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grrrly news 9/14

September 14, 2003 07:32 PM posted by lisa : track it (0)

Women Will Have to Save the World
President Bush may not face much opposition in Congress to his plan for perpetual preemptive war, but he better watch out for the women.
Angry over the swagger of violence coming out of the White House, disgusted by the bring-'em-on itch for a fight as the solution to political problems, women around the globe are organizing in new ways.
These gender activists are on the Internet, in the streets, packed into rooms forming more groups and pushing resolutions through the United Nations. Some are setting up an Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad, and others are building a transnational movement. They even have their first martyr in Rachel Corrie, the young American who was killed trying to stop an Israeli bulldozer from destroying Palestinian homes.

Opposition to Anti-Women Nominee Pickering Wavering
Judge Charles Pickering, who was defeated in Committee on a straight party-line vote in March 2002, will be reconsidered by the now Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee in the next few weeks. Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) renewed his commitment to holding a hearing on Pickering's nomination to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals amid small signs of wavering opposition, Roll Call reported. Republicans claim they can secure the 60 votes needed to bypass a filibuster promised by Democrats. In fact, Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), Pickering's chief proponent in the Senate, asserted that he expects Pickering to be voted out of committee with bi-partisan support. The Roll Call article went on to report that Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-VT), who caucuses with the Democrats, recently said, "I'm re-evaluating (my opposition to) Pickering."

Feminist, Labor Activist Named to UC Board of Regents
Dolores Huerta, an icon of the feminist and labor movements, was appointed yesterday to a five-month term on the University of California Board of Regents. Huerta , co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW) with Cesar Chavez, is famous for organizing with Chavez the grape boycotts in the 1960s that won the farm workers national support, and she was key in subsequent lettuce and Gallo wine boycotts in the 1970s. She is a Feminist Majority Foundation board member. "Dolores is a true leader for labor, Latino and women's rights," said FMF President Eleanor Smeal. "We are lucky to have such an inspiring and dedicated leader working with the feminist movement."

MO House, Senate Vote to Keep 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
Both houses in Missouri's legislature voted to override Governor Bob Holden's (D) veto of a bill that would require doctors to provide information to women about abortion 24 hours before the procedure, making the measure law.

The new law requires women to sign a consent form 24 hours before undergoing the procedure and will require doctors to inform patients about "risk factors, including any physical, psychological, or situational factors for the proposed procedure, " reports Kaiser Network. In addition, according to the bill, doctors are required to have at minimum $500,000 in medial malpractice insurance

Minnesota Women to Sue Wal-Mart
Four Minnesota women will seek class-action status on Friday for their lawsuit against retail giant Wal-Mart for its labor practices. The women charge that they were required to work "off the clock" and that their complaints about this practice went unanswered. Lawyers for the women estimate that the 63,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees in Minnesota lost tens of millions of dollars in wages as well as 5000,000 hours of breaks per year since 1998, according to Pioneer Press. There are currently 37 similar cases seeking class-action status in 29 states across the country.

< a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0908/p02s02-usju.html">Judicial rarity: death penalty in a rape case
Louisiana man has quietly become the first person in more than a quarter century to be sent to a state's death row for a crime not involving murder.
Patrick Kennedy was convicted and sentenced to death recently under a 1995 state law that allows for the punishment in cases of rape involving children under age 12. The victim was his 8-year-old stepdaughter, whom he repeatedly raped in 1998, prosecutors say

Malay Islamic leader warns lipstick and perfume are rape risks
ONE of the leaders of Malaysia’s Islamic opposition has upset women in the country by suggesting that they should stop wearing lipstick and perfume to lower the risk of being raped.

Nik Abdul Aziz, the spiritual leader of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, claimed that even women who wore Muslim head-scarves could arouse men if they also wore make-up and perfume. The end result could be rape or molestation, he said.

Abortion Dr.'s Killer Executed in Florida
Paul Hill, a former minister who said he murdered an abortion doctor and his bodyguard to save the lives of unborn babies, was executed Wednesday by injection. He was the first person put to death in the United States for anti-abortion violence.
Hill, 49, was condemned for the July 29, 1994, shooting deaths of Dr. John Bayard Britton and his bodyguard, retired Air Force Lt. Col. James Herman Barrett, and the wounding of Barrett's wife outside the Ladies Center in Pensacola.
As he has since the slaying, Hill showed no remorse and urged abortion foes to use whatever means to protect the unborn.

Court Sides With Chinese Woman Seeking Asylum From Abortions
A federal appeals court has sided with a Chinese woman who was compelled to have two abortions and later fled to the U.S. to seek political asylum. She says she would be imprisoned and forcibly sterilized if she returned.
In a recent 3-0 decision, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reversed a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals denying asylum to Xuan Wang and her husband.

President expands executive ban on funds that would go to international abortion groups
)--President Bush has expanded a White House policy that prohibits federal funds from going to international organizations that perform abortions or lobby foreign governments to liberalize their abortion laws.

The president issued a memorandum Aug. 29 that requires all State Department funding for population planning to be governed by what is known as the Mexico City policy. The decision expanded a 2001 order by Bush that restricts family planning funds through the U.S. Agency for International Development. The State Department grants population-planning funds not only through USAID but through other channels as well.

Judge's ruling lets 18-year-olds dance nude
A state law raising the minimum age for nude dancers from 18 to 19 appears to violate the First Amendment right to free expression, a federal judge has ruled in barring enforcement of the law.
"I'm not persuaded that (the law) furthers a substantial government interest, nor am I persuaded that the government interest in this case is unrelated to suppression of free speech," U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith ruled on Aug. 27.
The law had been set to take effect the next day, but Bazooka's, a Kansas City cabaret featuring nude dancing, and two of its 18-year-old dancers sought a restraining order.

Wife comes to Schwarzenegger's defense
Dozens of protesters on Friday angrily accused Arnold Schwarzenegger of past actions that showed disrespect for women, while his wife, Maria Shriver, responded in a speech to campaign volunteers that he is "one of the most gracious, supportive, open-minded men I have ever met."
Making her first appearance on the campaign trail since Schwarzenegger filed papers to run for governor, Shriver made a pitch to disenfranchised voters from all political parties to join her Republican husband's campaign.

Egypt TV 'bans veiled presenters'
A group of television presenters in Egypt say they have been banned from appearing on screen since they began wearing the Islamic veil.
Some say they are considering taking legal action against the state owned broadcasting organisation as a result.

Priests defy bishops' gag to voice views on celibacy
Priests worried about their dwindling numbers are defying a gag by their bishops and adding their weight to open debate about allowing married men into the priesthood in the United States.
Leading bishops have released letters defending celibacy as a vital church tradition. They say is not up to discussion.

Gay Activist Launches 'Draft Hillary' Bid
Bob Kunst wants Hillary Clinton back in the White House, this time as President. Kunst, considered one of the fathers of the American gay liberation movement in the 60s and 70s on Wednesday launched a national Draft Hillary campaign.
"The only candidate who's left who can possibly take down Bush - not in the violent sense - is Hillary Clinton," says Kunst.
The Polls show the 61 year old Kunst may be right. A recent survey showed her leading all of the declared Democratic contenders, but still trailing the President. A Clinton Bush match up would give Bush the presidency 48 - 41 percent. That is still considerably better than former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean would do. Dean would lose 45-34 percent, the survey found. The gap widens even more with the other Democratic candidates.

Two women capture suspects
Two women with knees bent and feet planted wide apart to ensure a steady aim held a pair of would-be burglars at gunpoint Thursday afternoon until West Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies could arrest the suspects, the Sheriff's Office said.

Adopting Numbers
A Census Bureau report on adopted children released August 22 is certain to add fuel to the fiery debate over adoption by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons because it shows that 78 percent of all adopted children live in two-parent, married-couple households. Adoption by married couples is still the norm.

Girls get extra school help while boys get Ritalin
At last June's graduation at Franklin High School just outside of Milwaukee, three of the four students who tied for valedictorian were girls. Among the National Honor Society members, 76% were girls. And girls comprised 85% of the students on Franklin's 4.0 honor roll.
The superintendent of schools for this upper-middle-class suburb, Gerald Freitag, investigated those numbers after the parents of a boy filed a complaint. He found that the skewed performances by gender at Franklin pretty much mirror the imbalances across the state -- and the nation.

Every two issues, a college journalist misuses rape statistics
minutes. Almost one in every four women between the ages of 18 and 24 is a survivor of sexual assault."

No sources for this information are given -- which is mildly surprising since it is published in the campus newspaper for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a UNC flagship university with a well-known school of journalism. It is not, however, unusual for any campus discussion of that particular subject.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Girl Who Cried Rape
The boy who cried wolf had it coming. I mean, exactly how retarded do you have to be to keep screaming a lie-a lie that you know damned well is a lie--at the top of your lungs, causing the community to froth itself into an uproar over that self-same lie, pissing them off, thereby rendering yourself unbelievable and unreliable, and doing so to the point that it leads to your horrible demise and endangers the very group you were supposed to be protecting?

Hizbullah Widows Enjoy Honor, Comforts in Lebanon
In southern Lebanon, a generous support network provides for the widows of Hizbullah martyrs and ensures them a place of honor in the community.

Saskatchewan will appeal sentence given to man who sexually assaulted 12-year-old
The Saskatchewan Justice Department says it will appeal the sentence given to a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.
The application was filed with the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal Friday afternoon.
Dean Edmondson, of Tisdale, was handed a conditional sentence with no jail time

Turkish, Armenian Women Weave New Borders
A group of Turkish and Armenian women are trying to ease the strained political relationship between their two countries. Their efforts began two years ago and are now increasing in scope.

Bush Marriage Initiative Robs Billions from Needy
A Bush administration proposal to divert almost $2 billion in scarce welfare funds to promote marriage should be squashed. As one state's effort shows, jobs and education lead to marriage, not the other way around

Female First Responders, Gays Push for 9-11 Equity
As the nation learns to tell the story of Sept. 11, 2001, two groups--female rescue workers and surviving same-sex partners--are struggling to be included in that narrative.

Governor-in-Limbo Decides Battered Woman's Fate
UPDATE Sept. 11: The parole of Flozelle Woodmore--a battered woman incarcerated during the 1980s--was denied today by the governor of California.This story was filed when his decision was still pending.

Women Scarce in School Systems' Top
Only 13 percent of school district superintendents are women. Chris Wright is at the helm of the Hazelwood School District in Hazelwood, Mo.

Thomas Asks Questions While Others Fear to Tread
Don't even dare ask this tenacious grande dame of U.S. journalism about retirement. Helen Thomas, at 84, is still deeply dug into the journalistic trenches and continuing her penchant for talking back to men in high places.

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