- U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.
- A new birth certificate law in Puerto Rico creates serious problems for more than 1 million U.S. mainland residents born on the island who now face unjust difficulties if their documents are considered invalid, a civil rights and Latino advocacy group said Thursday.
- The engaging, 40-year-old writer has no trouble recalling the rejections [of her debut novel] or her reaction to them even though they are now behind her: “Everyone kept saying my book was not marketable—there was no way they could sell this thing. They said the main character was not universal enough—no one can relate to her situation. I took these ‘no’s as an inspiration—can I write this story better? But I never listened to those who said the story was not universal.” Durrow’s stubbornness has now paid off in sweet poetic justice. Her powerful little novel, The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, is getting the sort of serious book-industry buzz and media attention that is generated by only a few debuts every season.
- "One in three Canadians believe that Aboriginal Peoples and Muslims are the frequent targets of discrimination, a CBC-commissioned poll suggests.
"About 28 per cent of the 2,000 surveyed by pollster Environics Research Group in February and March also said Pakistanis/East Indians often suffer from intolerance, while 20 per cent said blacks regularly faced it." - For African-Americans, the prevalence of infection was 39.2 percent — more than three times that of whites, at 12.3 percent. Black women are most affected by the disease, with an infection rate of 48 percent.
Fenton said the high rates of herpes among African-Americans is most likely contributing to the high rate of HIV in that community. In fact, statistics show that people with herpes are two to three times more likely to get HIV if exposed. - "The self-dubbed 'Jihad Jane' who thought her blond, all-American profile would help mask her plan to kill a Swedish cartoonist is a rare case of a U.S. woman inciting foreign terrorism and shows the latest evolution of the global threat, authorities say."
- "It wasn't until bondage magazines became popular in the 1970s that we began to often see women of color engaged in acts of BDSM. Previously detective magazines, which were published as early as the 1930's, had covertly provided a way of publishing bondage imagery but they rarely featured models of color. Although these images largely objectified and over-sexualized Black women, bondage pictorials did create a successful niche in the industry and for many people of color these magazines were their first exposure to BDSM."
- On a Saturday at the Lamar Edward Salon, a small cluster of women watch a demonstration of a new product. Their giggles turn into growing interest. They learn the city is handing out free samples, but it's not shampoo or makeup products. Instead, the women can leave the salon with free female condoms tucked into their purses. Co-owner Gerald Armstrong said his salon is a perfect place for a frank discussion about safe sex.
- Lalla Essaydi: Les Femmes du Maroc,” an exhibition at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, draws attention to one of the most interesting if puzzling developments in contemporary art: a revival of exotic, often historical imagery of people from faraway places in the name of a critique of exoticism. Ms. Essaydi is a Moroccan-born, New York-based photographer who has risen to prominence for her beautiful, striking imagery dealing with the role of women in Islamic societies. But much like Shirin Neshat, Shahzia Sikander and other successful expatriate female artists from Muslim nations, she trades in stereotypes, reflecting back at us our own misconceptions and prejudices.
Spread This Idea
The Octavia Butler Book Club
(Click the book for the latest conversation) Feminism for Real – Jessica, Latoya, Andrea
The Same Woman – Thea
I Speak For Myself – Fatemeh
Yes Means Yes – Latoya
Sex Ed and Youth – Jessica
OMLN
