FEM ACTION NEWS 2009!!!!

HEY FEMINISTS! IT'S THE FEMINIST NEWS YOU'VE MISSED! ONLY ITS GOTTEN A WHOLE LOT BETTER! ENJOY!!!

Finally Home Safe

As I was getting ready for my last day at FMF (yes, it has come to an end), I was watching the Today show and they featured this story about a woman, Jaycee Lee Dugard, who had been abducted in 1991 at age 11 who has just be found alive, living with her abductor and their 2 children.

Her abductor and rapist, Phillip Garrido, had kept her and the 2 children she had by him locked up in a compound, behind fences and tents in back of his home. He was finally found when he was spotted with his two children, both daughters, as he tried to enter onto University of California's campus to hand out religious literature.

Apparently, Garrido was planning on setting up a church of his own and become a full time preacher. In a blog that he kept, he is cited as writing that In he could "control sound with my mind and have developed a device for others to witness this phenomena." Weird, I know.

What is quite shocking about this whole circumstance is that Garrido had a very long rap sheet including other charges of rape and he was on lifetime parole. So why did it take 18 years to finally solve this case? Why wasn't he being watch more closely? Did his parole officer not see the compound of tents he had hiding the background?

Honestly, this story scares me. First off, to think that people could do this to one another, keep each other prisoner as their sex slaves. Secondly, that the laws and enforcement that are supposed to keep things like this from happening let something as large as this slip through the cracks. I am so glad that Jaycee is alive and is well, but others are not so lucky.

So what can we do to make sure things like this don't happen again? It's hard to answer, but I think that creating better awareness and pushing for stricter and more closely monitored sex offender laws will help instances like this not fall through the cracks. As far as stopping people from kidnapping and keep them as sex slaves, I'm not sure. But I find it very sad and very scary.

Photo courtesy of Julie McLeod on flikr.com

Federal LGBTQ Liaison Here to Help

While a majority of the country is happy with the job that Obama is doing, the gay and lesbian community is not a part of that majority. Many feel the Obama administration is not effective and timely in handling issues that are important to their community. To quell this dissatisfaction, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has hired veteran Senate staffer Matt Nosanchuk as a senior counselor and liaison to the gay and lesbian community.

The Civil Rights Divison released a statement explaining what Nosanchuk's primary duties will be including

"managing the Division's Criminal Section and pursuing key policy priorities, representing the Division in many capacities, including work with Congress and the LGBTQ community."

This event is another attempt by the Obama administration to mend their relationship with the LGBTQ community. Monday, Obama's lawyers stated that Obama thinks the Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against gays and should be repealed. Along similar lines, Obama extended some benefits to federal employees with same-sex partners earlier this summer. And two weeks ago, the Census Bureau announced that for the first time, it will publicly release data on the number of same-sex marriages reported.

What do I think this will accomplish? Not sure, but it does show that the Obama administration does see the need and importance of focusing on the LGBTQ community and their issues after years of being left behind. Hopefully with this new position in place, instead of saying what is best for the members of this community, the Obama administration will listen to what these people are saying and really make some positive change for them.

Photo courtesy of JUSO Schweiz on flikr.com

News Corp to Charge for Services

Recently, many newspapers have either gone out of business, or are on their way to bankruptcy, largely due to the poor economy, lack of subscriptions, and high advertising costs. Many argue that the numbers of newspapers that will be forced to stop printing will increase within the year, and one can even go on newspaperdeathwatch.com to read the daily reports of newspapers that have gone under.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (which owns Fox news, 20th Century Fox, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, National Geographic, Harper Collins Publishing company, hulu.com, and myspace.com to name a few), has announced that it will start charging viewers for online services to avoid further financial losses, due to a $3.4 billion loss since January.

According to an interview Murdoch had with BBC, "He believes that a micro-charging structure, where readers pay just 5p or 10p to access an article, might work. This is less than the price of an SMS [text message],' he argued." However, if NewsCorp began charging for articles and other online videos, we might miss out on fabulous gems like this one, or joyous pieces with Ann Coulter. What a sad world that would be.

The Wall Street Journal already charges its readers to access many articles, and I imagine that Murdoch is probably right that news organizations will have to start charging their online readers if they want to stay afloat.

Photo courtesy of Just.Luc on Flickr

"Extraordinarily relieved" for Ling and Lee's Release and Return!

For journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, todays homecoming at Bob Hope Airport is a solemn celebration of their survival. Early this morning, both journalists, and Former President Bill Clinton were greeted by family, friends, and former VP Al Gore. The journalists work for Gore's news network Current TV and have been detained since March 17, 2009 while working on a story. Both Gore and Clinton traveled to North Korea to work behind the scenes to help free these two brave women. In a statement Clinton said, "When their families, Vice President Gore and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed. I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home," reported the LA Times.

Talk about risking your life for your work, these women spent the last 140 days detained in North Korea. North Korea people! They risked their lives for their work and I am floored in admiration of their bravery. Personally, being interested in global journalism myself, I am in awe of their dedication and bravery toward their craft. This story comes to end on a happy note as they return to the U.S.A. with their health, lives, and an unimaginable journalistic experience. These women have shown the rest of the world what it takes to be a journalist, no fear.

Emily Miller, another east coast intern, wrote about this on our blog yesterday if you would like more information about this story.

It's rare we hear good news out of North Korea, but today, there is reason to celebrate!

Nothing like some Old-School Sexism

You'd really think that with the amazing women in athletics these days, people would stop saying things like "He throws like a girl" and associating women and girls with poor performance in sports.

You'd also like to think news anchors would stop saying such obtuse, incorrect, and offensive things. You'd be wrong. Dylan Ratigan, a MSNBC morning show host, just the other day jarred viewers, and his cohost, by commenting that girls usually don't throw very well. His comment was in response to a Limbaugh comment that President Obama threw like a girl.

It obviously bothers me that he, or anyone, thinks that women are incapable of being good athletes, but it bothers me more that he, as a member of the media, felt comfortable saying that. Come on! Without having to think too hard or even utilize my immense feminist powers, I can think of examples of women not only performing spectularily, even in throwing balls (!), but even outperforming men.

For example, did you know that women often perform better than men in long-distance swimming and other endurance events? Our society just focuses on the types of sports that are traditionally masculine, like football and baseball. It's messed up. There are some FIERCE girls and women out there, and sexist comments like that not only deny their skills and strength, but their struggles to be recognized and the discrimination they face.

Photo courtesy of www.flickr/daphid

NYWLC Update!

Greetings, Feminists!


We know everyone is going on break for the holidays shortly, but we wanted to give you all some quick updates on the National Conference!

• We've created a facebook event, and we will endeavor to keep it up to date with new developments! RSVP here to be sure you stay in the loop!

• We've added an exciting Congressional Day of Action on Monday, March 23rd at no additional cost! This is an opportunity for your group to truly take your action from Campus to Congress by joining us on Capitol Hill! The day will include training and actual visits to your Representative and Senator's offices.
  
  
• Registration will open on January 12th, 2009. Early-bird registration will be only $20 per person or $15 for groups of 5 or more for the conference and day of action. Financial Assistance is available - call your Campus Organizer for more information.

Go RSVP to the facebook event and keep an eye on www.feministcampus.org to make sure you're getting all the most up to date info about this exciting conference. Let us know if you have any questions at all, and we're looking forward to seeing you there!

Happy Holidays!