moominmuppet

Three cheers for my Dad! When I talked to my folks by phone today the first thing he asked me was whether I'd talked to the Komen folks yet. They've apparently already received a note from him that he'll be ceasing all support for them until their policy changes. I love my family.

( lots of Komen/PP links back here )
Somewhat related, here are various sites you can use to evaluate non-profits, including some info about what percentage of their collections go to actual services, and what just maintain the organization itself.
Worth.com: The 10 Most Fiscally Responsible Nonprofit Organizations
Charity Navigator
Better Business Bureau: Charity Ratings and Resources
GuideStar
Network For Good

the trailer for a new documentary 'Pink Ribbons, Inc' exploring how SKF commodifies Breast Cancer in a way that alienates many survivors.
Breast cancer has become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing campaigns. Countless women and men walk, bike, climb and shop for the cure. Each year, millions of dollars are raised in the name of breast cancer, but where does this money go and what does it actually achieve? Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause," becomes obfuscated by a shiny, pink story of success.
FYI, there's a very similarly titled film, 'Pink Ribbons: One Small Step' that is also about breast cancer, but is not a critique of pinkwashing, and is unrelated to 'Pink Ribbons, Inc'.

Yay! It sounds like I'll get to see forestfire over Thanksgiving! It's been way too long, because I just haven't had resources and time for travel to see her in NY.

Also, one of my best friends is looking at going to med school in order to become an abortion provider. I'm so excited and proud for her!

And I got a wonderful message from my best friend from college, and along with being full of warm fuzzy goodness, it also sounds like she may be up here in 2012 for a conference, and we might get some time to hang out for the first time in years.

Otherwise not much going on; I pretty much collapsed when I got home last night (although I did fit in time for some excellent burgers that Caleb made), and slept 'til I needed to come in today (with a few rousts for doggy pee breaks). I'm still really tired, but I'm not sure if it's holdover effects from the sleep-dep Saturday or the weirdly heavy and oppressive weather at the moment. Either way, I'd really like to crawl under my desk and nap for a good long while.

Oh. Surprise. Just had my midyear review (rather belatedly). All good and happy. Yay! (not surprising; I adore my boss, and will happily bend over backward to help the department reflect well on him)

This weekend is clinic escorting with NL, and then we're going to the Stand Up for Planned Parenthood Rally. Reminder for anyone else interested:

Raise Your Hand Rally
Featuring Cecile Richards

September 17, 2011
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Cleveland Health Center
7997 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44103

Feeling like warmed over crap today, but it should be a quiet one at work, thankfully. Also, X has managed to vanish herself in the house somewhere, and we haven't been able to find her in 24 hours. Frustrating, because it's not a reason to be legitimately deeply worried yet -- she does this every so often, and has yet to not be somewhere of her own choosing inside the house (at our old place, often inside the back of the couch, making the cushions purr!) -- but mildly stressful nonetheless.

On the positive side, if I didn't already mention it (I'm full of brainfog, I have no idea what I've said or haven't), Jer picked up Max Headroom!!!! Can't wait!

The Anatomy of a Call Out (And Why It Needs To Change) -- Really useful and relevant to me, in regards to my current disinterest in engaging on ontd_feminism, especially. The first linked article is also fascinating and gave me some good insight into my own activism tactics and weak points. I'm on the appeaser side of the scale, and have a very hard time dealing with nukers (I have a very hard time emotionally with conflict, and I wish I were better at that in general actually), although I fall on both sides of the logic bomber/emoter scale about equally. Paradox_dragon has a lot to say in the comments that I find additionally valuable, in terms of preventing this argument from swinging too far the other way, back to problems of expecting oppressed groups to smile nice and educate politely all the damn time (and it should be noted that this conversation is about tactics in activism, not a declaration of what those not functioning in an activist role should do in response to offense and hurt). As I've found in face-to-face activism work, the point that we need multiple different strategies and personality types in order to make the most progress rings very true to me. I think I've found it most difficult when I've been denigrated as 'not a real activist' simply because I don't use the same tactics as another person. Over the years, I've come to describe my primary activism technique as being educational in nature, rather than confrontational. It makes me good at dealing with some situations, bad at dealing with others, but on balance, I think it's the most effective path for me to take if I want to maintain my sanity and my interest in changing the world around me. It suits how my psyche and personal philosophies work, and it generally leaves me feeling more psychologically rewarded than punished for the experience. I neither expect nor want everyone to do things the same way I do, but I do think the questions raised about how "swarming" has been happening in the feminist blogosphere, and what that does to our ability to build functional activist community, are relevant and worth examining.
Related: i don’t know when it happened. but somehow somewhere in “social justice blogland,” the whole point of blogging became “calling people out” rather than having conversations and engaging people.

Oliver Sacks on face blindness

Mind-Bending Optical Illusions

Petraeus: Church's Quran Burning Will Endanger Troops

Raw Video: Colour film of London Blitz found

Feisty Fennec Fox Kits for Drusillas Park

Latest leaked draft of secret copyright treaty: US trying to cram DRM rules down the world's throats

A. Schulman Inc.'s 'whole wheat plastic' is lighter, stronger and greener

Even if you're a massive science fiction fan, there are probably still some great shows you've yet to discover. But for massively long-running shows, where to begin? Here's our guide to how to start watching twenty classic science fiction shows.

It's confirmed: bed bugs are back. Here's what you can do about them.

New Study Proves Organic Strawberries Have Better Taste and Nutrition Than Conventional

Olympia, 2-war naval veteran, battles for survival

How to open a new book

Yes, you can fix stuff…

FTA Study: $77.7 Billion Needed to Bring Rail and Bus Transit Systems into 'State of Good Repair'

Ohio declares war on exploding wild pig population -- Problems I did not know we had.

High-tech carts will tell on Cleveland residents who don't recycle ... and they face $100 fine -- I definitely think they need more warnings before the tickets. We got one, for miswrapped trash several months earlier, and it was a big hassle and mess to sort out. I think a ticket on the second offense is reasonable, but first offense should get a warning so the person has a chance to correct things they may not have known were wrong.

Buried by advice on Web? Health libraries across Cleveland can find authoritative answers

Nearly 50 percent leave Obama mortgage-aid program

Death Row Inmates Catch a Break as Lethal Drugs Run Out

U.S. Soldiers Film Themselves Pranking Iraqi by Planting a Grenade In His Trunk

Those of you familiar with my main tattoo will probably get why I love this vid so much: All Creative Work Builds on What Went Before

A professional voice coach critiques 5 classic metal singers

That Mitchell and Webb Look: Homeopathic A&E

The Jehovah's Witnesses redefine irony

FedEx tries to tap taxpayer resentment by portraying proposed labor law changes as a "bailout" for rival UPS

A good piece on the relationship between slut-shaming and fat-shaming

American Muslims Ask, Will We Ever Belong?

Female Refugees in Vermont Lead as Breadwinners

Gender Pay Gap Underestimates Economic Inequality

What's Killing the Babies of Kettleman City?

The world's foremost certifier of safe and sustainable fisheries has just been slapped down in a new op-ed by a top-shelf collection of scientists in the latest issue of Nature.

Wild chimps outwit human hunters

Many wrongly assume there is a process you can easily go through to become legal. In reality, our immigration system is a bureaucratic nightmare.

Best Cities for Working Moms (If You Can Afford the Daycare)

Indian Woman Forced to Parade Naked for 6 Miles for Alleged Illicit Relationship

I knew I wasn't going to like Nancy Folbre's post on the New York Times' "Economix" blog from the moment I read the title: "Why Girly Jobs Don't Pay Well."

California Zoo Becomes First To Earn LEED Gold Certification

Teen sex not always bad for school performance -- I think they're really overstating as causative issues that may only be correlative (they keep phrasing it as if casual sex causes bad grades, and I can think of a number of other explanations there).

California Moms Live in Breastfeeding Haven

Federal Judge Reinstates Gray Wolf as Endangered in Idaho

Terahertz Detectors Can See Through Walls, Packages and Clothing

Belated but interesting links from RM

How Much Do You Spend on Transport? New Web App Aims To Show You

Officer Sues to Block His Discharge Under Gay Ban

TO appreciate how much and how unexpectedly our country can change, look no further than the life and times of Judith Dunnington Peabody, who died on July 25 at 80 in her apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York.

Are Email Attachments Bad for the Environment? Part II

Ooga Booga Porn!

5 Ways Of Looking At "Sarah Palin Feminism"

Study: Simple Intervention May Reduce Reproductive Coercion

California's Military Women Support Our Freedom. Shouldn't We Support Theirs?

Access to Abortion: Red State, Blue State, Interstate

"Natural" Family Planning? Women in Africa Deserve Better

Becoming a Mother Made Me MORE Pro Choice

Study: C-Section Rates To Keep Rising?

Reproductive Rights in the 21st Century: The Effects of the Hyde Amendment

50% decline in pollination imperils world food supply

electro-chemical toothbrush kills plaque without toothpaste

Inside West Point's Lesbian Subculture

Anthrax Kills 83 Hippos in Popular Ugandan Park

52 percent of American women would take a summer without sex over gaining 10 pounds. A quarter of American men said they would make the same sacrifice.

Edujobs Money: How Can It -- and Can't It -- Be Used?

Oldest evidence of tool use, meat eating identified among human ancestors

Re­cent stud­ies re­port­ing that the Moon has un­ex­pectedly high amounts of wa­ter seem to be wrong, a group of sci­en­tists says.

What hit the Moon? New crater makes a splash

Tracks may tell tale of reptilian land conquest

Battle against barnacles goes genetic

Company floats giant balloon concept as solution to space mess

“Best-ever” Mars map online; public invited to work on it

Exiled stars may have merged to form speeding giant

Planets found sharing strange dances

A new poly site: Openly Poly

The Weird World Of Illness Entertainment

Iris Scanners Create the Most Secure City in the World. Welcome, Big Brother

Buck Angel gyn PSA and Drew Deveaux prostate PSA -- these are awesome, and the first time I've seen trans reproductive health needs addressed in a PSA. Go, them!

Flight Attendant Gets Fired For Saying She Qualifies For Food Stamps

Bumble Bee Conservation

The Secular Coalition of America calls for action against the Texas School Board's Curriculum

Did you know that Wednesday, September 23rd is Celebrate Bisexuality Day? It is! Circlet Press is celebrating by releasing a thematic book!

Snopes.com debunks a current email forward about the dangers of CFL bulbs

Keep using the word "SLUT" as an insult if you're petty, hateful and bigoted

FDA wants movie theaters, airplanes, and grocery stores to list nutritional information

Health Reform Reality Kicks In: Costs Still High -- Useful reading if you might need and qualify for the High-Risk Pools (which are now open).

Critics Petition Obama on HHS Abortion Ban

The Moon is shrinking

SMOS satelite can measure soil moisture, predicting where floods will mvoe next

Not-so-charismatic species need protection too!

Map of Night life in prohibition Harlem

Roe v. Wade is Not One-Size Fits All: More Reflections on Burton v. Florida

Student Insurance and Abortion: A Battle at University of North Carolina

Specialized Care for Female Vets May Reduce Access

Does Refusing a C-Section = Child Abuse?

In Illinois, Doctors Refusing to Treat Women Who've Had Abortions

How to cite unusual sources *chuckle*

The Annotated Galactic Center

They Crawl, They Bite, They Baffle Scientists

Drug-resistant germs found to help their brethren through the attack

Palaeon­tol­o­gists are always claim­ing that their lat­est fos­sil dis­cov­ery will “rewrite ev­o­lu­tion­ary his­to­ry.”
Is this just boast­ing, or is our knowl­edge of ev­o­lu­tion so fee­ble that it changes eve­ry time we find a new fos­sil?

Attacked, tobacco plants call their enemy’s enemy

Ending with a couple of amusing metaquotes:
I see London, I see France, I see OWW MY EYES
last time I saw something like that, it was covered in lube

My Sluthood, Myself -- Although my more serious involvements are poly, not monogamous, there's a lot I find to resonate about this post. And frankly, casual sluttiness is often as much up for judgment from poly folk as from monogamous people (sometimes extra defensively, out of fear of making all poly folk "look bad"), so there may be little difference in our experiences there.

( Read more... )

CLEAN PURE SOFT FRESH: A Whole New World of Vagina Spray -- I'm having trouble making it all the way through the article; my eyes keep rolling.

It has always been fashionable, in pushing back against LGBT rights and against the women’s movement, to invoke “nature.” These arguments often apply highly contestable interpretations of nature, but I don’t want to engage with that. I want to attack the major premise: that “nature” is immutable, or correct, or in some other way is an authority that lays dispute to rest. -- Excellent and lengthy essay on the topic.

Terrorism that’s personal
This links to a series of photographs of women attacked by acid or burning. They are deeply upsetting to see, and will be hard to forget. They should be hard to forget.

Inside India’s Rent-A-Womb Business -- I'm not entirely anti-surrogacy; I seriously considered being a surrogate for a close friend, back when my health was less problematic. However, the power imbalance here squicks me in a massive, massive way.
From the article: it's a setup fraught with all the ambiguities of the global labor market: When you buy sweatshop sneakers it allows someone's family to eat. But you also know you're getting a bargain only because the people making the shoes are poor. -- Yes. That's exactly the ethical struggle for me.

The Importance of Consent in Everyday Situations

The Rape of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” -- It’s rare that a film centers on a feminist hero, and even more rare for such a film to meet with rave reviews. But the decidedly feminist Swedish film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (based on the internationally bestselling book) drew critical acclaim when it premiered in the U.S. last month, unrated and under limited release. However, the rave reviews, with their lingering emphasis on the heroine’s tough-girl look and “inexplicable” beauty, didn’t prepare me for the film’s disquieting articulation of intense sexual violence.

Not Just Boys: Catholic Church Abuse of Women + Girls

What Was So Great About the 1950s?

Research into Media Portrayal of People Who are Obese

The Zaftig Thespian
A spunky, fat actress, I've created this for an inside look at fatness (and feminism) in the entertainment industry--mainly theatre with a sprinkling of film & TV.

"FAT" - the feature documentary. COMING SOON IN 2010.

If fat is the new normal why is fat discrimination on the rise? Follow the lives of three women struggling with fat and fat hatred. Learn the hidden facts about fat, food and health. Experience straight and gay fat folks happy and healthy in their own skin. Meet fat-but-formerly-thin Linnea and witness her transformation. See Jennifer Jonassen, a 350-pound professional dancer on her way to love and self-acceptance.

Love Your Body: 2010 Poster Contest Winners

Why Strong Female Characters Are Bad for Women -- an insightful look at women characters that are made "strong" in all the wrong ways.

And maybe it's a bit ironic to use this icon for this post, but I actually think part of why Buffy had the popularity she did was because she dodged most of these bullets as a character. (and along those lines, I'm interested to read the post about Whedon from the same blog)

However, I've been a posting maniac the last few days, and I think it's time to set down the laptop and back away slowly.

(and except for the dimples, that so totally could've been me in '81!  The whole ad just makes me grin)

Feministing nails this one; -- I grew up on Legos, and Construx, and all those wonderful fun construction toys.  What I loved about them was the extent to which they weren't gendered -- I avoided pink like the plague as a kid, I wrote a story in 4th grade titled "G.I. Joe Destroys the Cabbage Patch Kids", I had one Barbie but I sure as hell wasn't going to admit it...  Toys that weren't overtly, aggressively gendered in their marketing made me happy.  Walking through toy departments these days just depresses the hell out of me, for reasons like this Why? Just WTF? The pink plague's always been around to some extent, but it seems like it's getting worse, not better, in the past thirty years.  And toys like Legos that used to be pretty non-gendered have imported those same attitudes in such unnecessary and obnoxiously limiting ways.  Blah.  Every time I go present-shopping for one of the kids in my life, it just makes me want to scream. And as long as I'm bitching about toy selections; I really miss the early days of Legos and other toys, when you'd get a set that was intended to be used for free-form construction, and not as a "follow the directions, and you'll have exactly the pieces for this specific result" kind of toy.

We have antis wearing similar vests at our clinics. At least in our case they're a different color (theirs are red, ours are yellow). It does indeed seriously confuse the patients and make a stressful situation even worse. As does their tactic of using common traffic hand-signals to get people to react automatically, and stop right where they can get surrounded. At least we managed to get the cops to make them give up the actual "STOP" sign they were carrying for a while.

Damn, this is reminding me how much I miss clinic escorting. It's so damned hard on my body, especially in winter, but I really feel the loss. I miss doing something I'm so certain is important. I miss the conversations with the patients and their partners. I miss the comraderie with the other escorts and clinic employees. I even miss the chance to piss off the antis just by being there and not being afraid of them. I miss standing up to bullying assholes, and the reminder of my own power that brings. I miss laughing over their ideas of insults (I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be insulted and hurt that you think I'm queer?), preferably loudly, and in their faces. Come spring, I really need to suck down the meds and get back out there, at least occasionally.

The blogger at Everysaturdaymorning, a pro-choice clinic escort in Louisville, KY, has posted pictures and video of the latest disgusting tactic from the antis outside their clinic: wearing fake escort vests.

Escorts wear bright orange vests that say things like "Pro-Choice Clinic Escort" in an attempt to clearly identify ourselves to patients. Even so, the space outside a clinic where anti-choicers have gathered can be incredibly confusing for patients, those accompanying them, and even passers by on the street. Some protesters simply stand off to the side and pray. I don't like the atmosphere of shame they create, but it's the antis we call chasers or sidewalk stalkers who cause the biggest problems. They will do almost anything to harass people going in and out of a reproductive health clinic, which is why pro-choice escorts are necessary - we're not protesters, we're just trying to make it possible for women to access abortion and other medical care. Interactions happen so quickly, and the milieu outside a clinic can be so confusing for someone who didn't expect to be harassed by ideologues on her way to the doctor, that we already have to work hard to make it clear who works with the clinic and who is trying to get in a patient's way.

Yes, the vests these antis are wearing say "Life Escort." Which, I am sure, is not an attempt to accurately identify themselves. They know what a baffling mess they create, and they know the word "Life" is unlikely to be read until after they've forced a patient to listen to them, if at all.

I hope this tactic makes it clear to folks that sidewalk stalkers aren't trying to help women make decisions about abortion informed by so-called "pro-life" beliefs. Rather, they are outside clinics to trick and harass women out of seeking reproductive health care, regardless of what the patient actually thinks, wants, and needs.

I look forward to hearing from KY escorts about how they handle this despicable tactic.

To get a sense of what the brave pro-choice clinic escorts are dealing with in Louisville, check out the the video and transcript of an anti verbally harassing a patient after the jump. A warning that it may be triggering, especially to anyone who's not used to hearing this rhetoric.

A note on icon choice: I really should get myself a pro-choice icon that doesn't include me smiling, because when I'm posting on the topic, I'm usually pretty flamingly pissed off. Still, this is a crop of a pic from The March for Women's Lives, which is why I use it.

Yup, more. (also, as a note, after this I will be following only my nearest and dearest for the next five days at least, and probably longer -- I'll really only have access via b'berry until Sunday night, though)

Bart described it as a "piece of shit racist gem" -- I couldn't agree more. Way to make your side look like moronic assholes without any semblance of an actual argument. I wish I were surprised. At all. And a particularly relevant piece about Obama, race, and that press conference

BradHicks has a great post about the self-induced doctor shortage in the US, and its relevance to the health care debate (I have as many issues with the AMA as I do with the Insurance and Pharmaceutical lobbies)

Dr. Tiller's Accused Murderer in Court Tomorrow

British Army Magazine Features Openly Gay Soldier on Cover Next to Word 'Pride'

Bill Maher: When Did Making a Profit Become the Only Reason to Do Anything? Amen.

On the whitewashing of book covers

William Shatner does Sarah Palin's farewell speech! (from klwalton)

Setting aside all of the other meta-discussions on race and class that surround this issue, the thing about all of this that creeps me out the most is that so many people are willing to defend this officer who, assuming the most charitable possible interpretation, arrested a guy because he didn't like his attitude. That is what [Mike Barnicle] is defending. That is what the execrable Mika Brzenski is defending. That is what I have read numerous commenters on a multitude of sites from the entire political spectrum defend. -- Yes. This.

Not at all surprising, sadly, but utterly enraging: A woman in New Jersey refused a c-section during labor. She gave birth vaginally, and the child was healthy. But the baby was taken away and placed in a foster home, because the woman allegedly “abused and neglected her child” by refusing the c-section. She was also accused of behaving “erratically” — to which I can only point out that she was in labor. I hear that hurts a lot.

Bi The Way will air on the Logo Network at 8 pm on August 1st (THIS SATURDAY)! (and is now also available for advance DVD purchase) Must remember to set the DVR for this.

Sex Work and Marriage

Well, out of time. Still have about 160 emails (which includes LJ notifications I've set) to get through. Oy.

I don't really know how close we are to being all done and complete and finished with closing on the house. All day has been about faxing one last bit of paperwork after another. I think we're pretty much done, and it is happening now, but I'm rather confused at this point. And exhausted. And headachey. So glad I'm going home now.

Incidentally, I've been keeping a sleep diary in prep for my sleep study next month. I know I sleep weirdly, but wow. Five days so far, and no single sleep period longer than 3-4 hours.