Last week, I wrote about the Abu Dhabi TV show Million’s Poet, in which Hissa Helal (or Hilal) had made it to the final round of the program by delivering a poem against Muslim preachers “who sit in the position of power” but are “frightening” people with their fatwas, or religious edicts, and “preying like [...]
Filed under: Burqa and Other Veils, International | Tagged: Burqa and Other Veils, Hissa Helal, Hissal, Million's Poet, Poetry | Leave a Comment »
I saw a truck this morning delivering food for the Diet To Go food company. (Diet To Go prepares a week’s worth of food (supposedly healthier) and delivers it to a central location for its customers to pick up.) One side of the truck shows before-and-after photos of a man with the words “Thanks for [...]
Filed under: Advertising, Pop Culture | Tagged: Advertising, diettogo, media, sexism | 3 Comments »
By this point, I’m sure most of you have read about the upcoming changes to Texas history books. In case you haven’t, here’s a snippet from the NYT: After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and [...]
Filed under: Education, Politics, Race/Ethnicity | Tagged: Democrats, Education, history, racism, republicans, texas | Leave a Comment »
Top editors at NPR have recently made the decision to terminate the use of “pro-choice” and “pro-life” in their abortion-related articles. In a memo to staff, they outlined their reasoning to switch to the terms “abortion rights supporter” and “abortion rights opponent:” This updated policy is aimed at ensuring the words we speak and write [...]
Filed under: Abortion, Reproductive Rights | Tagged: Abortion, anti-choice, npr, pro-choice, pro-life, Reproductive Rights | 3 Comments »
A Saudi woman is receiving a lot of publicity for using poetry to attack radical Muslim clerics. (See this article in Gender Across Borders from last week.) In 2006, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage started a television show along the lines of “American Idol.” However, rather than have singing, the show (called [...]
Filed under: Burqa and Other Veils, International | Tagged: Hissa Helal, Hissa Hilal, Million's Poet, Poetry | 1 Comment »
Thankfully, President Obama is finally finding the strength of mind to do what he thinks is right rather than trying to appease others with whom he clearly disagrees. This past week he “snubbed” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu when he would not allow a photo op and made Netanyahu stew when Obama walked out of a [...]
Filed under: Politics | Tagged: Axelrod, National Labor Relations Board, obama, Recess Appointments | 1 Comment »
Unbelievable. Somehow, the final health reform bill restored $250 million over five years for states to sponsor abstinence-only programs. This came about even though President Obama’s first two budgets had pulled all federal funding from those programs. Repeatedly, studies have shown that abstinence-only education is ineffective. And the numbers of births, pregnancies and sexually transmitted [...]
Filed under: Education, Health, Politics, Sex | Tagged: abstinence-only education, sex education | 2 Comments »
In 1992, based on her song “Nothing Compares to U,” Sinead O’Connor was very popular. Then she appeared on Saturday Night Live and sang a song that was anti-war and pro-human rights. She ended the song by tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II while saying “We have confidence in the victory [...]
Filed under: Religion | Tagged: Catholic Church, Pope Benedict, Sinead O'Connor | 8 Comments »
I was really struck by this photo taken yesterday of Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton while they celebrated Women’s History Month at the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall. They have both had very large successes lately and the photo just seems to acknowledge the fact that two women are among the most powerful people in America. [...]
Filed under: Politics | Tagged: Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Women's History Month | 2 Comments »
The National Center for Health Statistics has come out with a report that shows Caesarean births in the United States are at an all-time high. One third of all women now give birth via C-section, a rate that has been increasing over the past decade. The procedure raises risks for both mother and baby, and [...]
Filed under: Health, International, Race/Ethnicity, Reproductive Rights | Tagged: birth, Health Care, Maternal Mortality, pregnancy, women's health | Leave a Comment »
