hoped for, prayed for, worked for, cried over and lost sleep over," she wrote. "After 33 years of struggle and prayer, confusion and angst, here we are, the holy people of God."
The Fort Worth Diocese, under the leadership of Iker and other bishops, was one of the few to refuse the ordination of women, though the national church has supported it since 1976.
Attendees included Sheila Camp, a Fort Worth Episcopalian who has long championed the ordination of women.
"We’ve waited so long for this day," Camp said.
After Slaughter was proclaimed rector, several of her relatives stood with her, and people in the packed sanctuary gave her a long standing ovation.
Usa: il Center for Women Global Leadership recensisce le attività nel mondo contro la violenza alle donne
On the occasion of the 19th annual 16 Days Campaign, CWGL is celebrating the work and dedication of civil society organizations worldwide. We have asked partners from around the world to describe their activism and commitment to ending violence against women during the campaign.
Usa: il Senato di New York boccia la proposta di legge sul matrimonio civile anche per coppie gay e lesbiche
The Senate decision Wednesday comes after months of delays and arm twisting of lawmakers sympathetic to the bill but representing conservative districts. It follows a referendum in Maine earlier this month that struck down a gay marriage law before it took effect.
Advocates say they aren't surprised by the decision. Most, including Gov. David Paterson, say they at least wanted a floor debate and vote.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/02/gay-marriage-in-new-york-_0_n_377020.html
Opponents of gay marriage were celebrating yesterday after New York State's senate rejected a bill that would have allowed same-sex marriage, saying it was a huge victory that could influence votes elsewhere.
New York's bill was defeated 38-24 on Wednesday in the assembly, which is led by liberal New York City Democrats who hold a single-seat majority.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/new-york-senate-rejects-samesex-marriage-bill-1833859.htmlUsa: l'attrice Meredith Baxter si dichiara lesbica
Ancora una volta smentito lo stereotipo della lesbica brutta. Basta guardare la foto.
"I am a lesbian and it was a later-in-life recognition"
Probably best known for playing the liberal mother of Michael J. Fox's young Republican on "Family Ties," Baxter told Lauer, "I don't want to be worried all the time." Locke, she said, is openly gay: “I had to reach a level of comfort because it wasn’t fair to push her back into secrecy.”
“I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was that kind of awakening,” she said. The mother of five, Baxter recalled telling her kids. “I said, ‘I think I’m gay,’ and my oldest boy said, ‘I knew.'"
http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/blog/2009/12/meredith_baxter.html
Di seguito l'intervista della Baxter alla rivista gay The Advocate.
http://advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/People/Meredith_Baxters_New_Family_Ties/
Usa: la diocesi di Los Angeles della Chiesa Episcopale elegge due donne vecove suffragane, di cui una apertamente lesbica
The Rev. Canon Diane Jardine Bruce became the first woman elected a bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles on Dec. 4, pending the required consents.
A former Roman Catholic, she joined the Episcopal Church in 1986. Bruno designated her an honorary Canon of the Cathedral of St. Paul in 2003.
She is married to Gregory Stephen Bruce. They have two adult children and reside in Irvine, California.
With 70,000 members in 148 congregations, the Diocese of Los Angeles includes all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and part of Riverside County.
The Diocese of Los Angeles is one of 110 dioceses that form the Episcopal Church, located in 16 nations and territories and part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
http://www.episcopal-life.org/79901_117534_ENG_HTM.htm
The 114th annual convention of the Diocese of Los Angeles made history for the second time in as many days on Dec. 5, electing an openly gay candidate, the Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool, as bishop suffragan, pending the required consents from the majority of the church's other dioceses.
Glasspool is the second openly gay partnered priest to be elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church. The first was Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who was elected in 2003.
Ordained to the diaconate in 1981 and the priesthood in 1982, Glasspool has been active at local, provincial and national church levels. She has served as a three-time General Convention deputy, a Province III representative and as president of the diocesan standing committee.
The daughter of a priest, Glasspool was one of two openly gay candidates on the Los Angeles slate but maintained that her sexual orientation was "not an issue" in the election.
Usa: premiate donne ebree di successo
Jewish Women International's 12th annual Women to Watch gala Monday afternoon at the Hilton Washington. She joined fellow honorees Rabbi Sharon Brous, Yanina Fleysher, Laurie Ann Goldman, Ruth Marcus, Julie Morgenstern, Estee Portnoy, JJ Ramberg, Melissa Arbus Sherry, Ellen Stovall and Jillian Copeland for a girl-power celebration, equal parts light-hearted chatter and insightful rumination.
“Success is not luck,” she said. “It’s believing you are lucky.”
Most astonishingly (at least for this reporter) was the assertion by Marcus, the Washington Post, Pulitzer Prize-nominated columnist, that she did not initially believe she had opinions worth sharing in print every week.
“It is not possible to get an A every week,” she acknowledged. “Some of [my columns] are a B-plus, but it’s very important for us as women to get over the notion that we have to deliver perfection in everything we do. We need to learn to swagger, or at least get comfortable pretending to swagger.”
After listening to the 10 accomplished honorees get personal and introspective, show emotion and humility, I left the JWI luncheon reflecting on the “pearls of wisdom” that I also wear -- each one given to me by an experience or an encounter that shaped my life.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/12/08/1009604/girl-talk-pearls-of-wisdom-at-women-to-watch-galaUsa: in aumento le donne nei consigli di aministrazione delle grandi aziende del New Jersey
That’s up from 16.8 percent of board members in 2008, the institute said. The percentage of women on corporate boards had remained at around 16 percent for the past four years, after rising from 11 percent in 2005, according to the Executive Women of New Jersey.
“There is more consciousness and awareness out there of not only need, in terms of getting the talent on those boards, but also that women bring something special and different,” said Mary Hartman, the institute’s director. “There is correlation between the percentage of women on boards and the success of companies.”
But Hartman, who also is president of the Executive Women of New Jersey, said these increases represent “pretty slow progress, and a lot of people would still like to see [that] number larger than it is.”
Usa: la città di Houston elegge Annise Parker, donna apertamente lesbica, alla carica di sindaco
Annise Parker made history Saturday as Houston's first openly gay mayor.
Parker's election also makes her the second woman to become mayor of Houston. Other cities such as Providence, Rhode Island, and Portland, Oregon, have picked openly gay mayors. Houston is the fourth-largest U.S. city.
"Houston is a multiracial, multicultural, international city. And I think my election will send a message to the world that Houston is a city that might surprise a lot of folks," Parker said before the runoff.
Parker, 53, has never shied away from, nor made an issue of, her sexual orientation. She has been with her partner for 19 years and they have two adopted children.
"I have always stood up for the fact that I am gay. It's part of the resume that I bring to the table, but it's just a piece of the package," she said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/13/houston.mayor/index.html
Usa: la città di Washington legalizza il matrimonio civile per coppie dello stesso sesso
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed the bill Friday in a public ceremony.
The city council passed the measure Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage in the city. Congress has final say over D.C.'s laws, however, so the mayor's signature doesn't mean the bill immediately becomes law.
The bill must pass a 30-day period of Congressional review.
Usa: limitazioni al diritto all'aborto a livello federale
La riforma del sistema sanitario statunitense è ovviamente un grande passo in avanti. Detto questo rimane il fatto che le forze antiabortiste hanno approfittato del dibattito che ha preceduto il voto finale per inserire considerazioni di ordine morale e conservatore in quella che è una questione di tipo medico. Per le donne un cambiamento dal retrogusto amaro e dalle riprcussioni ancora da definire.
It is not acceptable to burden women and employers with the chilling requirement of multiple payment structures, creating a condition where participants are less likely to opt for full coverage. And it is unconscionable to allow state-run exchanges to opt out of providing abortion coverage, even when a woman's life is in danger. This measure simply shifts the battle from the federal government to the states where we will now have each state legislature deciding whether or not to allow insurance companies to cover abortion. This will result in a patchwork of coverage for women with holes throughout the U.S.
Sadly, this health care reform bill -- which held such promise to do such good --has sold out women and, by virtue of its dismissive treatment of women, awakened a sleeping giant. The anti-choice representatives behind the Stupak-language counted on the complacency of pro-choice women. But they gambled wrong.
http://www.nirhealth.org/StatementonHealthCareReform12-19-09.asp
"After the passage of the Stupak amendment in the House, we heard loud and clear from women across the country that they will not stand for the undermining of their rights and their access to benefits. This Nelson abortion check provision will no doubt create the same outrage, as women learn that they are being made second-class citizens when it comes to health care coverage.
"As many members of Congress and the president believe, Planned Parenthood does not think that health care reform is the forum to litigate abortion policy. Unfortunately, opponents continue to use abortion as a political wedge at every step of the reform process.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/press-release-31165.htm
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/abortion-compromise-draws-fire-from-both-sides/?hp
Usa: discriminazioni nei confronti delle soldatesse incinte
Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, who commands US forces in the northern sector of Iraq, issued a general order last month in which he stated that getting someone pregnant or becoming pregnant as a way to get out of a deployment could be punishable under the military court system, the Uniformed Code of Military Justice, to include court-martial.
But after an angry response from women’s rights groups and others, Cucolo on Tuesday appeared to retreat from that stance. While he retains the authority to court-martial a soldier under those circumstances, he said, the punishment would be unlikely to go that far.
"I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this," Cucolo said in a conference call with reporters. He noted that he'd had four cases of pregnancy in a war zone so far, and in each case the soldier received a letter of reprimand and nothing more.
Four Democratic senators wrote the Army Tuesday to demand that the "deeply misguided" order be rescinded immediately.
"Although Major General Cucolo stated today that a pregnant soldier would not necessarily be punished by court-martial under this policy, we believe the threat of criminal sanctions in the case of pregnancy goes far beyond what is needed to maintain good order and discipline," the letter stated in part. "This policy could encourage female soldiers to delay seeking critical medical care with potentially serious consequences for mother and child." The letter was signed by Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2009/1222/Court-martial-for-pregnant-soldiers-General-backs-off-under-fireUsa: Sarah Thomas apripista per le donne arbitro nel football
Sarah Thomas made history Saturday night at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl by becoming the first woman to officiate a bowl game when she worked the matchup between Ohio and Marshall.
Thomas is one of five women officiating in major college football, the first and only female referee in Conference USA. Pizza Bowl spokesman Tim Moore said she was the first woman to draw an assignment for a Bowl Subdivision postseason game.
"It was an honor," Thomas told the Associated Press while running off the field with her colleagues after Marshall's 21-17 victory in Detroit.
"This is something bigger than being the first female," Thomas said. "It's a profession we take a lot of pride in ... preparing for the season. We just want to go out there and manage our responsibilities and let the kids play the game."
Isn't that what it should be about for referees, no matter what their gender?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/314949-thomas-shatters-another-glass-ceiling
Usa: l'aministrazione Obama nomina donna trans al Dipartimento del commercio e proibisce la discriminazione sull'identità di genere
"I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me. And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others."
Simpson brings considerable professional credentials to her new job. For thirty years, she has worked in the aerospace and defense industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona. She holds degrees in physics, engineering and business administration along with an extensive flight background. She is a certified flight instructor and test pilot with 20 years of experience.
http://www.usajobs.gov/vacancy/vac_eeo.asp
Beginning in 2010, the Obama administration, through the Office of Personnel Management, has started to list gender identity among the classes protected by federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies. By including gender identity as a protected class, the federal government is stating its commitment to protecting transgender employees and has taken a significant step toward ending employment discrimination of LGBT people in the federal workforce.
Usa: estremisti antiabortisti mettono centro medico sotto assedio
Since news leaked one year ago that UW Hospital, its doctor group and Meriter Hospital were proposing to add abortion procedures to the surgery center, which they jointly own, opponents have kept up a near-daily presence at the site and begun measures intended to hurt the hospitals financially.
Now a year later, with no abortion services yet offered, local anti-abortion activists say the issue has reinvigorated their movement, and they are taking at least partial credit for the delay.
UW Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Brunette, who is handling all media inquiries on the issue, said she would not comment in detail on a timeline, the planning process or opposition.
“We will not do anything that will increase the risk of security problems at the site or the threat of harassment from those who oppose providing abortions,” she said.
But she said that while no definitive date had been set for when abortions would begin, “it is true that getting ready to do them has taken longer than originally anticipated.”
Lisa Subeck, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, said it is the anti-abortion movement that is out of the mainstream.
Abortion is a common medical procedure — the National Abortion Federation estimates 35 percent of all women will have had an abortion by age 45 — that retains majority public support in most polls, she said. It should be offered wherever there is the medical capacity to do so, she said.
Usa: successo per la fotomodella lesbica Tasha Tilberg
Capelli corti o lunghi poco importa. C'è lo stile, la classe, l'eleganza e la bellezza. E, ancora una volta, lo sterotipo della lesbica brutta e trasandata è smentito dall'esempio di una vera fotomedella di sucesso. Congratulazioni Tasha!
But trafficking in girls-gone-wild provocation is not the same thing as authentic representation. Few know that better than Tasha Tilberg, a 30-year old model who has been at the top of the fashion heap for 15 years, working with the biggest designers and magazines; and she’s been out of the closet for nearly her entire career.
“The fashion industry used to be much more closeted for girls,” she says, noting that ascension of lesbian models is a good thing not only for fashion but for culture. “I think it’s great for people to realize that we are everywhere and not a stereotype,” she says. “We are everywhere, and we look like everybody else.”
http://www.advocate.com/article.aspx?id=104944
Usa: donne ebree lanciano programma per favorire la lettura critica dei media da parte delle ragazze
Navigating the Media: A Think Tank for Parents of Teen Girls began with a multimedia presentation of the images that our teens are bombarded with daily. The presentation showed that not only are teens trying to live up to an unattainable ideal of beauty – sometimes at the expense of their health – but that they’re also processing print media’s frequently sexual and vulnerable depictions of women.
Following the panel, participants discussed possible settings and strategies for building the media literacy program out to a wider audience. Attendees walked away with powerful tools to help their daughters – and themselves – boost their media savvy.
Usa: Candy Crowley condurrà "State of the Union" programma di spicco della CNN
Ms. Crowley is the network’s senior political correspondent, having covered campaigns and elections for two decades. Starting on Feb. 7, she will succeed John King, who is taking over Mr. Dobbs’s former time slot, weekdays at 7 p.m., later this month.
“Give me that hour, and let me make it the best I can possibly make it,” she said in an interview.
Ms. Crowley will be the only woman currently anchoring a Sunday political talk show
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/business/media/01cnn.html
Usa: l'ebrea Nancy Brinker omaggiata per il suo lavoro contro il cancro al seno
Brinker, the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, received the award Thursday from ADL National Director Abraham Foxman at the organization's annual dinner at The Breakers, in Palm Beach, Fla.
"Nancy is a woman to be admired and emulated," Foxman said, according to his prepared remarks. "When she sets her sights on an issue her determination, creativity, expertise and leadership come into play. Problems get solved. Success is achieved."
A former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, Brinker established Komen following the death of her sister from breast cancer in 1980
http://jta.org/news/article/2010/02/05/1010490/adl-honors-breast-cancer-activist
Usa: le Forze Armate permettono la distribuzione della pillola del giorno dopo
The Department of Defense will begin making the morning-after pill Plan B available at all of its hospitals and health clinics around the world, officials announced Thursday.
The decision came after a recommendation by the Pentagon's Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, an advisory panel that voted in November to include Plan B and the generic Next Choice on the list of drugs all military facilities should stock. The Pentagon accepted the recommendation Feb. 3, a spokeswoman said.
Women's health advocates had long been pushing the Obama administration to allow the sale of the morning-after pill at military facilities. The same panel made a similar recommendation in 2002, but the policy was never implemented.
"It's a tragedy that women in uniform have been denied such basic health care," said Nancy Keenan of NARAL Pro-Choice America, which estimated that the decision would affect more than 350,000 women in the military. "We applaud the medical experts for standing up for military women."
Usa: ancora poche le donne a Wall Street
Ms. Krawcheck had been forced out as head of a comparable unit at Citigroup in August 2008, a highly publicized departure. Hers has been the only comeback among the three highest-ranking Wall Street women removed during the financial crisis.
“I don’t think I set foot in a restaurant where some woman did not come up to me and thank me for getting knocked around and going back in,” Ms. Krawcheck, 45, recalled in an interview at Bank of America’s corporate office in New York. “It was unexpected and quite fantastic.”
The outpouring over Ms. Krawcheck’s return reflects deep anxiety among women in the financial industry that their career paths are narrowing even as business picks up again.
Women have always been drawn to finance in smaller numbers than men. But after nearly two decades of increased hiring and promotion of women on Wall Street, their ranks appear to be shrinking again.
And a growing number of women run investment portfolios at college and prep school endowments. The Harvard endowment, the largest in the United States, is managed by Jane Mendillo.
But in the heart of Wall Street, the aggressive environment on the trading floor is often cited as a reason that women are rare at the top. Others cite the dearth of women to aid in career networking.
“It is more difficult for women to come back because the environment in financial institutions is generally more hostile to women,” he said. “This culture has developed over a very long period of time, and it has been exacerbated as the firms’ emphasis has shifted from traditional investment banking to sales and trading, which is an even more macho culture.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/world/28sallie.html?scp=1&sq=Wall%20street+women&st=cse
Usa: video pro-choice in risposta alla campagna mediatica degli estremisti cristiani antiabortisti
Due uomini, atleti di spicco, a sostegno del diritto delle donne all'aborto libero e legale. Decisamente due bravi ragazzi.
Former college and professional football player Sean James and Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner respond to the Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad, featuring Tim Tebow and his mother.
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/superbowlad_ppol
Usa: il cantante rock Rostam Batmanglij si dichiara gay
Vi aspettavate un isterico urlante daai tratti femminei incapace di suonare in un gruppo rock perchè troppo tosto? Mi spiace tanto deludervi.
I Vampireweekend, il gruppo di cui fa parte, sono un esempio di rispetto e civiiltà. Quattro ragazzi che amano il rock e fanno musica con impegno e passione. Uno di loro è gay, non si nasconde e la vita prosegue serenamente. Come dovrebbe essere in un mondo ideale. Nel link trovate anche i video musicali del gruppo.
http://www.vampireweekend.com/
Toujours dans le même article, on apprend également que le jeune musicien sortait d’une rupture avec son copain au moment de l’enregistrement du nouvel album de Vampire Weekend: «J’ai tout fait pour le retenir», explique Rostam. «Il m’a brisé le cœur». Pour tourner la page, Rostam s'est alors enfermé en studio avec ses camarades pour enregistrer et finaliser leur second disque, jusqu'à y passer 15 heures par jour!
Et noyer son chagrin dans le travail, parfois ça a du bon. Avec Contra, Vampire Weekend est devenu le premier groupe signé sur un label non-américain à entrer directement No 1 du Billboard US! En France, l'album s’est déjà vendu à 20.000 exemplaires en l'espace de deux semaines, un chiffre très honorable en ces temps de crise du disque.
http://www.tetu.com/actualites/culture/un-rockeur-fait-son-coming-out-dans-rolling-stone--16460
Usa: le donne ebree criticano la misoginia degli ultraortodossi in Israele
It's time to admit that Israel faces an emboldened movement against women’s equality, not a just a series of isolated incidents.
For more than three years, Israeli feminists have been campaigning to end gender segregation on publicly funded bus lines that serve the ultra-Orthodox as well as the general community. Bus segregation has arisen only in the last 10 years. Women sitting where they wished on such buses have been subject to verbal and physical harassment by male passengers, with bus drivers doing nothing.
At Jerusalem's Western Wall, the organization Women of the Wall has been fighting for equal rights to pray for 20 years. Women who chose to wear a kipah and/or tallit, and pray out loud and read from a Torah scroll, have been given a designated, and many would say, inferior place to worship near but not at the Western Wall itself.
The Israel Religious Action Center says it will soon be releasing a study that has found instances of medical clinics seeing male and female patients on separate days, post offices with separate lines, stores that have separate entrances, and funeral homes that forbid men and women to sit together.
Otherwise, friends of Israel will watch in horror along with a majority of Israelis as aspects of Israeli life become eerily reminiscent of its most backward neighbors. We can’t let that happen.
Usa: Cornell University ricorda la discriminazione contro neri ed ebrei
Yet at times during the university's early years, blacks and Jews who enrolled at Cornell often found closed doors at fraternities and sororities, added Carol Kammen, Tompkins County historian.
Engst and Kammen were featured speakers at "Part and Apart: Black and Jewish Students at Cornell, 1869-1969," a Jan. 26 lecture at the UJA Federation in New York City, part of the Cornell on the Road series. Using archival photographs, school documents and personal manuscripts from Cornell Library, Engst and Kammen stitched together personal accounts of early Jewish and black students to a capacity crowd of more than 100 alumni and friends.
"There was a good deal of racism and anti-Semitism and a lot of prejudice in the 1930s," said Kammen, "and in that instance, Cornell did not hold to a higher standard as stressed in the Cornell charter of 1865."
"It was difficult to find black students at the university's earliest years," said Kammen. "Many didn't have the academic qualifications, most didn't have the money, and because of Cornell's location, some didn't know it existed." Early on, said Kammen, when Ezra Cornell received a letter asking if a 'slightly colored' student could come to Cornell, he responded, "Send him."
Usa: integralisti cristiani alla Stanford University trovano resistenza da parte degli studenti ebrei e gay
Members of the Westboro Church, a traveling theater of religious extremists, gathered on Arastradero Road to flay the most unlikely victims: school children already traumatized by the five recent suicides of Gunn-associated students.
"You'll be in front of the train next! God laughs at your calamity!" shouted Margie Phelps, the daughter of Westboro Church founder Fred Phelps, a disbarred lawyer with a craving for publicity and a fixation on hatred of homosexuality.
The Topeka-based group then traveled to Stanford University's Taube Hillel House, where they were greeted by the dancing Stanford Tree mascot, the Stanford Band, several hundred students and a bagpipe player performing a haunting rendition of "Amazing Grace." It was only 8 a.m., an hour when most college students are still asleep. But word had spread across campus through e-mails from student groups and conversation, and a bold crowd awaited the far-outnumbered church members. Some students posed for pictures with the visitors, holding signs like one that read "Gay for Fred Phelps." "I just wanted to come out and show them that being a Christian isn't about hate, it's about love," said Monica Alcazar, a Stanford freshman and Gunn graduate.
Usa: musulmane femministe chiedono più spazio per le donne nelle moschee
Thompson, 44, is planning for about 30 like-minded Muslims to help her stage a "stand-in" at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., in a bid to persuade mosque leaders to remove a seven-foot partition behind which women pray -- or at least allow women the option of praying in front of it.
"Every woman should be able to stand with the congregation. That's the correct way," said Thompson, who converted to Islam 18 years ago.
Muslim prayers are typically led by male imams. Behind them are rows of men, and behind them rows of women and children. But according to a 2001 report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in nearly two-thirds of American mosques, female worshippers pray behind a partition, or in balconies or rooms that are separate from the main congregation hall.
Some women say the separate spaces -- sometimes filthy, often crowded with children -- make it impossible to see and hard to hear the imam. The whole experience has led many women to stay home altogether, activists say.
Despite calls by CAIR and other major Muslim-American organizations to allow women access to the main prayer halls, or at least decent prayer spaces for women, few mosques seem to have reformed.
It's been a contentious issue within American Islam for several years, as disputes erupted inside -- and sometimes outside -- mosques in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Charlotte, N.C., and Morgantown, W.V.
Some women say their second-class status isn't confined to the mosque. The same mindset also allows or overlooks domestic violence and limits women's access to education and jobs.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2010/02/women-protest-for-right-to-mix.php
Usa: le donne potranno prestare servizio nei sottomarini militari
If the Ministry of Defence follows suit it would open a new area of the senior service to the Navy's 3,700 women sailors.
The Australian, Canadian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian navies already allow women to serve on their submarines.
Women account for about 15 per cent of the more than 336,000 members of the U.S. Navy.Top U.S. military officer Admiral Mike Mullen first called for the change in written testimony to Congress last year, saying he wanted to 'continue to broaden opportunities for women' in the armed forces.
Congress has 30 days to comment on the move before it is put into effect.
Nancy Duff Campbell, an advocate for expanding the role of women in the U.S. armed forces, applauded the decision and said she did not expect any opposition from lawmakers.
'This is something that has a lot of support (within the military) and the Navy has a serious plan to carefully integrate submarine personnel,' she said.
Allowing women on submarines would be another step forward in expanding the role of women in the U.S. military.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1253466/U-S-Navy-lift-ban-women-serving-aboard-submarines.html
The Pentagon has moved to lift a decades-old policy that prohibits women from serving aboard Navy submarines, part of a gradual reconsideration of women's roles in a military fighting two wars whose front lines can be anywhere.
"I believe it's time that we take a look at what women are actually doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. And then we take a look at our policies," Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee. While no organized effort is under way, "I think it's time," he added.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124015349
Usa: la chiesa luterana estende benefici anche alle coppie gay e lesbiche
At its recent meeting, February 26—28, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions approved extending benefits to the partners in same-gender relationships, a first in the life of any Lutheran denomination.
Emily Eastwood, Executive Director, Lutherans Concerned / North America, said, “This historic decision is indeed worthy of celebration. The action sets committed same-gender relationships on a more equal footing in critical areas of family life: health care, retirement, survivor, and disability benefits.“
The decision of the Board means that the LGBT partners in committed, same-gender relationships with ministers or employees of ELCA congregations, synods or churchwide offices will be treated the same as heterosexual partners to the extent federal and state laws allow. The policy once put into practice will prove the test to what level of equality has truly been enacted.
http://www.lcna.org/news/358-news-2010-03-03Usa: il matrimonio tra coppie dello stesso sesso valido nel distretto di Washington
To prepare for Wednesday, the marriage bureau has changed its licence applications so they are gender-neutral, asking for the name of each "spouse" rather than the "bride" and "groom."
The booklet outlining how civil marriage ceremonies should be performed has also been changed. The instructions now read: "I now pronounce you legally married" instead of "I now pronounce you man and wife."
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/03/washington-same-sex-marriage.htmlUsa: soldatesse a rischio molestie e violenze sessuali da parte di commilitoni
What does it tell us that female soldiers deployed overseas stop drinking water after 7 p.m. to reduce the odds of being raped if they have to use the bathroom at night? Or that a soldier who was assaulted when she went out for a cigarette was afraid to report it for fear she would be demoted — for having gone out without her weapon? Or that, as Representative Jane Harman puts it, "a female soldier in Iraq is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire."
The problem is even worse than that. The Pentagon estimates that 80% to 90% of sexual assaults go unreported, and it's no wonder. Anonymity is all but impossible; a Government Accountability Office report concluded that most victims stay silent because of "the belief that nothing would be done; fear of ostracism, harassment, or ridicule; and concern that peers would gossip." More than half feared they would be labeled troublemakers
Women are often denied claims for posttraumatic stress caused by the assault if they did not bring charges at the time. There are not nearly enough mental-health professionals in the system to help them. Female vets are four times more likely to be homeless than male vets are, according to the Service Women's Action Network, and of those, 40% report being victims of sexual assault.
But there are some signs that both Congress and the Pentagon are getting serious about this problem. It is now possible for victims to seek medical treatment without having to report the crime to police or their chain of command.
The failure to provide a basic guarantee of safety to women, who now represent 15% of the armed forces, is not just a moral issue, or a morale issue. What does it say if the military can't or won't protect the people we ask to protect us?
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1968110,00.htmlUsa: Kathryn Bigelow prima donna regista a vincere il premio Oscar
Lo so, questa notizia è giustamente in tutti i media. Ma non potevo non unirmi al coro di celebrazioni. Congratulazioni, Kathryn!
Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in history to win the Oscar for best director here Sunday, claiming the coveted prize for her Iraq war drama "The Hurt Locker."
The 58-year-old film-maker -- only the fourth woman ever to be nominated for the award -- defeated ex-husband James Cameron to win the golden statuette at the Kodak Theater.
"It's the moment of a lifetime," a stunned Bigelow said as she accepted the award at the glittering Oscars' ceremony, and dedicated it to US troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan
"Well the time has come," screen legend Barbra Streisand said as she announced the winner, referring to Bigelow's historic shattering of the Oscars glass ceiling.
Usa: Shadi Sadr, attivista dei diritti delle donne, vince il "Women of Courage Award"
Shadi Sadr, Iranian women's rights activist, is amongst the winners of this year's International Women of Courage Award given by US Department of State, Office of Global Women's Issues. On March 10, Hillary Clinton will present the awards to the honorees at the Department of State. Shadi Sadr also won the Dutch "Human Rights Tulip" award and Lech Walesa human rights award last year.
http://www.iranian.com/main/news/2010/03/07/iranian-activist-winner-women-courage-award
http://www.state.gov/s/gwi/iwoc/2010/index.htm
Ms. Sadr was among 33 women arrested in March 2007 for gathering outside a Tehran courtroom to peacefully protest the trial of five Iranian women who were accused of “propaganda against the system” and similar charges. She was held in prison for over two weeks before being released on bail. In the midst of the post-election unrest, Sadr was arrested by plainclothes militiamen on July 17, 2009, as she walked to Friday prayers. She was released, after international outcry, 11 days later, and fled to Germany, where she has remained a staunch activist for women’s legal rights.
http://www.state.gov/s/gwi/iwoc/2010/bio/137495.htm
Usa: appello per la ratifica di CEDAW
C'è da chiedersi come sia possibile ancara gli Stati Uniti non abbiano ancora ratificato la Convenzione sull'eliminazione di tutte le forme di discriminazione contro le donne.
The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the most complete international agreement on basic human rights for women and was adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1979. To date, 185 countries have ratified CEDAW. Even though the U.S. helped draft the treaty, it is the only industrialized country left to ratify.
CEDAW promotes not only women's empowerment, but also a foundation for peace and justice around the world. Women in the U.S. and around the world have already waited 30 years for the world's superpower to sign onto this important treaty. Demand President Obama and the Senate RATIFY WOMEN! by prioritizing and passing CEDAW without restrictions.
http://www.now.org/issues/global/cedaw/
http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5996/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1364
Usa: ottimismo per le donne nel mondo ebraico ortodosso
The news that the leading Orthodox advocate for female spiritual leadership reversed his decision to embrace the title “rabba” seemed at first a major setback for Orthodox feminists.
But supporters of the expansion of women’s roles in the Orthodox community have found cause for celebration in what they see as an unprecedented nod to women’s leadership by the Modern Orthodox establishment in the course of a debate over the term. In a statement, the Rabbinical Council of America, the organization of centrist Orthodox rabbis, referred to its commitment to “the assumption of appropriate leadership roles within the Jewish community” by women.
“I think it bodes very well,” said Blu Greenberg, founding president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance and a leading figure in the movement. “The fact that it was a recognition by the RCA of women’s leadership roles and talents in synagogues means a step forward, and in a certain sense a breakthrough.”
At this point in time, the quality and quantity of Jewish education available to Jewish women far exceeds anything that has been available to Jewish women in the whole of Jewish history,” Berman said.
With that expansion comes heightened expectations. “On the one hand, I do feel the disappointment [of] women who have worked for a title and a certain certification,” Greenberg said. “But I also feel, in the context of this entire enterprise, it’s going to work in their favor…. Ultimately we have to keep our eye down the road, as well as on today.”
Usa: scuola omofoba cancella il ballo di fine anno pur di impedire la partecipazione di Constance McMillen, studentessa lesbica, e della sua fidanzata
After Ms. McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Mississippi, announced she’d be wearing a tuxedo and bringing a female date, a sophomore, to the school’s April 2 dance, the school district said no way. Officials then circulated a flier saying students could not bring same-sex dates.
McMillen did go to school Thursday, and encountered some hard feelings from classmates, but said she was standing up for herself and others in her situation. "My daddy told me that I needed to show them that I'm still proud of who I am," McMillen told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "The fact that this will help people later on, that's what's helping me to go on."
In socially liberal parts of the country, like Los Angeles and Miami, same-sex prom dates are common. In more conservative areas, such as Utah, gay teens sometimes hold separate proms. But in Deep South towns like McMillen’s hometown of Fulton, Mississippi, some school districts simply don’t allow same-sex dating at the prom.
Usa: proposta legge per aumentare la presenza femminile nei lavori non-tradizionali
“For far too long, women have been under-represented in higher-paying jobs as a result of inadequate training, stereotypes, and lack of information” said Congressman Polis. “As our nation works to rebuild the economy, it is essential that we take action today against gender inequity in the workforce and promote diversity and equal opportunity. This legislation will help women, especially low-income women, gain the same access to high-quality, high-paying jobs that men have had historically, so they can support their families and play an even greater role in strengthening America’s economy in the future.”
two-thirds of working women are concentrated in only 5% of occupational categories, most of which are among the lowest paid occupations,
To address this gender inequity, the Women WIN Jobs Act will help recruit, prepare, place and retain women in high-demand, high-wage nontraditional jobs
Usa: Sherri Murrell, allenatrice dichiaratamente lesbica, porta la sua squadra, i Vikings, al successo
Una bella storia. Non nascondersi ed essere sè stessi può dare risultati vantaggiosi. Non è la fine del mondo e l'orientamento sessuale, quando manifesto, diventa, come dovrebbe essere un non-argomento.
Murrell, a native Oregonian, opted to live in Portland to figure her next move. And a week after she put a bid on a home, Portland State called with a job opening.
She accepted, yet things would be different this time.
Murrell altered her coaching style and decided she'd be open about her sexuality, proudly placing a picture of herself, partner and twins in the media guide. She remains the only out Division I head women's basketball coach, saying the honesty is easier on her partner, boosters and players.
"It's not like I had a team meeting and said, 'Hey, I'm a lesbian,' " Murrell said. "But if the kids ask, 'Coach, do you have a family?' I tell them. I made a conscious decision this was how it was going to be.
"A lot won't do it because of a fear of the unknown — people not wanting to send their kids to play for you. I did not know how it was going to play out, but it didn't keep me from being authentic and being myself. And it became a nonissue."
in Murrell's first year she had the team tied for third in the Big Sky. Combing Washington for talent, last season Portland State placed second with a 23-10 overall record, advancing to the Women's NIT, where the Vikings lost in the second round to Oregon State.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/ncaatournamentwomen/2011382806_ncaaseattle19.html
Potevo esimermi dallo sbattervi in faccia la foto della Murrell? No. Carina, con la frangetta e la collana direi che è davvero l'opposto di come si immagina la donna lesbica.
Usa: restrizioni all'aborto insieme alla riforma del sistema sanitario
President Obama issued an executive order on Sunday promising to never, ever allow a single federal or unsegregated private dollar to pay for a single abortion in the United States (except in the cases or rape, incest or the life and health of the mother). He did this to provide Democratic congressman Bart Stupak the political cover he needed to vote for healthcare reform.
Until the law goes into effect in 2014 with the other provisions involving the healthcare exchange, two classes of women are covered by the Hyde Amendment and its lesser known cousin: women who are reliant on Medicaid, and women employed by (or covered by a spouse or domestic partner who is employed by) the federal government. Neither woman can have an abortion covered by their insurance company unless they wish to tell their insurer that the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest (which currently can and often is classified as a pre-existing condition, leaving one at risk of losing one's healthcare) or unless the government agrees that the abortion is necessary to save the woman's life or health
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/mar/22/bart-stupak-healthcare-abortion
President Obama campaigned as a pro-choice president, but his actions today suggest that his commitment to reproductive health care is shaky at best. Contrary to language in the draft of the executive order and repeated assertions in the news, the Hyde Amendment is not settled law -- it is an illegitimate tack-on to an annual must-pass appropriations bill. NOW has a longstanding objection to Hyde and, in fact, was looking forward to working with this president and Congress to bring an end to these restrictions. We see now that we have our work cut out for us far beyond what we ever anticipated. The message we have received today is that it is acceptable to negotiate health care on the backs of women, and we couldn't disagree more.
http://www.now.org/press/03-10/03-21a.htmlUsa: Natalie Randolf prima donna allenatrice di una squadra maschile di calcio
Randolph 10 days ago was named football coach of a Washington, D.C., high school, which for days brought her media attention around the country, heralding the 29-year-old University of Virginia graduate as the first woman to direct a high school boys football team in the US.
Less than a week later, it was pointed out that Debbie Vance, coach of the boys team at Lehman High in Bronx, N.Y., actually staked the female coaching flag to the top of Mount Pigskin two years earlier.
Be it Randolph or Vance, the point is the same: Football is ever so slowly becoming an equal opportunity playing and coaching field.
http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/football/articles/2010/03/21/first_ladies_of_school_football/
Usa: studio sulla carenza di donne negli studi scientifici
In an era when women are increasingly prominent in medicine, law and business, why are there so few women scientists and engineers? A new research report by AAUW presents compelling evidence that can help to explain this puzzle. Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics presents in-depth yet accessible profiles of eight key research findings that point to environmental and social barriers – including stereotypes, gender bias and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities – that continue to block women’s participation and progress in science, technology, engineering, and math. The report also includes up to date statistics on girls' and women's achievement and participation in these areas and offers new ideas for what each of us can do to more fully open scientific and engineering fields to girls and women.
Usa: l'attrice Ashley Judd sostiene la International Violence against Women Act
Brava Ashely! E' davvero un piacere far sapere che una famosa attrice, invece di pensare solo a cambiare vestiti ogni giorno e fidanzato ogni settimana (a chi mi riferisco?) usi la propria celebrità per la causa della lotta alla violenza alle donne. Ce ne fossero di più di donne come lei....
"What I have learned is that gender-based violence is not deviant and perverted and the acts of a few monstrous individuals," she said.
"What I would posit is that that kind of violence against women is really the norm, and once we accept it's the norm, then we can broaden the scope of the solutions that we're willing to throw at the problem," she said.
Judd joined two of the lawmakers who introduced the bill, Democrats Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts, in calling for the legislation to come to a vote before the end of the current congressional session.
The act would integrate efforts to tackle gender-based violence into US foreign assistance programs as a key US diplomatic priority, supporters said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100324/en_afp/uswomenrightspeople
Usa: fondi per aumentare la presenza femminile nei lavori verdi e non-tradizionali
Un'ottima notizia da oltreoceano.
The Women’s Bureau (WB) and the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Office of Apprenticeship (OA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announce the availability of Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act (WANTO) grant funds of approximately $1,800,000 to assist employers and labor management organizations in the placement and retention of women in apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations.
Unlike recent WANTO SGAs, which were limited to the construction industry, this SGA expands the focus to include a broader range of industries including advanced manufacturing, transportation, and construction, and “green” jobs in industries related to these three industries.
http://www.dol.gov/wb/federalregister3-30-2010.htm
http://www.dol.gov/wb/media/reports/whyisgreengoodforwomen_factsheet.pdfUsa: Bloomberg ha discriminato le lavoratrici incinte
Dozens of women are suing Bloomberg LP, charging their careers were sidetracked after they went on maternity leave - and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found a pattern of discrimination.
"My belief is that the judge will want a jury to hear that issue," countered lawyer Richard Roth, who represents several of the 79 women in the class-action suit.http://www.nydailynews.com/news//2010/03/25/2010-03-25_bloomberg_suit.html
Usa: Scott Roeder condannato a 50 anni di carcere per l'omicidio del Dottor Tiller
Scott Roeder, the anti-abortion extremist who murdered Dr George Tiller, shouted "The blood of babies is on your hands!" as he was led from the courtroom in Wichita, Kansas after receiving a life sentence without parole for 50 years
The judge opted to sentence Roeder to the "hard 50" of 50 years without parole, rather than a lighter sentence of 25 years, because of evidence that Roeder had systematically stalked Dr Tiller before killing him.
Earlier, Roeder had attempted to turn the hearing into a platform for an anti-abortion diatribe, but was stopped by the judge, who said: "It is your opportunity to convince me you need a lesser sentence. It is not a soapbox for your political views."
Lee Thompson, attorney for Dr. George Tiller's family, issued the following statement today at the request of Mrs. Jeanne Tiller and the Tiller family following the sentencing of Scott Roeder.
"The sentence handed down today was appropriate. It is the most severe penalty available to Judge Wilbert under Kansas law. This crime was cruel and heinous not only because it took our husband, father and grandfather; but because it was a hate crime committed against George – but also against all women and their constitutional rights.
Merryl Lynch e Bank of America sotto accusa per discriminazione di genere
The lawsuit, Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America Corp., et al., charges that Bank of America and Merrill Lynch have engaged in a pattern and practice of gender discrimination against their female Financial Advisors with respect to business opportunities, compensation, professional support, and other terms and conditions of employment.
"Bank of America and Merrill Lynch both have a long history of failing to provide equal employment opportunities to their female Financial Advisors, and since the merger of the two firms, the problems have only continued," said plaintiffs' attorney Adam T. Klein of Outten & Golden LLP of New York, New York.
The complaint charges that, among other things, Merrill Lynch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America, discriminates against female Financial Advisors in account distributions; partnership opportunities; upfront money, pay-out rate, and other benefits in its compensation plan; as well as in other opportunities for brokers to increase their income.
Usa: il cantante Ricky Martin si dichiara gay
Forse lo sapevate già. Quello che conta in questa storia è il coraggio e l'onestà di essere sè stessi, visibili come un libro aperto. Una questione che, ricordo per inciso, per le persone eterosessuali neanche si pone.
If someone asked me today, "Ricky, what are you afraid of?" I would answer "the blood that runs through the streets of countries at war...child slavery, terrorism...the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith." But fear of my truth? Not at all! On the contrary, It fills me with strength and courage. This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.
These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed.
What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment. The word "happiness" takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.
I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.
RM
http://rickymartinmusic.com/portal/news/news.asp?item=114532
Usa: lancio del reality The Real L Word: Los Angeles
Un reality ispirato alla celebre serie le cui protagoniste non sarebbero realistiche. Forse avrebbero dovuto essere mal vestite, camminare a gambe larghe, avere lo sguardo truce, i capelli a spazzola, essere insomma una caricatura della peggior specie dei bulli di periferia. Un'immagine, a volte reale ma più spesso immaginata, forse rassicurante per chi vuole vedere le lesbiche come delle diverse tout court. Evidentemente è sconcertante vedere che le lesbiche possono avere successo al lavoro, avere classe, essere eleganti e non per questo non essere delle autentiche lesbiche. Come le protagoniste del reality.
Showtime is reviving "The L Word" -- but this time as a reality series.
Pay cabler has greenlit nine episodes of "The Real L Word: Los Angeles," from "L Word" creator Ilene Chaiken and reality producers Magical Elves ("Top Chef").
Show will follow six lesbians in Los Angeles as they go about their lives -- a lesbian answer to Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise. Project is dependent on casting, the net said; if all goes as planned, "The Real L Word" would debut sometime next year.
"We love to tell authentic stories about complex characters and feel like this is an area that has yet to be explored in reality television," Lipsitz said.
http://www.thelwordonline.com/reality.html
Usa: l'attrice Geena Davis denuncia il sessimo nei film e nella televisione
The L.A.-based Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media is set to release this summer the findings of a lengthy study on gender roles in movies and TV shows aimed at viewers 11 and under. The org is also planning a daylong conference in L.A. this fall. The institute has a programming unit dubbed See Jane that aims to work with execs, creatives and other industry orgs to encourage the inclusion of a wider range of femme characters in kid-oriented programming.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118017212.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
Usa: Augusta Golf Club continua ad escludere le donne
E Tiger Woods dovrebbe vergognarsi di far parte di un club di tale natura.
Tiger Woods has chosen the Masters as a "safe haven" to return to golf because the Augusta National is full of "chauvinists".
That is the claim of women's rights protester Martha Burk, who tried to organise a boycott of the 2003 event against the club's all-male membership.
"I think this is a safe haven for him," she said. "They're all chauvinists themselves. It's a perfect fit. He'll be welcomed.
"These people have a fundamental disregard for women. This kind of behaviour is part of a fundamental misogyny displayed by many people in power. What produced Tiger Woods as we now know him goes back a long way.
"He played a lot of golf at a Houston club, Lochinvar, that didn't let women in.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/04/02/tiger-he-s-a-sexist-pig-115875-22156439/
Usa: causa legale contro Novartis che ha discriminato contro le lavoratrici incinte
A few of plaintiffs' stories have been reported already, including that of the mother of twins who was repeatedly passed over for promotions given instead to men with worse sales numbers, and who heard a manager asking a recruiter if prospective sales reps were married or had children; the woman who said her manager explained he didn't like to hire young women, because "first comes love, then comes marriage then comes flex time and a baby carriage"; and the woman who claims she was encouraged to have an abortion
Usa: ricordo di Wilma Mankiller prima donna capo tribu' Cherokee
Wilma Mankiller, whose life encapsulated some of the traditions and the changes that are part of contemporary Native American culture, died on Tuesday. She was 64.
In 1985, Mankiller became the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation, a position she held for a decade. As chief, she headed the Tribal Council, the ruling body of the 72,000-member Cherokee Nation, and was principal guardian of Cherokee customs and traditions
"The only issue in the first election was my being female," she said. "That was a total — a total issue in the entire election. There was incredible opposition because of that. But the people who stayed with me in the '83 election and who stayed with me through today, 10 years later, have been the older people in the tribe and the more traditional elements of the tribe. I've always found that fascinating. My husband and I have talked about it and I think we've come to the conclusion that maybe older people have a greater sense of history and understand that there was a time when women played a more significant role in the tribe and there was more balance and harmony between men and women in the Cherokee Nation."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125668640
Usa: studenti omofobi organizzano il ballo della scuola di nascosto pur di non invitare la compagna lesbica Constance McMillen e la sua fidanzata
Per quanto il fatto non sia di una gravità estrema, a fronte di tanti altri episodi ancora più sordidi o addirittura violenti, rimane da sottolineare la volontà di escludere la compagna di scuola, solo ed esclusivamente perchè lesbica. Constance intanto è stata nominata Grand Marshall alla prossima Gay Pride di New York.
http://nycpride.org/pdf/Constance_McMillen_NYC_Grand_Marshal_PressRelease.pdfA lesbian teen who successfully sued her Mississippi school for the right to bring her girlfriend to prom was left out and was instead directed to a "fake prom" on Friday, according to The Advocate.
Constance McMillen, her date and just a handful of others, including two classmates with learning disabilities, attended the dance in Fulton, Mississippi while most of her other classmates from Itawamba Agricultural High School reportedly partied at a separate prom that McMillen was not invited to.
Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. "They had the time of their lives," McMillen says. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/constance-mcmillen-fake-p_n_525856.html
Sotto il video con il messaggio di ringraziamento di Constance ai suoi sostenitori
Usa: la cantante cristiana Jennifer Knapp si dichiara lesbica
Se per un'artista dichiararsi, fare coming out o uscire allo scoperto (tre modi di definire l'atto di non nascondere il fatto di essere gay) è un atto lodevole che denota coraggio ed onestà, questo vale ancora di più nel caso di Jennifer Knapp, un'apprezzata cantante oltre che una bellissima ragazza, specializzata in musica di ispirazione cristiana.
The rumors dogged her then as they dog her now. They said Jennifer Knapp canceled all her gigs and sold every inch of gear save one acoustic guitar because she was a lesbian. She stopped answering her e-mail, going months without talking even to her mother or her manager, because she was a lesbian. She dropped out of sight because she was a lesbian. And now, poised to release her first studio album in years, Jennifer Knapp is ready to face those rumors.
Turns out they’re true: Jennifer Knapp is a lesbian.
For Knapp, coming out means the chance to live honestly, to be “wholly myself.”
then there’s the e-mail Knapp receives from a young fan asking, if she is a lesbian, to please come out: “That would help me feel less alone.” Over the free-ranging hour we’ve spent together, it’s the first time Knapp’s voice cracks. No matter how personal her transformation might be, telling the world is inescapably, publicly important.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/music/interviews/2010/jenniferknapp-apr10.html
Usa: lo stato del Nebraska restringe l'accesso all'aborto legale
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said Thursday he supports the measure, meaning it is all but guaranteed to receive his signature and become law this summer. It's also likely be challenged in court. National abortion-rights supporters have called it a drastic shift in abortion policy that would block abortions by scaring doctors who might perform them.
Supporters say it simply puts abortions in line with other medical procedures in which patients are screened for possible problems.
"We're dealing with destruction of early, unborn life, so we ought to take extra care," said Greg Schleppenbach of the National Catholic Conference.
"It's too vague," said Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, one of just nine senators who voted against the measure on Monday. "I don't know if a physician faced with civil action can know all the risk factors," cited in journals, he added.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jzt25qOzuNhJIoNy9bemLPOo8cHQD9F1M9R00
Nebraska lawmakers have approved groundbreaking abortion restrictions that could change the legal foundation of abortion laws nationally, if the new law is upheld by the courts.
The bill got final approval Tuesday morning. Gov. Dave Heineman planned to sign it into law in the afternoon.
It would bar women from getting abortions at 20 weeks, based on assertions that fetuses feel pain at that time.
Current restrictions in Nebraska and elsewhere are based on a fetus's ability to survive outside the womb.
The law is partially meant to shut down late-term abortion provider LeRoy Carhart of Bellevue, Neb.
http://www.beatricedailysun.com/news/state-and-regional/article_16abb25d-0e90-5342-a6b6-bea6f2829f7e.html
Usa: pubblicato studio che mostra una diminuzione delle morti di donne incinte nel mondo
Maternal mortality is a key gauge of a population's health and wealth, as well as of women's status. The rate differs greatly between countries and regions, with the best- and worst-performing nations differing by a factor of about 400, according to a study in the Lancet, a European medical journal.
The global rate in 2008 was 251 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, according to a research team led by Christopher J.L. Murray at the University of Washington. The highest rate was in Afghanistan (1,575) and the lowest in Italy (4). The United States was 17; Canada, 7; and Mexico, 52.
More than half of all maternal deaths (about 343,000 in 2008) occurred in six countries, researchers found: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"We do not have silver bullets for achieving this," said Flavia Bustreo, an Italian physician who directs a partnership, headquartered in Geneva, of 300 health organizations. Instead, she said, there is a menu of proven interventions that need to be implemented more widely.
For example, in the 68 countries where 97 percent of maternal deaths occur, less than 20 percent of recently delivered women are visited at home by a health worker who can instruct in breast-feeding and assess the mother and infant for infection. Only 50 percent of deliveries in those countries have skilled birth attendants present. On the other hand, more than 80 percent of babies get the recommended immunizations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/14/AR2010041404974.html?wprss=rss_world
Usa: le ebree ortosse femministe chiedono opportunità per le donne alle istituzioni e sinagoghe
The undersigned, as well as many others in our Orthodox communities, strongly desire to see efforts and support from the RCA to enable women in positions of religious communal leadership. Doing so not only empowers Orthodox women to contribute to their communities in integral ways, but also offers them a goal in their pursuit of higher levels of Torah study. The RCAs position on women's leadership creates ceilings and limits for women's religious and spiritual growth, and truly inhibits the enormous contributions that women can make to our communities. It also creates a significant schism and enormous frustration for women who see that they are so empowered in the secular sphere but see this empowerment is absent in the sphere that is most important to them.
I applaud those brave, learned women leaders who have stood with dignity, committed to their religious learning, halachic observance, and steadfast dedication to their communities, despite the unfortunate lack of support from the RCA. The RCA should encourage its members and affiliates to create communal leadership positions for women in their respective communities. It is my hope that the RCA will realize the enormous meaning their support would have to these women, and the immense benefit this would have in our communities by increasing the quality of Orthodox leadership, the faith of Orthodox women in our religious system, and strengthening observance and commitment to a Torah life of klal yisrael.
http://www.jofa.org/pdf/Letters%20to%20RCA%20Leadership%20for%20Website.pdf
Usa: Katie Spotz è la persona più giovane al mondo ad aver attraversato a remi l'Oceano
Non posso che rendere omaggio a questa ragazza che ha compiuto un'impresa grandiosa per una giusta causa.
A 22-year-old woman has become the youngest person to row across the Atlantic.
Katie Spotz completed the 2,817 mile journey in 70 days.
She was greeted by her father and brother after reaching Georgetown,Guyana, South America having weathered storms, shark infested seas and even an on board fire.
She rowed to raise money and awareness for the Blue Planet Run Foundation, a non-profit organisation whose goal is to bring clean drinking water to the estimated 1 billion people worldwide who lack it.'The records are just a bonus for Katie. Rowing the Atlantic and raising funds for clean water are the things she really cares about,' said her coach Sam Williams.
Usa: morte di Dorothy Height, attivista dei diritti civili
From the late 1950s she led the National Council of Negro Women, founded in 1935 to encourage mainly middle-class black women to support humanitarian causes and programmes of interracial social action.
Originally considered a moderate voice in the black liberation movement, the NCNW was already becoming more militant when Dorothy Height took over as its fourth president in 1957. Although at first she repudiated the rallying cries of Black Power leaders, by the 1970s she was supporting calls for a more direct approach to tackling racial injustice.
In the 1960s she led an intensive integration programme, campaigning for racial desegregation in several areas of American local life such as clubs and swimming pools.
She received two of America's highest civilian honours, being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Height
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/civilrights/p/dorothy_height.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/7615645/Dorothy-Height.html
Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dorothy Height - the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans. Ever since she was denied entrance to college because the incoming class had already met its quota of two African American women, Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality. She led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, and served as the only woman at the highest level of the Civil Rights Movement - witnessing every march and milestone along the way.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-passing-dr-dorothy-height
Usa: Derrick Martin e Richard Goodman, studenti e fidanzati, accolti al ballo del liceo
Contrariamente alla triste vicenda di Constance McKillen, i due fidanzatini hanno potuto partecipare con tutti gli altri al ballo della scuola. Meglio cosi'.
Derrick Martin had a question he couldn’t answer, so he did what any 18-year-old would. Fingers tapping, he logged on to his computer last December and Googled the following words, which changed his life:
“I’m gay. Can I go to the prom?”
He can, and will. But those eight little words have done more than ensure the high school senior can take a same-sex date to Bleckley High School’s prom next month.
Seeking that answer has thrust him to the forefront of a national discussion. It’s touched off heated discussions in beauty salons and restaurants here and elsewhere, and made this small middle Georgia town a focal point in the debate over gay rights. Some applaud him for bravery.
http://www.ajc.com/news/making-a-prom-date-407624.html
When Martin, 18, and his boyfriend Richard Goodman, also 18, stepped onto a makeshift “red carpet” and their names were announced, a few parents whispered but many in the crowd gave him a loud cheer. No one yelled out in protest.
“I wonder if they realize what they’ve done,” said Arturro Beeche, a San Francisco professor who flew into Georgia on Friday and drove Martin and Goodman to the prom. “Once it happens in small-town America, it will inspire so many,” he said.
“You have to do what you think is right,” Martin said the Friday while he and Goodman picked up their matching black and white tuxedos. “I was tired of being sneaky and hiding things.”
Usa: le donne organizzano ironica manifestazione di protesta contro dichiarazioni misogine di estremista islamico iraniano
L'ironia è un ottima arma. Le donne non vestite secondo modestia provocherebbero terremoti. In risposta l'arguta studentessa invita le donne ad indossare scollature mozzafiato che, sicuramente, causeranno terremoti micidiali.
Time for a Boobquake.
On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I'm sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn't rumble. And if we really get through to him, maybe it'll be one involving plate tectonics.
http://www.blaghag.com/2010/04/in-name-of-science-i-offer-my-boobs.html
McCreight said that although "Boobquake" was intended was a joke, sometimes humorous responses to "hateful" comments can be valuable.
"When someone makes a statement that you can scientifically test, that immodest clothing causes earthquakes, then we should go ahead and test it," she said. "It's sort of tongue-in-cheek, but I think that light-hearted mockery is sometimes the best way to deal with things like this."
On the "Boobquake" Facebook page, women from Canada, the United Kingdom and South Africa have pledged support. And McCreight has even received e-mails from Iranian women cheering her on.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/boobquake-today-cleavage-earthquakes/story?id=10474704&page=2Usa: le donne ebree ortodosse non potranno ancora diventare rabbino
The leading Modern Orthodox rabbinic association has adopted an official position against the ordination of women while also encouraging the creation of “halakhically and communally appropriate professional opportunities” for female scholars.
The resolution cites “commitment to sacred continuity” in stating that the organization “cannot accept either the ordination of women or the recognition of women as members of the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title.” But it stops short of sanctioning or expelling members who violate the policy – a move being urged by some rabbis who were upset over the recent actions of RCA member Rabbi Avi Weiss.
The RCA resolution notes that “young Orthodox women are now being reared, educated, and inspired by mothers, teachers and mentors who are themselves beneficiaries of advanced women’s Torah education,” and it embraces the idea of such scholars assuming communal roles.
“As members of the new generation rise to positions of influence and stature,” the resolution states, “we pray that they will contribute to an ever-broadening and ever-deepening wellspring” of Torah study, religious commitment and observance of mitzvot.
Usa: le donne potranno chiedere giustizia per discriminazione di genere praticata da Wal-Mart
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that thousands of female Wal-Mart employees can sue the world's largest retailer as a single class over allegations that it paid them less than men and gave them fewer promotions.
The 6 to 5 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco is the latest step in a nearly decade-long battle to bring the case to trial. Wal-Mart said that it now plans to request that the Supreme Court review the ruling. But attorneys for the women said they hope the case will go to trial by the end of the year.
The original case named six plaintiffs led by Betty Dukes, a Wal-Mart greeter in California, who accused the company of paying them less than their male counterparts, despite having higher performance ratings and more seniority. They also claimed that they received fewer promotions and had to wait longer for them. The women are represented by the nonprofit Impact Fund and several other groups.
Usa: le donne potranno prestare servizio anche nei sottomarini
The cramped quarters and scant privacy aboard submarines, combined with long tours of up to 90 days at sea, kept them off-limits to female sailors for 16 years after the Navy began allowing women to serve on all its surface ships in 1994.
"We're going to look back on this four or five years from now, shrug our shoulders and say, 'What was everybody worrying about?'" said Bruner, the top sub commander at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in coastal Georgia, where the announcement was made.
The first group of women will consist entirely of officers assigned to guided-missile attack submarines and ballistic-missile submarines, which have the most living space in the Navy's fleet. They'll be assigned to two subs based at Kings Bay on the East Coast, and two others at the West Coast naval hub of Bangor, Wash.
Limiting women to officer slots lets the Navy, for a time at least, sidestep the more vexing and cost-prohibitive problem of modifying subs to have separate bunks and bathrooms for enlisted men and women. Enlisted sailors make up about 90 percent of a sub's 160-sailor crew. No timeline was given for integrating enlisted women onto subs.
About 52,446 women serve on active duty in the U.S. Navy, or about 15 percent of total personnel. Navy officials said women also make up about half the pool of potential recruits with educational degrees that qualify them for training as submarine officers.
"We literally could not run the Navy without women today," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement.
Sailors interviewed aboard the Alaska at Kings Bay on Thursday said they're not opposed to the change.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jzfgPydc7rCj9bgMkMth6yJJIQ8AD9FCV9800
Usa: Wendy Steler nominata capo della polizia di Chippewa Falls
Congratulazioni!
The new chief of police in Chippewa Falls receives words of encouragement from someone who can offer perspective.
Tuesday night, the Police and Fire Commission named Wendy Stelter the new Chippewa Police Chief. For years, law enforcement has been a male-dominated industry. Stelter will become the first female chief in Chippewa. It still hasn't happened in Eau Claire or Menomonie. But it has in Thorp.
Sharon Verges has been the chief of police in Thorp for nearly four years now. She came into the position with some large shoes to fill, the former chief had been with the department for 27 years, and was a man. "I think that women have had to work extra hard to get to that place where the communities, and the people on the boards and councils feel that women are capable of doing the same job," said Stelter.
From one chief to another, Verges offered her encouragement to Wendy Stelter. "Just take time to enjoy and to get to know the people, I'm sure she's going to do a wonderful job."
http://www.wqow.com/global/story.asp?s=12158770
Usa: Cory Benton, afroamericano ed atleta di spicco alla Columbia University, si dichiara gay
No, non corre con i tacchi alti, non ha la borsetta, non si produce in urletti isterici. Mi spiace davvero tanto deludervi ma non è cosi'. Ebbene si, un atleta afroamericano apprezzato dal suo allenatore e dai suoi compagni che racconta, con integrità ed onestà, il suo coming out. Affinchè altri possano averlo a modello.
So many thoughts ran through my head. Did I have something new to prove? What if I did not run well? Would my teammates attribute a bad race to my homosexuality? All of these questions raced rapidly through my head as others walked toward the starting line. But I couldn’t move. I was petrified. I glanced over at my coach.
“Let’s go, Cory,” Coach Wood shouted. “Get out hard!” Somehow, as soon as he said those words, all of the negative feelings and thoughts disappeared. I was focused on the race at hand.
During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I couldn’t take the lying and sleepless nights anymore.
My head coach, Willy Wood, quickly replied and asked if I would like to come into his office and talk about it. What started off as a silent, awkward conversation turned into daily long conversations about my life and how my family was handling me coming out. I would sit in his office for sometimes hours and discuss how I felt about being gay, and how I felt now that I was out.
Two athletes outside my team have helped me a lot along the way. Jamal Brown was an openly gay runner for Dartmouth College who was there for me during my really low points at Columbia. Jamal has always been a great source of advice, since he had been through everything I was currently going through. To personally know another openly gay athlete has helped me so much as I adapt to being my true self in this environment. And while Scott Herman is not a fellow runner, he is one of the people I look up to most today. He has inspired me to give it my all for my last semester at Columbia. I appreciate them both immensely.
http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2010/04/27/out-columbia-university-sprinter-cory-benton/
Usa: sconfitta legge antiabortista nello stato della Georgia
http://sistersong.net/documents/SS_SB_529_Dies_News_release.pdf
Usa: appello per la ratifica di CEDAW
CEDAW was signed by President Carter, and 30 years later the Senate continues to drag its feet. NOW is calling on President Obama, who supports CEDAW, to throw the weight of his presidency behind the basic truth that women's rights are human rights and urge the Senate to RATIFY WOMEN! without delay or restrictions.
Though many cities have adopted resolutions calling on the Senate to ratify CEDAW, the city of San Francisco went a step further, becoming the first U.S. city to adopt an ordinance obligating itself to the principles of CEDAW. After ratification, the city adopted harsher sentences for domestic violence, implemented new flexible work schedules for its workforce and decreased the distance between streetlights for the purpose of women's safety. We can assume that this expansion of justice for women strongly suggests what could happen when our country ratifies CEDAW.
http://www.now.org/nnt/spring-2010/ratify.htmlUsa: la cantante country Chely Wright si dichiara lesbica
Nelle interviste la cantante, la prima artista country a dichiararsi gay, ha raccontato quanto le sia costato sul piano umano doversi nascondere. Ma ora comincia una nuova vita per la bella Chely, negli Stati Uniti, una vera star, che sarà sicuramente un modello di riferimento positivo per le lesbiche.
The 39-year-old singer revealed this morning that she is gay, making her the first major country star to come out publicly.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Wright explains why she was reluctant to discuss her sexual orientation for so long. "There had never, ever been a country music artist who had acknowledged his or her homosexuality," she said. "I wasn't going to be the first."
However, "Nothing in my life has been more magical than the moment I decided to come out," she says.
Wright, a small-town girl who grew up in a musical family and released her debut album in 1994, says she's directed her whole life around the dream of making music. Given the conservative bent of the country music world, she decided to put her career ahead of her personal life. "I hid everything for my music," she explained.
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/ourcountry/24529/chely-wright-comes-out/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-ocamb/country-star-chely-wright_b_565302.html
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20365936,00.html
Usa: donna musulmana aggredita dalla famiglia perchè "colpevole" di aver sposato un uomo cristiano
Forse ho la memoria corta. Ma non è la libertà di amare uno dei pilastri della società democratica e della libertà delle donne? E allora perchè mai si dovrebbe tacere di fronte a simili violenze?
A Campbell woman of Yemeni descent says she was abducted by her parents and taken to Hermitage, Pa., where they threatened to send her back to her homeland.
The victim, 32, told police she was leaving a doctor’s appointment at an office on U.S. Route 224 when her father came up behind her, grabbed her in a bear hug and put her in the back seat of her car.
The father then got into the driver’s seat, and her mother in the back seat with her. They drove to the Sheetz gas station in Hermitage.
No charges have been filed.
“I’m still gathering information and still trying to talk to witnesses,” said Boardman Detective Glenn Patton.
The woman told police that her parents, who are Muslim, don’t approve of her marriage to a Christian man.
Patrolman John Gulu, who coaches the daughter’s softball team, was able to reach the woman on her cell phone.
“The first thing he asked was, ‘Are you OK? Are you safe?’” Rusnak said. “She said, ‘No.’”
To keep from raising her parents’ suspicions, Gulu asked yes-and-no questions, interspersed with questions about softball in case the woman’s parents listened, the detective said.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/may/08/woman-alleges-capture-threats/?newswatch
Usa: pubblicato studio sui crimini d'onore
Thus, wherever an honor killing is committed, it is primarily a crime against young people. Just over half of these victims were daughters and sisters; about a quarter were wives and girlfriends of the perpetrators. The remainder included mothers, aunts, nieces, cousins, uncles, or non-relatives. Honor killings are a family collaboration. Worldwide, two-thirds of the victims were killed by their families of origin. (See Table 1). Murder by the family of origin was at its highest (72 percent) in the Muslim world and at its lowest in North America (49 percent); European families of origin were involved almost as often as those in the Muslim world, possibly because so many are first- or second-generation immigrants and, therefore, still tightly bound to their native cultures. Alternatively, this might be due to the Islamist radicalization of third or even fourth generations.
Worldwide, 42 percent of these murders were carried out by multiple perpetrators, a characteristic which distinguishes them considerably from Western domestic femicide. A small number of the murders worldwide involved more than one victim.
In the non-immigrant West, serious domestic violence exists which includes incest, child abuse, marital rape, marital battering, marital stalking, and marital post-battering femicide. However, there is no cultural pattern of fathers specifically targeting or murdering their teenage or young adult daughters, nor do families of origin participate in planning, perpetrating, justifying, and valorizing such murders. Clearly, these characteristics define the classic honor killing of younger women and girls.
One might argue that the stated murder motive of being "too Westernized" may, in a sense, overlap substantively with the stated and unstated motives involved in Western domestic femicide. In both instances, the woman is expected to live with male violence and to remain silent about it. She is not supposed to leave—or to leave with the children or any other male "property." However, the need to keep a woman isolated, subordinate, fearful, and dependent through the use of violence does not reflect a Western cultural or religious value; rather, it reflects the individual, psychological pathology of the Western batterer-murderer. On the other hand, an honor killing reflects the culture's values aimed at regulating female behavior—values that the family, including the victim's family, is expected to enforce and uphold.
It also suggests that gender separatism, the devaluation of girls and women, normalized child abuse, including arranged child marriages of both boys and girls, sexual repression, misogyny (sometimes inspired by misogynist interpretations of the Qur'an), and the demands made by an increase in the violent ideology of jihad all lead to murderous levels of aggression towards girls and women. One only has to kill a few girls and women to keep the others in line. Honor killings are, in a sense, a form of domestic terrorism, meant to ensure that Muslim women wear the Islamic veil, have Muslim babies, and mingle only with other Muslims.
http://www.meforum.org/2646/worldwide-trends-in-honor-killings
Usa: Obama sceglie l'ebrea Elana Kagan come prossimo giudice della Corte Suprema
Obama chose a nominee who has never been a judge, a factor the White House said had worked in Kagan's favor, giving her a different perspective from the other justices. Poised to put his imprint on the court for a second time, the president embraced Kagan's profile: a left-leaning lawyer who has won praise from the right, earned political experience at the White House and on the college campus, cleared one Senate confirmation already and served as the nation's top lawyer.
He wanted not just a justice who would thrive, but one who would lead.
At 50 years old and with lifetime tenure, Kagan could extend Obama's court legacy by decades. Her vote could be the difference on cases that shape American liberties and the scope of the government's power.
Mentioning Kagan's late mother, Obama said: "I think she would relish, as do I, the prospect of three women taking their seat on the nation's highest court for the first time in history — a court that would be more inclusive, more representative, more reflective of us as a people than ever before."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100510/ap_on_go_su_co/us_obama_supreme_court
Usa: la Kentucky Domestic Violence Association offre microcrediti alle donne vittime di violenza
The Kentucky Domestic Violence Association (KDVA) offers no-interest microloans to Individual Development Account (IDA) participants and secures the loan with the borrower's IDA savings. The microloan program was launched in January 2009 with grant support from the Allstate Foundation.
The microloan program builds on KDVA's existing IDA program, taking the concept of asset accumulation one step further by helping their clients build credit. Women who experience domestic violence often face financial burdens that make them vulnerable to having poor or no credit. They may have been barred from having their own accounts or may have left a spouse or partner who had poor credit. Many also have developed poor financial behaviors after years of no access to their own money.
To date, only one participant has missed consecutive payments.
Usa: suora cattolica scomunicata per aver permesso un aborto che ha salvato la vita di una donna
A Catholic nun and longtime administrator of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix was reassigned in the wake of a decision to allow a pregnancy to be ended in order to save the life of a critically ill patient.
The decision also drew a sharp rebuke from Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, head of the Phoenix Diocese, who indicated the woman was "automatically excommunicated" because of the action.
Sister Margaret McBride, who had been vice president of mission integration at the hospital, was on call as a member of the hospital's ethics committee when the surgery took place, hospital officials said. She was part of a group of people, including the patient and doctors, who decided upon the course of action.
The patient was not identified, and details of her case cannot be revealed under federal privacy laws.
The Catholic Church forbids abortion in all circumstances and allows the termination of a pregnancy only as a secondary effect of other treatments, such as radiation of a cancerous uterus.
Usa: pressione culturale sulle ragazze immigrate causa della pratica della mutilazione genitale femminile
The United States has outlawed female genital cutting, but cultural and religious pressures to circumcise girls linger among some African and Muslim immigrant families. Mohamed says the decision was an easy one for her to make after going through the painful experience herself in Africa as a child. She strongly opposes the idea of cutting her 11-year-old daughter, an American-born Somali with long curly hair, who plays soccer and likes watching "American Idol."
In the U.S., an estimated 228,000 women have been cut -- or are at risk of being cut -- because they come from an ethnic community that practices female genital cutting, according an analysis of 2000 Census data conducted by the African Women's Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Census reports there are roughly 150 million women living in the United States.
This spring, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a contentious policy statement suggesting that some physicians who work with immigrant communities that want the procedure should have the ability to prick or nick a girl's clitoral skin in order to "satisfy cultural requirements." The academy says the pricking procedure is harmless, like an ear piercing.
The pricking method is illegal in United States, but it could be effective in certain African communities in reducing harm, said Douglas S. Diekema, a Washington physician and former chair of the bioethics committee at the academy.
"We are very disappointed," said Asmaa Donahue, senior program officer at the Sauti Yetu Center for African Women in New York. "By offering to a person to do it, it undermines the education and advocacy work being done to stop it."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/21/america.female.genital.cutting/index.html?hpt=SbinUsa: l'azienda farmaceutica Novartis riconosciuta colpevole di aver discriminato le donne
Novartis was found to have practiced gender discrimination in pay, promotional opportunities and pregnancy-related matters, the lawyers said following a six-year class-action suit.
The jury in the US District Court in Manhattan awarded compensatory damages of 3.3 million dollars in total to 12 women who worked as Novartis sales representatives and named as plaintiffs in the case.
The case was brought on behalf of about 5,600 current and former female Novartis employees in the United States.
"Today's verdict sends a clear and powerful message to Novartis and every corporation in the United States: women are equal partners in our workforce," said David Sanford, a lawyer for the women.
"The days of second-class citizenship are over. Play by the rules or be subject to great exposure -- financially and reputationally," he said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iBLquLzdIsV9OxauX0cc7EGJUZyQUsa: Rachel Andres, ebrea, aiuta le donne rifugiate del Darfur con il Solar Cooker Project
Ma guarda! Ma come sono cattive le donne ebree! Tutte malvage e guerrafondaie vero? Caspia, verissimo. Come è vero che la terra ruota attorno alla luna!
2008 recipient of The Charles Bronfman Prize, is dedicated to improving the safety and security of survivors of Darfur’s genocide. As Director of Jewish World Watch’s landmark Solar Cooker Project (SCP), Andres has reduced the risk of sexual violence against refugee women by providing an alternative cooking option, enabling them to limit searching for firewood outside the relative safety of refugee camps.
My parents and grandparents taught me that it is an obligation to repair the world, and to "not stand idly by when others are dying." SCP allows me to incorporate these values into my work and life every day.
http://www.jewishworldwatch.org/refugeerelief/pdfs/JWW_FactSheet_Jan10_v5_lr.pdf
http://jta.org/news/article/2010/05/24/2739287/humanitarian-snapshot-rachel-andres
Usa: Adam Jacobs e Carolyn Westhoff ricevono il George Tiller Abortion PRovider Award
To honor Dr. Tiller, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health has introduced a new award in his name.
Carolyn Westhoff, MD, was honored yesterday with the 2010 William K. Rashbaum, MD, Abortion Provider Award, given to an abortion provider who serves as an inspirational leader for colleagues, residents, and medical students. In her 24 years at Columbia University, Dr. Westhoff has expanded the hospital’s minimal abortion services into a robust program of patient care, training, and research. Dr. Westhoff helped increase abortion access nationwide as one of the lead investigators who brought mifepristone to the United States. She defended women’s access to abortion as a plaintiff in the case against the federal ban on so-called “partial-birth” abortion.
Adam Jacobs, MD, received the 2010 George Tiller, MD, Abortion Provider Award, which recognizes a physician early in his or her career who provides abortions while demonstrating leadership and courage. As an assistant professor at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, Dr. Jacobs has developed a formal family planning training program for residents in obstetrics and gynecology. In the last five years, he has trained more than 60 residents, fellows, and attendings in first and second trimester abortion techniques. Because of his decision to provide abortions, Dr. Jacobs has endured harassment and opposition from anti-choice protestors, government officials, and fellow staff members.
Usa: l'American Academy of Pediatrics respinge la mutilazione genitale femminile
"We retracted the policy because it is important that the world health community understands the AAP is totally opposed to all forms of female genital cutting, both here in the U.S. and anywhere else in the world," said AAP President Judith S. Palfrey.
"I cried and told them how grateful I am," said Soraya Mire, a Somali filmmaker and survivor of female genital cutting. "Thank you for understanding us survivors and hearing our voices."
Equality Now, an international advocacy group fighting to end female genital cutting, echoed a similarly appreciative response.
"We welcome the AAP's decision to withdraw its 2010 policy statement on FGM," said Lakshmi Anantnarayan, a spokeswoman at Equality Now. "This is a crucial step forward in the movement to raise awareness about female genital mutilation."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/27/AAP.retracts.female.genital.cutting/index.htmlUsa: primi passi verso la fine del bando antiabortista nelle Forze Armate Usa
“Every woman honorably serving our country in the U.S. military and the spouses of military personnel stationed around the world deserve access to the full range of reproductive health care available to women in the United States,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “The vote repealing this discriminatory and dangerous ban is the first step to ensuring that servicewomen can use their own private money for abortion care when they are serving overseas.”
The current ban on privately funded abortions in military facilities threatens the health and lives of women serving overseas. A servicewoman in need of medically necessary abortion would be forced to leave the secure military hospital on which she depends and receives health care. She would have to venture out to a local medical facility in the foreign country where she is stationed to obtain an abortion. In many countries where U.S. servicewomen are stationed, abortion care may be inadequate, unsafe or altogether unavailable — forcing a woman into a dangerous, security-compromised situation.
Additionally, this current ban discriminates against servicewomen who are courageously serving our country and unfairly prohibits them from exercising their constitutionally protected right to a safe and legal abortion, simply because they are serving on foreign soil.
Usa: appello per l'inclusione di indicatori di genere per un nuovo modo di pensare l'economia
A wide-ranging coalition of organizations and individuals representing 30 million citizens, led by The Center for Partnership Studies (CPS), is urging the Obama Administration and Congress to adopt the recommendations of the just released Urban Institute's report, The State of Society: Measuring Economic Success and Human Well-Being.
Commissioned by CPS, The State of Society report focuses on indicators that go beyond GDP to include key factors in a nation's quality of life and economic success, including health, education, human rights, environmental sustainability, workplace fairness, and poverty levels. It pays special attention to the still largely ignored, but bellwether status of the majority of the population: women and children.
The coalition includes the National Organization for Women, the National Education Association, the National Associations of Mothers' Centers, True Child, Green America, United Methodist Church, the Women's Funding Network, the NoVo Foundation, MomsRising, the National Council of Women's Organizations, Workforce, Inc. and leaders such as CEO Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation and former U. S. Senator and Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun.
See link
http://www.partnershipway.org/
Usa: ondata di leggi antiabortiste a livello statale
At least 11 states have passed laws this year regulating or restricting abortion, giving opponents of abortion what partisans on both sides of the issue say is an unusually high number of victories. In four additional states, bills have passed at least one house of the legislature.
While opponents of abortion rights hope ultimately to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that guarantees a woman’s right to an abortion, they have made the most impact at the state level, where laws passed in one state often appear in other legislatures in subsequent years. State laws also have the potential for national consequences by setting off court battles that challenge or limit the scope of Roe.
“Ninety percent of pro-life legislation happens at the states,” said Daniel S. McConchie, vice president for government affairs at Americans United for Life, which opposes abortion. “While Congress is the main focus of attention for so many people in the country, state legislatures have greatest impact on daily lives, and life-related legislation is no exception.”
About 370 state bills regulating abortion were introduced in 2010, compared with about 350 in each of the previous five years, and 250 a year in the early 1990s, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. At least 24 of this year’s bills have passed, and the final total may reach the high of 2005, when states passed 34 laws, said Elizabeth Nash, a public policy associate at the institute.
More significant than the number of bills introduced are the number and nature of those that passed, partisans on both sides agree.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/health/policy/03abortion.html
Usa: la Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation finanzia i programmi per la salute delle donne a livello mondiale
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $1.5 billion on Monday in a joint push with the United Nations to improve the health of women and children, while launching a lobbying effort to get governments and other non-profit groups on board.
The program aims to cut across the "silos" of health initiatives focused on one thing -- AIDS, for example, or nutrition -- and get broader initiatives into place. "That is in addition to grants that we already make in vaccines, diarrhea, malaria," Melinda Gates told reporters. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he would try to focus the Group of 20 meeting in Toronto later this month on the subject, adding the goal is to raise $15 billion. "We may need an additional $45 billion by 2015," Ban said. Ban and Gates described a comprehensive approach through 2014 to help women deliver babies safely and plan healthy families with access to contraception, while incorporating current vaccination and nutrition programs. "The women and children are always last in line for health issues," Ban said. "It's just morally unacceptable ... This is a real human rights issue."
Usa: il cantante latino pop Angelo Garcia si dichiara gay
Non si tratta di sbandierare nulla. Un cantante eterosessuale non è mai accusato di sbandierare alcunchè se racconta delle sue fidanzate. Di conseguenza in un momdo ideale tutti dovrebbero essere liberi di parlare senza tacere una parte importante della propria vita, quella affettiva. Per questo il coming out di Angelo assume un valore simbolico di rilievo.
Once the youngest member of the Latin boy band Menudo, Ricky Martin’s former band mate Angelo Garcia came out in an interview with the magazine TV Notas.
"I'm very honest about who I am, but I don't like labels ... people need to understand that someone's sexuality doesn't make the person. I'm more than that, a son, brother a musician,” Garcia says in the interview.
http://outviewonline.blogspot.com/2010/06/culture-menudos-angelo-garcia-comes-out.html
Usa: Report sulle donne nel settore della tecnologia
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) has just released its free comprehensive report, Women In IT: The Facts, which addresses the current state of affairs for women working in information technology (IT) and computing careers. The Facts discusses reasons why women in the industry leave at staggering rates and what companies can do to attract and retain them.
“The percentage of computing occupations held by women has been declining since 1991, when it reached a high of 36 percent,” the report says. “Meanwhile, the percentage of jobs held by women in almost all other sciences has increased significantly.”
The Facts offers businesses extensive data about how the loss of women in IT affects corporate profitability and U.S. competitiveness. For example, “companies with the highest representation of women in senior management teams had a 35 percent higher return on equity,” but “56 percent of women in technology companies leave their organizations at the mid-level point (10-20 years) in their careers.”
The report also provides detailed advice about what companies can do to combat the loss of female IT talent. The primary recommendation is for companies to develop an “ecosystem of reform,” which author and NCWIT senior research scientist Catherine Ashcraft outlines in the report.
http://www.ncwit.org/news.press.php?action=display&pressrelease_id=601Usa: i tribunali islamici fuorilegge nello stato dell'Oklahoma
The ban is a cornerstone of a "Save our State" amendment to the Oklahoma constitution that was recently approved by the Legislature.
The amendment -- which also would forbid judges from using international laws as a basis for decisions -- will now be put before Oklahoma's voters in November. Approval is expected.
Usa: i medici dello Iowa sperimentano la somministrazione della pillola abortiva tramite video
Small Planned Parenthood clinics around Iowa are using a remote-control pill-dispensing system to make abortions available in areas where few doctors offer them.
The first-in-the-nation system allows a Planned Parenthood physician from Des Moines to visit with each patient by videoconference, then press a computer button to open a drawer in front of the patient, who could be seated up to 190 miles away. The patient then reaches into the drawer and withdraws the abortion pills.
The system is drawing interest from other abortion providers around the country. It's also bringing objections from anti-abortion activists.
Abortion opponents have filed a formal complaint with the Iowa Board of Medicine, which plans to investigate. The opponents point to a state law that says abortions must be performed by a physician.
The remote-control system uses a private communications network, separate from the Internet. It is used in 16 clinics operated by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the group's main Iowa chapter. The doctor usually is in Des Moines, but occasionally signs onto the system from one of the other clinics.
Planned Parenthood officials explained how the system works:
A patient who comes to a clinic and asks about abortion is given a pregnancy test. If the test comes up positive, a nurse performs an ultrasound, and the resulting images are sent electronically to the doctor. Local clinic staff members give the patient counseling, which includes information about the options of keeping a baby or giving it up for adoption. However, most women who come to the agency to talk about abortion have made up their minds already, Planned Parenthood officials said.
Patients are given printed information about the abortion pills, and they watch an eight-minute video about the process. The video talks about the effects of the drug, and possible side effects. The video says most women experience cramping and bleeding, similar to what they would experience during a heavy period.
The video says patients should feel normal within a day after taking the second medication at home. If not, they are instructed to call Planned Parenthood's 24-hour phone line to report complications.
Patients return to the clinic about two weeks later. They are checked to be sure they ended their pregnancies, which the video says happens for 98 percent of women who take the medications.
The video shows a re-enactment of a follow-up visit.
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=140688&catid=188
Usa: la Conferenza Women Deliver lancia un appello per la salute delle donne nel mondo
Mi permetto di dire che ci dovrebbe essere più copertura mediatica nei confronti di questi eventi. Riporto l'articolo di un collega africano, un altro bravo ragazzo.
The Women Deliver conference held in Washington, DC last week with a hope of delivering solutions for women and girls was preceded by a youth symposium that sent an amazing message out and gave me a personal reflective realization.
While as young people we are in our little corners striving to light the world with our own acts of courage and a bid to change the world, in another little corner of the world is another person with the same good intentions. The level of interactivity and the myriad ideas that were passed around from the 100 Young Leaders in the room made me feel assured that there is hope for mankind after all. The level of commitment, hard work, energy and tireless dedication to the cause amongst the youth was unmatched. The room was teeming with intellect and ideas carved with such thought as could build nations and protect the rights of man.
The beauty of the whole event was how discourse and disagreement was all deemed to be healthy and respected. I may have gone to the conference overwhelmed by the number of problems that mankind faced... I returned overwhelmed by the number of solutions at the fingertips of the youth, the leadership of tomorrow. I am not anxious anymore. I have no fear of what tomorrow will bring. Tonight, I will sleep easy!
http://www.womendeliver.org/updates/entry/a-welcome-time-bomb/
Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim, figlia dell'attrice Cybil Shephered, si dichiara lesbica
CYBILL SHEPHERD's youngest daughter has 'come out' as a lesbian, a year after her older sibling announced she was gay.
Clementine Ford, 30, revealed her sexual preference last year (09) and now the Moonlighting star's other daughter, Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim, has followed in her footsteps.
The 22 year old stepped out in public with her girlfriend for the first time to attend the 21st Annual Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards in San Francisco, California earlier this month (Jun10) to watch the comedienne receive the Golden Gate Award. The honour is given to stars in recognition of their work promoting equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Shepherd-Oppenheim was applauded by the gay rights group for going public with the same-sex romance at the event and her actress mum couldn't be happier, reports the National Enquirer.
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/shepherds-daughter-steps-out-with-lesbian-lover_1148222
Sotto, da sinistra verso destra: Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim e la graziosa brunetta al suo fianco la fidanzata Carmen Chambers, la cantante country Chely Wright, Clementine Fiord, sorella di Ariel e la fidanzata Linda Perry. Un pò sconvolgente vero, vedere un gruppo di lesbiche con vestito, make-up e capelli lunghi?
Usa: la reverenda Jane Alison Shaw nominata decano della Grace Cathedral a San Francisco
On June 25, Grace Cathedral’s Board of Trustees by unanimous roll call vote enthusiastically approved the nomination of the Rev. Canon Dr. Jane Alison Shaw as the eighth dean of Grace Cathedral. She was nominated by the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus after an extensive search process.
“Jane Shaw’s spiritual depth, commitment to the Gospel, theological vision and leadership skills make her uniquely qualified to help guide Grace Cathedral into its second century,” said the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, Bishop of California.
http://www.gracecathedral.org/welcome/overview/cathedralnews/detail/index.php?eid=1191
Usa: Joey Beauregard, sopravvissuta al tumore al seno, scala il monte Shasta
Joey Beauregard never considered herself to be an athletic person.
So it will be a new challenge for the 49-year-old Clermont resident today when she begins climbing California's 14,179- foot Mount Shasta, inspired by her struggle with breast cancer.
"I think the real message here is that climbing a mountain is kind of a metaphor for our whole battle with breast cancer," said Beauregard, a software developer. "Nothing is impossible."
Beauregard will be the only Florida participant out of a team of 26, ranging in age from 14 to 67 and hailing from 10 different states, to take part in the Breast Cancer Fund's "Climb Against the Odds." Her experiences with cancer motivated Beauregard to take on the grueling task of the two-day hike, which includes a 12-to-16-hour trek to the top and back down on Wednesday.
"I feel that the conversation about cancer needs to change from talking about finding a cure to find the causes of cancer so that it can be prevented in the first place," she said.
Her climb up the fifth-highest mountain in California — the Cascade Range's second-highest peak — is a way for Beauregard to begin that conversation, she said. Beauregard, who has no family history of the disease and has no children, said she's interested in learning of the environmental links to cancer, a main focus of research for the Breast Cancer Fund.
She questions whether her cancer is connected to her home's close proximity to the former Tower Chemical site in Clermont, which was poisoned by toxic chemicals and pesticides in the 1980s and placed in the Superfund program for the nation's most-hazardous sites.
Usa: lo stato della Louisiana approva leggi antiabortiste
Women getting abortions in Louisiana will be required to get ultrasounds, and doctors who perform elective abortions won't be covered under medical malpractice laws.
Those are 2 of the latest abortion restrictions added to Louisiana's laws. Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the bills Tuesday.
No exceptions are allowed under either bill for victims of rape or incest.
The ultrasound requirement was touted by people who say they hope it can dissuade some women from getting an abortion by having to learn more about their pregnancies.
Opponents say requiring a procedure that might not be available at a free clinic nearby will make it more difficult and costly for women to get abortions.
http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=12763686
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) on Tuesday signed three antiabortion-rights measures, including a bill (SB 528) requiring women seeking abortions to undergo ultrasounds before the procedure, the AP/WWLTV reports. The ultrasound law also requires that women are offered a chance to hear a description of the ultrasound, view the image and receive a photograph of it. Another bill (HB 1453) signed Tuesday excludes abortion providers from coverage under state medical malpractice laws, while a third bill (HB 1247) prohibits coverage for most abortions in the state health insurances exchanges created under the federal health reform law (PL 111-148).
None of the measures include exceptions for survivors of rape or incest; the only exceptions are if a woman's life is at risk. Abortion-rights advocates opposed all three measures, arguing that they will further restrict women's access to abortion.
http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/News2?abbr=daily2_&page=NewsArticle&id=25125
Usa: le associazione delle donne lottano per la ratifica di Cedaw
E speriamo che queste benedetta ratifica arrivi presto...
CEDAW is an international agreement on basic human rights for women and the most broadly endorsed human rights treaty within the United Nations, having been ratified by over 90% of UN member states. CEDAW outlines human rights such as the right to live free from violence, the ability to go to school, and access to the political system. It is clear that CEDAW is working in countries such as Australia, South Africa and Uganda who have incorporated CEDAW provisions into their constitution and domestic legal codes, and Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan, who have seen increased literacy rates amongst women in their countries after ratifying CEDAW. And yet, CEDAW has failed to make progress in the United States. Despite the fact that CEDAW was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly and has been voted on favorably twice since then on a bipartisan basis by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, CEDAW has never been brought to the Senate floor for a vote. It is time to act, as our window of opportunity is rapidly closing.
Time and time again President Obama has declared his support for women worldwide and announced that the ratification of the CEDAW Treaty was an important priority. Now we need him to show leadership in advancing women and girls’ rights around the world. As women and men who believe in the basic rights of women and girls worldwide – the right to live free from violence, the ability to go to school, and access to the political system – we need President Obama to send a strong and urgent signal to the Senate that ratification of CEDAW is vital.
Don’t just call your Senators office…Send them $10,000 checks with ‘VOID UNTIL CEDAW PASSES’ written over the front. It’s time to misbehave, get loud, and make history.”
http://www.ncrw.org/public-forum/real-deal-blog/cedaw-forum-there%E2%80%99s-no-time-present
Usa: la International Rabbinic Fellowship riconosce autorità spirituale alle donne ebree ortodosse
The new resolution, passed in late June at a convention of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, lays out specific roles for women leaders as teachers, preachers and clergy, but is silent on the fraught questions of their titles and their ordination. It contrasts sharply with a resolution passed in April by the Rabbinical Council of America, which barred women from the rabbinate without describing which roles are allowed.
“I think it’s an affirmation of what’s already happening,” said Rachel Kohl Finegold, education and ritual director at Chicago’s Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel, and one of a small group of prominent female Orthodox congregational leaders. “It was nice to see.”
“I think it’s very explicit in terms of what roles the IRF believes women can fill, and we’re hopeful that this resolution becomes another part of this ongoing discussion,” said Rabbi Barry Gelman, IRF president and rabbi of the United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston. “We see ourselves very much as part of the Modern Orthodox community, and we believe that this resolution expresses the opinion and the feeling and the hopes of large segments of the Modern Orthodox community.”
The IRF was founded in 2008 as an alternative to the RCA by Weiss and Rabbi Marc Angel of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City. Unlike the RCA, it is open to graduates of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, the left-wing Modern Orthodox seminary opened by Weiss in 2000.
http://www.forward.com/articles/129234/
Usa: la General Assembly della Presbyterian Church vota a favore dell'accesso di gay e lesbiche al ministero pastorale
After the press conference, the national body voted to remove all barriers to ordination for LGBT people. This action now goes to the 173 presbyteries for a vote.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has more than two-million members and is making progress toward equality at each of their General Assemblies. They are meeting in the same Minneapolis, Minn., convention hall where The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church made dramatic decisions in favor of equality for LGBT people.
http://glaadblog.org/2010/07/09/presbyterians-vote-for-ordination-equality-vote-to-study-marriage/
Presbyterian leaders voted Thursday to allow non-celibate gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy, approving the first of two policy changes that could make their church one of the most gay-friendly major Christian denominations in the U.S.
But the vote isn't a final stamp of approval for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or its more than 2 million members.
Delegates voted during the church's general assembly in Minneapolis, with 53 percent approving the more liberal policy on gay clergy.
Benjamin Wind, a nonvoting young adult delegate to the assembly from Syracuse, N.Y., said Presbyterians of his generation greatly favor the change.
"The world has become a more tolerant and accepting place," Wind said. "I've grown up with gay and lesbian friends, teachers, even spiritual leaders. They stand proud as people who deserve the same rights as all human beings."
Usa: l'aspetto estetico considerato importante per le donne lavoratrici
A patto che ci sia lo stesso identico atteggiamento nei confronti degli uomini e delle donne, non vedo quale sia il problema nel privilegiare, a parità di altre caratteristiche, persone esteticamente curate anche se, personalmente ritengo che in un luogo di lavoro una persona equilibrata, serena e collaborativa anche se non di gradevole aspetto sia molto meglio di gente prepotente, arrogante o con altri tratti negativi del carattere.
Occorre però, ribadisco, adottare lo stesso identico criterio di giudizio per gli uomini e le donne.
Newsweek recently conducted two new polls amongst corporate hiring managers as well as a telephone survey of the national public in order to determine once and for all whether or not looks matter in the hiring process and at the workplace.
57% of managers believe an unattractive (but qualified) job candidate will have a harder time getting hired and 68% believe that once hired, looks will continue to affect the way mangers rate job performance
• 63% of the general public believed that being physically attractive is beneficial to men looking for work, and 72% said looks were advantageous for women searching for jobs
• When asked to rank nine characteristics in order of importance, looks ranked below experience and confidence, but above where candidates went to school and their sense of humor
• 61% of hiring managers surveyed (60% of whom were men) said a woman benefits from wearing clothes that show off her body at work, yet 47% said that women are penalized for being too good-looking at the office
http://www.ncrw.org/public-forum/real-deal-blog/fast-fact-work-good-looks-matter
Usa: la studentessa lesbica Constance McMillen ottiene 35.000 dollari dal distretto scolastico come compensazione per la discriminazione subita
Un vero happy end!
The Itawamba County school district will pay Constance McMillen $35,000 (£23,000), according to a school district spokesman.
"I am really excited that it is over with and we won and things are going to change," said Miss McMillen, 18.
"People hate because they are scared and ignorant and they hate change. This will help everybody."
Miss McMillen, who has been openly gay since the 8th grade, said she appealed to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after Itawamba Agricultural High School cancelled its prom in April to prevent her from attending with her girlfriend.
"She was standing up for the right to be treated equally and not to be forced to wear certain types of clothing to conform to gender stereotypes," said ACLU counsel Christine Sun.
"Thanks to her bravery, we now not only have a federal court precedent that can be used to protect the rights of students all over the country to bring the date they want to their proms, but we also have the first school anti-discrimination policy of its kind in Mississippi."
McMillen's lawyers filed notice Monday in U.S. District Court to accept a judgment offer from the Itawamba County School District that will pay $35,000, plus attorney's fees. As part of the agreement, the school district also said it would follow a policy not to discriminate based on sexual orientation in any educational or extracurricular activities or allow harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
School officials contend that their agreement to follow the non-discrimination policy merely reaffirms inclusiveness rules the district already had, said school board attorney Michele Floyd. She said the district's insurance company will pay McMillen.
McMillen said she thinks the case resonated with so many people because "prom is a common theme and everyone knows how it feels to want to go to prom. With my story, even if people didn't agree with being gay, they understood. They figured out how cruel some people can be."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/20/constance-mcmillen-settlement_n_653331.htmlUsa: il Senate Judiciary Committee approva la nomina di Elana Kagan alla Corte Suprema
The committee vote broke down mostly along partisan lines, with one Republican joining the panel's Democrats in sending the nomination to the full Senate on a 13-6 vote.
"Elena Kagan is one of this country's leading legal minds, and has shown throughout this process that, if confirmed, she would be a fair and impartial Supreme Court Justice who understands how decisions made by the Court affect the lives of everyday Americans," President Barack Obama said after the vote.
The "vote by the (committee) is a bipartisan affirmation of her strong performance during her confirmation hearings."
"There is no question about Elena Kagan's qualifications," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California. "In my view, there is no good reason to deny her appointment." She is clearly among nation's "top legal minds."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/20/senate.kagan.nomination/?hpt=T1
Usa: pubblicata la lista delle 50 donne rabbino più influenti
The results got us thinking about all the female rabbis whose influence cannot necessarily be measured by their national/international profile, their media presence or the size of their constituencies — some of the criteria on which Newsweek bases its rankings — but who, nonetheless, are playing important roles in shaping the Jewish story.
So we decided to select 50 of the most influential women rabbis in America, plus five in Israel, for this inaugural Sisterhood 50 list. These women span generations and the denominational spectrum; they are pulpit rabbis, teachers, academics, pastoral caregivers and organizational leaders. All of them have made it their life’s work to put Jewish values into action — and, as a result, are changing lives in and beyond their communities. This alphabetical list contains a lot of "firsts," which is evidence of just how much ground there’s been to break in recent years.
While The Sisterhood 50 has on it only three Orthodox women, many more hold key religious leadership roles in their communities — even if they lack a path to the Orthodox rabbinate because of their gender.
http://forward.com/articles/129451/Usa: lo stato del Missouri approva nuova restrizione all'aborto
Today, Missouri added yet one more law restricting abortion to the more than 30 restrictions already on the books. Abortion is already the most highly regulated medical procedure in Missouri; this law, which goes into effect on August 28, adds significant new burdens and obstacles to women seeking abortion care in Missouri.
The 2010 Abortion Restriction Law (SB793), which goes into effect at the end of August, establishes new and difficult restrictions on access to abortion and forces women to receive state-mandated materials which contain ideological messages aimed at causing additional emotional distress—statements not widely agreed-upon by physicians, and not based upon science or medicine. It also requires abortion providers to display a statement that promises state-funded assistance to women if they carry the pregnancy to term, despite the fact that Missouri’s budget constraints have forced the state to cut many of the promised services and there will likely be even more cuts next year.
As a trusted provider of reproductive health care, Planned Parenthood believes that every woman should have evenhanded and unbiased information so she can protect her health and make the best decision for her circumstances. A woman needs—and Missouri women get—information about the risks involved with, and alternatives to, abortion but the information should not be written to coerce, shame or pressure the woman into making a decision that is not right for her.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Planned-Parenthoods-statement-on-new-abortion-law--98452149.htmlUsa: quattro donne ricevono il premio Sailor of the Year
The 2009 Sailor of the Year winners, who for the first time in history are all women, were meritoriously advanced to Chief Petty Officer during a ceremony held at the Navy Memorial July 22.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead was the guest speaker at the pinning ceremony hosted by the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON)(SS/SW) Rick D. West.
Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Ingrid Cortez, U.S. Fleet Forces Sea Sailor of the Year; Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Shalanda Brewer, Navy Reserve Sailor of the Year; Operations Specialist 1st Class Samira McBride, U.S. Pacific Fleet Sea Sailor of the Year and Cryptologic Technician (Technical) 1st Class Cassandra Foote, Chief of Naval Operations Shore Sailor of the Year were each presented their chief petty officer appointment letter from the CNO prior to having their anchors pinned to their collars and combination covers placed on their heads.
"This is a great day for our Navy, and today we are making history with all for Sailors of the Year being women. These Sailors have proven themselves as professional Sailors, experts in their rates, role models to our junior Sailors and youth, and most importantly, true leaders," said West.
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=54845Usa: olte 1200 episodi di odio antiebraico nel 2009
The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States remained at a "sustained and troubling" level in 2009, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which compiles annually a statistical audit of anti-Semitic assaults, vandalism and harassment.
The 2009 ADL Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, released today, counted a total of 1,211 incidents of vandalism, harassment and physical assaults against Jewish individuals, property, and community institutions across the U.S.
Using a newly revised methodology for reporting and tracking incidents, the ADL Audit identified 29 physical assaults on Jewish individuals, 760 incidents of anti-Semitic harassment and threats, and 422 cases of anti-Semitic vandalism during the 2009 calendar year.
"America is not immune to anti-Semitism, and 2009 was no different in this regard than in any other year," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "It is a sobering reality that as Jews have become more accepted in society, there remains a consistent hatred of Jews among too many. The fact that Jews continue to be singled out for acts of hate on an average of three times per day in this country is a disturbing reality that we have to confront."
"The Audit is one snapshot of anti-Semitism in America," added Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair. "While it is by no means a complete picture of the problem, it presents us with important statistical data to help us identify and to quantify the wheres, whys and hows of anti-Semitism in society."