I do what I want - You do what you're told

Misogyny, the hatred of women, is pervasive in U.S.

David Whitfield

“How do we explain the oppression and brutalization of half the world’s populations by the other half, throughout history?” — Jack Holland in “Misogyny: The World’s Oldest Prejudice.”

The first time I witnessed violence against a woman, I was 17, living next door to a stock yard butcher, his wife and baby, on the South Side of Chicago.

“I hate you!” followed by the B-word, then flesh hitting flesh — the butcher was at it again. After entering their apartment, I managed to wrestle the meat cleaver from him.

When the cops arrived, I was accused of molesting his wife. And had she not spoken up, I would have gone to the notorious Cook County jail, for attempted rape — black teenager in a white couple’s apartment.

Loretta Francis’ study found that a woman is beaten every nine seconds in this country; more than three women are killed by their husbands or boyfriends daily. And then there’s trafficking.

Of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked yearly across international borders, 80 percent are women, used primarily for prostitution and forced labor, according to the State Department’s “2006 Trafficking In Persons Report.”

According to Kevork Djansezian’s report, some 12,000 to 18,000 persons are trafficked into the United States yearly, from some 50 countries; most are women used for sex and slave labor.

Imagine your 11-year-old daughter trapped in a brothel, six to eight men force themselves on her daily; and if she gets to the police, the police take her back to the brothel because the perpetrator and the police are complicit — a finding in the State Department’s report.

Though sex cases are the priority for prosecutors, many women are put in sweatshops in almost every state in the union, making bridal dresses by hand, without compensation.

Women are also abused in the regular workplace, economically. The Coalition of Labor Union Women said in 2005, women were paid 77 cents for every dollar men received. That’s $23 less to spend on groceries, housing, child care and other expenses for every $100 worth of work women do. The average 25-year-old working woman is denied more than $523,000 through unequal pay during her working life. Nationwide, working families lose $200 billion in income annually to the wage gap.

These figures are even worse for women who are non-white. And because women are paid less, they have less for their future and will earn smaller pensions than men — not my definition of social justice or economic justice.

What makes this so vile is that most of us behave, as Jerry Harvey says, like “little Eichmanns in the corporation,” perpetuating it by remaining silent, keeping our hands clean, and committing “little murders.”

So, how do you respond when faced with misogyny? Would you have entered the butcher’s apartment? I challenge you to list just two actions you are taking against the subtle and not-so-subtle acts of hatred against women — all women. If you cannot, then think about the meaning of being a “little Eichmann in the corporation.”

David Whitfield is the founder of Integral Leadership, Inc., and adjunct professor in Gonzaga University’s doctoral program in leadership studies. A member of The Olympia Diversity Panel, Whitfield can be reached at david@learnleadcoach.com.

From: The Olympian, 06/21/07

Seems like the My Chemical Romance's tour is born under a bad star, completely covered of bad luck!!

Today they where at Heineken Jammin' Festival in Venice....and the festival was completely destroyed by a wind storm (a little tornado)!!
My friends are still terrified because the audio tower went down just beside them!!
I'm so happy I have exams!!!!
XDDD

(look down the page...maybe I have a message for you!)

MY BUTTONS DON'T WORK

(@#&%@)

I can't leave comments & buzzes!!
So...
@Someonewholovesfob...I love your story, really, it's fuckin' good! But I can't leave my usual crazy and meaningless comments to you!!!
@Brandnewhope: nice and cool pic!! I love this makeup...and the little burger LOL! And the comics are really funny(and sarcastic)XD!
@Misscorrosive: Your drawings are cool and good as always you know....!!
@Dewatio: ahhhh...magari io!! Ma se prima non mi laureo...non so davvero dove andare!!
@Tessy: Bellissime foto, come al solito! Sei una grande!!

I can't leave messages to!!

@Billiejoeissexy: I love our conversation and hope we'll talk again soon!! (without talking about comouflouge!!)
@ EVERYONE WHO SENT ME A MESSAGE: I love you all!! I'm not forgetting you!!

I can't leave notes!!

@Lisa: Are you still alive? When does your fuckin' school end???
@Sprite269: Your page is a real Billie Joe dedicated page! And so it's cool!! Thanks for the add!
@Sexypad: Volevo scriverti qualche ulteriore stronzata sul cicciotto coccolotto e Jared Leto ma.....bah..mi rifarò!!
@Twinbabes: Who the hell are you? I already told you I'm not going to answer random buzzes requests...why the hell you go on? My answer is NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

(hope the save buttons will work now!!)

DEWATIO is looking for someone who wants to have a study trip in USA. She's from Italy and desperately need someone to join her in the trip!

Mmm...what else?

THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO JOINED THE FREE PALESTINE GROUP!!! You're wonderfull!!

LOVE to all you my friends!!

TESSA

Amnesty International will use satellitat imagest to control the situation in Sudan villages of the Darfur area!
Please visit the site  www.eyesondarfur.org
 and let other people know of this, so Sunase government will know we are watching them!!


AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: IMMAGINI DAL SATELLITE PER PROTEGGERE LA
POPOLAZIONE CIVILE DEL DARFUR

Amnesty International usera' da oggi riprese satellitari per controllare
la situazione dei villaggi della martoriata regione sudanese del Darfur.
L'organizzazione per i diritti umani chiede a tutti di visitare il sito
www.eyesondarfur.org, per far sapere in questo modo al governo sudanese
che il mondo sta controllando quanto accade sul terreno.

Sari Chreih and Razan Al-Ghazzawi – Interview with a Physician on Nahr el-Bared Tragedy

Mass Graves and Lebanese Racism Against Palestinians
 

Q: What is your name and profession?

A: My name is Saleh Bhar and I am a pediatrician at American University Hospital (AUH, Beirut, Lebanon).
 
Q: We learned that you lost a member of your family during the bombings, which day was that?
A: During the first hours of the first day of the bombardment. My uncle died in his home when he was hit by one of the shells, he was with his two sons and one of his neighbors.

Q: How did you learn about his death?

A: My cousins told me that night.

Q: What was your uncle's name?

A: Salim Bhar, he was 75 years old, he used to work at Popular Committee and was working lately at his restaurant.
 

Q: What about your folks?

A: My parents told me that our house was hit by a shell. I also learned from neighbors that the damage is serious, as it was shelled more than once. They are staying at my aunt's in Tripoli.

Q: Where is your house located?

A: In the Saffouri part of the camp, at the Mohammara entrance.

Q: Do you know of any other relatives who may have possibly been injured or died?

A: My uncle's wife was injured. I have many relatives who lost their houses. My cousin Amin Bhar, a dentist, lost his house. My other cousin, also a doctor, lost his house too. My cousins told me that my uncle's neighbor, Raed el Shans, who was with him when his house was shelled, also died with my uncle.
 

Q: Do you know if anyone in your neighborhood was injured or killed?

A: My cousins told me that there are more than 20 people dead in our neighborhood, including my uncle, and that they were buried in a mass grave.
 

Q: Do you remember the names of those who were buried?

A: Yes, my uncle's neighbor, Raed el Shans, Jihad Azzam, Mahmud Hussen, Ahmad Attayar, Abd el Latif Kza', Jihad Abu el Ezz, Ashraf el Akel, Nayef el Saleh, Fakhri el Hassan. Among these were children no more than 15-years-old, Moahmud Mansur and Amer Mansur.
 
Q: Were they among the first who were buried in a mass grave in Saffuri area in the first day of the bombings?
A: Yes.

Q: What were the causes of death?

A: Some of them died when their houses were hit by shells, and some of them died from shrapnel-related injuries.

Q: Can anyone else confirm these causes of death?

A: There is a doctor who was there during the burial, his name is Fath Alla, and you can call him.

Q: What were the political backgrounds of those who died?

A: They had none, they are merely civilians.

Q: How did you first notice the Fatah al Islam militants?

A: They used to buy and rent houses. You know, there is something you should know about Nahr el Bared camp, it is a trade camp. Unlike other camps, it is a market for regional villages and cities, like Akkar and Minyeh. This advantage made it possible for non-Palestinians, especially Lebanese, to inhabit the refugee camp. These Fatah al Islam militants continued coming to Nahr el Bared, for the past three months, till they became huge.

Q: What was Fatah al Islam's internal policy?

A: They are trying to impose their policy on us. If they see someone drinking alcohol, they would beat him, and they used to encourage the youth to go to Mosques and pray. Not only that, they were too extreme. More than once, some of our inhabitants were killed by them; it was all over the news and TV. This militia was imposing itself on our camp and the Lebanese government along with the Palestinian officials is silent or cooperated.

Q: How do you explain their silence or cooperation?

A: I think the militia's existence for over three months is not a coincidence, but it is planned. The Palestinian officials have never been seen visiting the Lebanese government before, lately the visits were intense and raised suspicion. I think this may be a conspiracy taking place, against the Palestinian people and against the Palestinian existence in Lebanon.  I would like to ask the following question: why is the camp being bombarded and not Tripoli, though in the latter the army has lost 27 soldiers? What we are witnessing today is an attack on entire camp, not only on Fatah al Islam. I honestly recall Sabra and Shatila right now. I'm also afraid something serious will happen in the near future.

Q: What about the nationalities of these militants?
A: Some are Lebanese, Saudis, Jordanians, Syrians and some are from North Africa; from Algeria and Tunisia. Most of them are non-Arab, from Afghanistan and Bangladesh, you can easily tell from the weird clothes they wore.

Q: How did they settle at the camp with such an arsenal?

A: Well, they bought and rented houses. They placed bags of sand in front of their houses, loaded with guns and RBJ weaponry. This prompts the following question: how did this weaponry enter the camp?
 
Q: A report appeared on ABC which linked the poor living conditions of the Palestinian refugees, in Lebanon and Gaza, with terrorism, do you think to be poor is to be a terrorist?
A: Well, I was poor, and I am still poor, but I am a doctor and not a terrorist. This analysis doesn't make sense. As I recall, Osama Bin Laden is millionaire, is he not?

Q: Are there any organizations working in Nahr el Bared?

A: No, there aren't.

Q: Anything else you want to add?

A: I want to say that though there are many people dying, and it is a tragedy, nobody is talking about them. Another tragedy awaits the survivors, where do they go now? Who is going to rebuild the camp? Are we forever going to stay at other people's houses in the camps?
 

Q: Do you think that the Lebanese government is responsible?

A: I think the Lebanese government is racist towards the Palestinians, there was not a single school opened to host the refugees.
 
Sari Chreih is a student at American University of Beirut in Beirut.
Razan Al-Ghazzawi is a graduate student at University of Balamand. She is a member of Tlaxcala, and her blog is: Decentering Damascus
 
Originally posted http://ya-ashrafe-nnas.blogspot.com/2007/06/dr-saleh-bhar-lebanese-goverment-racism.html

1. INTRODUCTION

Khaled Daud Faqih was just six months old when he died on 8 March 2007 at an Israeli army checkpoint. His parents, from the village of Kafr ‘Ain, had been trying to rush their baby to the nearby hospital in Ramallah in theWest Bank, but were forced to wait at the checkpoint by Israeli soldiers. His father Daud, a teacher, told Amnesty International:

“My son Khaled was having difficulty breathing. I called a neighbour who has a car and with my wife and the baby we set off immediately for the hospital in Ramallah. It was quicker than waiting for an ambulance to come all the way to the village. It was just before half past midnight. Khaled had previously had attacks like this and we took him to hospital and there he was put under the oxygen tent and he always got better.

“We arrived at the Atara checkpoint at 12.45am. From there it was another 10 minutes to the hospital. The soldiers stopped us. There were five soldiers. I told them that my baby was sick and urgently needed to get to the hospital in Ramallah. I spoke to them in Hebrew. They asked for our IDs. The driver and I gave ours but my wife had left hers at home in the hurry. I told the soldiers and they said we could not pass without her ID. I begged them to let us pass. They looked in the car and saw that there was nothing and that the baby had problems breathing and his limbs were trembling. I told the soldiers that every minute, every second mattered; that the baby needed oxygen urgently. They told us to wait and I kept pleading with them. Then the baby died. It was 1.05am. I told the soldiers. They shone a torch into the car and saw that the baby was not moving any more and told us that we could pass. We drove to the hospital anyway. There it was confirmed that Khaled had died.”

Such cases are neither new nor rare. The hundreds of checkpoints and blockades which every day force long detours and delays on Palestinians trying to get to work, school or hospital, have for years limited their access to essential health services and caused medical complications, births at checkpoints and even death.

The West Bank, the focus of this report, is a relatively small territory – 130 kilometres from north to south and 65 kilometres from east to west at its widest point; 5,600 square kilometres in total. It is criss-crossed by a web of Israeli military checkpoints and blockades – some 550 – and a winding 700-kilometre fence/wall which runs from north to south, encircling Palestinian villages as well as whole neighbourhoods in and around East Jerusalem.

The Israeli authorities contend that this regime of closures and restrictions is necessary to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel to carry out suicide bombings and other attacks. However, virtually all the checkpoints, gates, blocked roads and most of the fence/wall are located inside the West Bank – not between Israel and the West Bank. They curtail or prevent movement between Palestinian towns and villages, splitting and isolating Palestinian communities, separating Palestinians from their agricultural land, hampering access to work, schools, health facilities and relatives, and destroying the Palestinian economy. The fence/wall itself, located as it is inside occupied territory, is unlawful, according to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The stringent restrictions on movement imposed for years by the Israeli authorities on more than two million Palestinians who live in the West Bank are unlawful as they are disproportionate, discriminatory and violate the right to freedom of movement. The restrictions are imposed on all Palestinians because they are Palestinians and in order to benefit the Israeli settlers whose presence in the occupied West Bank violates international law. They should be lifted now.

Read more :  http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde150332007

Gaza extremist group threatens to behead female broadcasters

By Associated Press

A Muslim extremist group on Friday threatened to behead female TV broadcasters if they don't don strict Islamic dress, leaving the women terrified and marking a further downward spiral in Gaza's anarchy. The threat to cut throats from vein to vein was delivered by the Swords of Truth, a fanatical group that has previously claimed responsibility for bombing Internet cafes and music shops. The new threat was the first time the organization targeted a specific group of people, and adds to a growing climate of extremism, fear and suspicion in Gaza. In many parts of the Muslim world, religious conservative policies keep women out of TV anchoring positions or only let them take the jobs if they wear headscarves. But in some countries scarves are uncommon, like Lebanon and Jordan, and Egypt even keeps newscasters who wear them off its TV stations.

Advertisement Most of the 15 women broadcasters on government-run Palestine TV wear headscarves. But they also wear makeup and Western clothing, which is not considered strictly observant by the extremists. The Swords of Truth issued the statement Friday in an e-mail sent to news organizations. "We will cut throats, and from vein to vein, if needed to protect the spirit and moral of this nation." The group accused the women broadcasters of being without any ... shame or morals. The group said it knew where to find the women. Prior to the statement, some women broadcasters said they received personal threats through their mobile phones. It was not clear if those threats were from the same group. One anchorwoman who does not wear a headscarf said she was too frightened by the threat to go to work on Saturday. "It's a dangerous precedent in our society. It will target all working women," said the broadcaster, who declined to give her name out of fear. The statement frightened us. Another presenter who wears a headscarf, on Palestine TV, said she couldn't understand why they were targeted. "I hope they take it back. I hope not a bullet will be fired at us," she said. Basem Abu Sumaya, head of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, which runs Palestine TV, said that the PBC already had security measures in place, but could not protect people on the way to work. The PBC is bankrolled by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, and is accused of openly exhibiting support for the movement, which is a bitter rival of the Islamic militant group Hamas. A senior security official, who requested anonymity owing to the issue's sensitivity, said The Swords of Truth had less than 100 members, and was formed last year. The group claimed responsibility for the bombings since October of about three dozen Internet cafes, music shops and pool halls, which are considered places of vice by some in deeply conservative Gaza. Assailants detonated small bombs outside businesses at night, causing damage but no injuries. The security official said his forces were taking the threat seriously. He said Hamas members funded the group, wanting to impose a hardline version of Islam in Gaza. Hamas won parliamentary elections last year and has a unity government with Fatah. Hamas spokesman Ismail Ridwan said his faction had no relation to the group. Other hardline groups have grown in Gaza, plagued by the rise of Islamic extremism, alongside Hamas-Fatah fighting, anarchy and grueling poverty. The Army of Islam claimed responsibility for kidnapping British Broadcasting Corp. reporter Alan Johnston in March. Muslim hardliners lobbed a bomb at a UN-run school in May, accusing the world body of turning schools into nightclubs for holding a display of traditional Palestinian dancing.

from http://www.haaretz.com

Protect the women and girls of Darfur now!

It is impossible to know how many women have been raped since the armed conflict began in Darfur, Sudan, in 2003. There have certainly been thousands.

Speaking to AI in 2006, one woman who has been displaced by the conflict, described how she was attacked by uniformed men near Goz Beida in Chad: “They beat us and told us that you blacks are not going to stay here, we will finish you all. They then grabbed my half-sister who was only 10 years old... I saw two of them lie with my half-sister and then they went away. When we got there she was very hurt and bleeding. She continued to bleed for the following two days and then died.”

AI reiterates its call for the immediate deployment of an effective peacekeeping force to protect the women and girls of Darfur from sexual violence.

from www.amnesty.org