Droht den USA eine Invasion?

Torsten Mann

Vielen Lesern dürfte bereits bekannt sein, dass der KGB-Oberst und Experte für Informationskrieg und Desinformation Igor Panarin das Auseinanderbrechen der USA für den Sommer 2010 angekündigt hat, doch kürzlich ergänzte Panarin seine Prognose und erklärte, der Zerfall der USA würde bereits in zwei Monaten, d.h. im November 2009 einsetzen. Panarin sagte, Obama sei der Präsident der Hoffnung, aber in einem Jahr werde es für die USA keine Hoffnung mehr geben. Obama sei ein netter Kerl, der nett daherredet, aber er sei keine Führungsfigur und er werde Amerika in den Zusammenbruch führen. Sobald die Amerikaner dies erkennen, würde es wie eine »Bombe« einschlagen ( Mehr…. )

The Fifth Carnival of Feminists

Welcome to the Fifth Carnival of Feminists. I’m Chally, blogger here at Zero at the Bone, and I’m very pleased to be your host for this edition. We’ve got all sorts of fabulous writing of feminist interest from around the world. Let’s get started, shall we?

Objectification

RosieRed23 takes on the bizarre preoccupation with breasts in No boobs for you! posted at Spare Candy. It’s in response to the wailing over Megan Fox not revealing her breasts in new film Jennifer’s Body as well as the fascination with celebrity nudity in general.

Amanda of The Undomestic Goddess writes Esquire: Strike Three. She’s taking on the treatment of women in Esquire: ‘Congratulations, your induction into the world of male lust, and thusly, second-class citizenship, is complete.’

Racialicious’ Thea Lim writes about some imagery that manages to dehumanise both the white woman and the man of colour involved. The post’s called Kanye West: Using interracial sex to sell concert tickets.

Reproductive justice

factcheckme presents a collection of videos related to reproductive rights. The post’s at femonade, featuring Hillary Clinton being full of win and a documentary on the work of the Fistula Foundation in Ethiopia (an amazing organisation I’ve been following for years, see their website).

Over at Feministing we have Rejecting “population control” as a way to fight climate change. Ann thinks that ‘given the history of population policy, to me the only acceptable international family planning policy is one that is motivated by increasing the empowerment and choices for women.’

Parenting

Kate of Rebel Raising has something to say in Is that child crazy? ‘How much of the time are children behaving in the way an adult would if their life were like a child’s life?’

“How Can Feminist Mums Avoid Being Humourless Childhood-Ruiners?” Lauredhel and the Hoyden About Town commentariat have a few things to say on the subject.

Parenting means that boundaries aren’t always as secure as one would want. You can read some of Arwyn’s thoughts on this at Raising My Boychick in Toddlers are triggering.

Violence against women

In “Corrective” Rape Is Not Foreign., piecesofstring takes on the idea that homophobic violence is just a problem “elsewhere”. It’s vital to take this on everywhere it happens.

Cara from The Curvature writes Protecting Your Safety While Speaking Out is Not Irresponsible. It’s in response to feminist assertions that Katie Price should name her rapist.

Women who make false rape accusations *don’t* make it harder on real victims. says SarahMC at the Pursuit of Harpyness. Lots of other factors do.

Angry-making

The Czech gives us an update on Jamie Lee Jones’ incredible and horrific story in Halliburton Gang-Rape *Not* a Work-Related Activity?. I hope she gets the justice she deserves.

Trans-misogyny? There’s an app for that. Helen from Bird of Paradox shares a pretty nasty Apple ad.

The Australian Immigration Department is refusing to grant refugee status to two women who fled Kenya to escape FGM. Natalie at She Speculates writes Fear of Genital Mutilation Doesn’t Warrant Refugee Status in response.

Paid work

Deborah obliterates an opinion piece arguing against women serving on the front line in the Australian military in Look out! Incoming brain-fart!! posted at her blog In a strange land.

In Promoting women is up to the companies, Jemima Aslana at Jem’s Lair discusses workplace gender equality and quotas in Denmark.

As part of her Feminism in Schools series, Ashley of Small Strokes writes Feminism in Schools: Teaching Feminism When You’re Not a Feminist. She discusses both course content and some factors that are less often thought of explicitly.

Illustrations from life

At Catspaw, Lucy talks about her experiences at university as a trans woman, including dealing with fellow students, professors and study material. The post is called I’m (Mostly Not) Coming Out.

Veronica, writing at Viva La Feminista, is wondering about the times when speaking up might make things worse. The post is called My privileged nose & reporting a slap to a baby.

Here are some reflections on (particularly racial) identity, figuring out experience and finding connections: This is [not] who you are by T. R Xands.

Disability

Ouyang Dan writes Where I jump in and defend pills…. Posted at random babble…, it’s a defence of meds and the people who take them in a world in which PWD are shamed for managing their own health.

amandaw hits it out of the ballpark with Domestic violence, C-sections considered pre-existing conditions at three rivers fog. It’s about ableism, healthcare, ableism, misogyny and ableism.

Popular culture

Next up is Disability & Television by Anna Overseas at her blog Trouble is Everywhere. She tackles the, ahem, questionable representations of PWD in Glee and Supernatural.

Laura is pondering Bisexuality on TV? at Adventures of a Young Feminist. Particularly concerned with Thirteen on House, Laura explores both the problematic and the positive.

Language

meloukhia makes a solid argument as to Why Inclusionary Language Matters over this ain’t livin’. Includes a rundown on intersectional feminism.

Chally of Zero at the Bone (what do you know, that’s me!) wants to share what’s Next on the list of things that really annoy me. Namely, progressives using ableist language.

Metafemming

At The Fem Spot, Femspotter writes So what kind of feminist are you anyway?. It’s her ruminations on the different branches of feminism, tied into a discussion of Hillary Clinton and the US election.

Dori of A Truly Elegant Mess has Important Thinky Thoughts. ‘There is a danger in making an identity out of an ideology. It leads to fighting about identities instead of discussing actions.’

A little bit of 101

At Criss writes…, Criss L. Cox presents Emotional Intelligence FAIL: Victim-blaming 101. ‘This is one of the problems in our society, the blame is always on the other guy.’

‘As a woman you can eschew or embrace femininity, but you will be rewarded and punished in equal amounts no matter which option you choose. You can never win.’ Exactly so. You can read the rest of tor’s post femininity: damned if you do, damned if you don’t at adrift and awake.

Not fitting in the patriarchal box

ashinynewcoin writes ticking all the boxes means not talking politics. She’s been thinking on the phrase “high maintenance”.

Marjorie Morgan at Girls Outdoors wants to draw your attention to Freya Hoffmeister. Freya is paddling her sea kayak around Australia, trying to be the first woman and the second ever person to achieve this task. That’s pretty amazing.

Three more for the road

Over at The Bitch Who Roared, Linda Radfem shares The Marriage Thing. It is an institution of which she is not a fan.

The Angry Black Woman wants to know What Do You Do When You Experience or Witness Street Harassment?

Kim Powell of the news with nipples keeps us up to date on the latest in super sciencey laydee studies. Apparently women can’t keep secrets and, well, Women drink so they can’t smell vaginas?.

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Now for an extra bit of fun: Here’s a visual representation of the most common words used in all these posts (including the carnival itself (the meta! it’s too much!)) I made using Wordle.

The folks at WordPress have been having a bit of trouble with links lately, so I predict some of you finding the same. Let me know if you have any problems, please. Thank you for coming by; do stick around and check out my other posts. The next carnival is being held at RMJ’s Deeply Problematic so don’t forget to submit.

זה עינוי זה ?

טוב , היה צפוי לקרות משעשע שרק עכשיו.

שנים אחת מהגנות תומכי העינויים הייתה שזה לא יפה אבל עובד.

כולם אז ביקשו : תוכיחו.

עכשיו מסתבר שכמה מדענים חוצפנים ניסו לבדוק את השאלה האם טכניקות העינויים של המימשל האמריקאי עובדות למעשה. והשבוע הם פירסמו מאמר ב : Trends in cognitive science

מסתבר שטכניקות העינויים האלו לא רק שאינם מעודדות זיכרון אלא אף מדכאות זיכרון טיבעי.

המדענים בדקו את השפעת הטכניקות על המבנה הפיסי של המוח ומצאו שלא רק שהטכניקות מדכאות זיכרון טיבעי אלא אף מדכאות אותו ומעוותות אותו על ידי החדרת זיכרונות מזויפים.

דהיינו לא רק שלא תקבל מידע מועיל אלא אף הרסת את היכולת לקבל אותו בהמשך הדרך. מדהים!

מסביר למה הטכניקות היו מוצלחות ליצירת וידויי שווא מזויפים אבל לא ממש יעילות לאיסןף מידע מודיעיני.

Tor med hammaren !

I dag har det vore ein bra dag, eg og har ikkje følt meg så lonely som eg vanlegvis er på vekedagane. I dag rett etter skulen var eg med Sammi på sjukehuset. Ho skulle ta ein test eller noke, og vi venta der i ein og ein halv time. Men det var kos Vi rakk berre ein halvtime av cheerleading practise etter det, noke som betydde at eg fekk springe Jaja, gjer opp for det i mårra med å ta dobbelt så mange runda!

Det har forresten vore skikkelig thunderstorm her i dag, med masse masse regn og vind og bølger på vatnet. Nesten som i Norge berre dobbelt så gale… Men eg synst faktisk at det er litt koselig eg, for då kan ein kose seg inne i varmen! Deilig med litt change og på ein måte. I natt var det skikkelig masse lyn og torden. Eg våkna og såg ut av vindauget mitt i løpet av natta og det var heilt kvitt ute (fordi alt var opplyst av lynet). Strømmen har gått mange plassa i dag og, men heldigvis ikkje her.

Etter cheerleading for eg og Sammi heim til meg og lagde spagetti med tomatsaus. Eg må innrømme at det egentlig ikkje smakte så veldig godt hahaha.. Men mat var det vertfall, og vi har kjempesvolte begge to så det gjekk ned kjappt uansett. Sida begge vi har Com. Thru Writing (berre at eg har 5.hour og ho har 4.hour) har vi dei samme leksene. Så vi øvde på test i lag i dag og gjorde diverse lekse mens vi spiste drue og kjeks! Eg hadde det vertfall morsomt.

Miss you sweetie <3

Cheney - Nästa stjärna?

I  republikanska kretsar finns det just nu en person som går hem på andra sidan “the pond”. Liz Cheney drar ner stora applåder på de event som hon deltar på:

By speech’s end, the crowd was standing, and the former vice president’s daughter was being mobbed for photos and hounded to run for office.

Liz Cheney is “a red state rock star,” declared Rebecca Wales, one of the organizers of this event, the “Smart Girls Summit.”

Liz Cheney har blivit en samlingspunkt för Republikanernas säkerhetspolitik, tillsammans med sin far som efter att han avgick gav stark kritik mot Obama’s säkerhetspolitiska ställningstaganden. Efter att ha lyssnat på svensk media så är det lätt att tro att namnen Bush/Cheney skulle vara ett rejält sänke. I Liz Cheneys fall verkar det dock vara tvärtom och namnet Cheney bär hon med sig med stolthet.

Jag tänker inte göra några förutsägelser om vad hon kan tänkas ställa upp till val som eller vad hennes framtid kommer att bli, men jag rekommenderar artikeln i NY Times om henne. Mycket läsvärd.

Tub Thumping

My wife, like most women (I think), has a small clothing problem. She can never have enough clothes. She has a walk-in closet that is 15 feet high, has 43 rods for hanging clothes, contains 132 pairs of shoes, boots, slippers, cleats, clogs, sandals, flip-flops, and two pairs of Scuba Diving Flippers (Though she hates the water). This closet is of course, too small. You cannot step more than 3 inches into the closet due to the large plastic tubs, filled with clothes, that are stacked on the floor.

There are only 365 days in a year (see…I paid attention in 11th grade!)….yet my wife currently has over 14,380 DIFFERENT outfits.

At this rate, given her age, she would have to change clothes about 18 times a day in order to wear everything she owns before she turns 90…..

My own walk-in closet, identical in size to hers, is located on the other side of the bathroom. It too is stuffed to the gills with clothes and boxes……most of which are not mine. Me, I have 7 outfits. Three pairs of shorts, three shirts, and one sweatshirt and I am set. Down the hall, in the computer/autograph museum room there is another closet. This one is packed floor to ceiling with clothes and none of them are mine.

Our garage contains about 28 tubs and plastic containers, all packed with women’s clothes. These clothes are “the garage sale clothes” that my wife is somehow content to part with and which she intends to sell to other “clothesaholics” at her next garage sale.

(The factory in Indonesia where the Wal-Mart plastic tubs are made had to add a third shift to keep up the increased demand once we started buying tubs.)

The only problem with the clothes is that for the most part, they do not sell. These clothes have been placed out in successive garage sales for about the past 12-15 years.

I could throw a single blood-stained dirty tube sock of mine out onto a table at our garage sale and it would sell in minutes. (Fat man clothes sell really good)

My wife’s problem is that the poor thing is not even five feet tall and barely weighs enough to defy gravity and stay planted on the ground. She is also over 40 ye….I mean 30 years old. Given her height and weight, a lady shopper with a 7-8 yr old daughter would probably be eagerly looking for clothing for her kid….but that young girl would not want to wear what a ….30 year old….woman normally wears.

So the boxes pile up. Clothes that do not sell in a garage sale are placed into a tub for the next garage sale. The cycle never stops. Adding to the pain is the fact that my wife’s sister only adds to the misery. My dear Sister-in-Law passes much of her wardrobe down to my wife. The clothes arrive in our home in a number of buckets and tubs, the wife tries them all on, and then they are sent off to new homes either on the overcrowded racks of our closets…..or are placed into more tubs.

We have tubs stacked seemingly in every room of the house except the dining room. I take that back, I just looked under the table and sure enough….two tubs! (that explains the lack of legroom)

I opened up our pantry one night and reached up onto a high shelf only to be knocked unconscious by a falling plastic tub labeled “Garage Sale November 1994″.

We have no end tables in our living room, just tubs stacked on tubs on which we place lamps, drinks, magazines etc.

I don’t blame my wife. It is in her blood. My Father-in-Law is a successful self-employed business tycoon (Insurance King of the Southwest) who owns two Insurance Agencies. At one of his offices there is a large room in the back of his building. This huge storeroom is about 20 yards wide by 40 yards long.

In it…..are about 1,000 plastic tubs.

All filled with my Mother-in-Law’s tubs of clothing.

Upon reading this, she will rant and rave that the room is in fact, filled floor to ceiling with the junk of her married daughters and their spouses….but the reality is that we only have about 2 small boxes stored in there……. There was simply no more room in between all the tubs.

My wife recently brought home one of those plastic portable clothes hanging contraptions that people use to hang clothing for garage sales. I don’t know where the thing came from. Maybe her office at work is now so crowded with clothes, and tubs of clothes, that there was no longer room for the rack. I suspect that she has devious plans that would include that plastic rack now becoming the new home of all MY clothes.

It is only a matter of time before the plastic clothes rack, placed right next to my side of the bed, becomes my new “Walk-in” closet.

Of course to get that “closet” I have to round the corner of the bed, step over 2 tubs of her clothing, sidestep some shoes and flippers on the floor, and then I might reach my area of the bed.

After she reads this, I would not be surprised to find my clothes piled in a nasty heap out on the front porch…….just past the 3 tubs of clothes that she already stores out there.

The cycle never ends.

My wife is planning the 189th Garage Sale of her married life for later this year in late October or early November.

This next weekend, her and her friend Teresa are going shopping,

Clothes shopping.

Me, I have orders to go to Wal-Mart….to buy 4 more plastic tubs.

White Water Rafting in the Grand Canyon

Scotty’s words are still echoing in my head: “Whatever happens, don’t go in the hole.”

It is too late. We are in the hole. A towering wall of water engulfs the kayak and flips it around. Suddenly, we are pointing upstream and being sucked backwards. I glance around to discover my brother is no longer behind me. He has been washed out but has managed to grab the rope at the back. Somehow he hauls himself back in and we paddle like madmen, crashing through a series of huge waves to make it to calmer water.

Scotty is waiting there, smiling and shaking his head. “I told you not to go in the hole.”

The rapid at mile marker 209 might only be a grade five on the Grand Canyon’s white-water rating system of one to 10, but I feel as though we have just paddled through Niagara Falls. I am not normally a high-five kinda guy but I can’t stop myself from shrieking and pumping my fists in an explosion of adrenalin and relief. It is quite simply one of the most thrilling things I have ever done.

Rafting through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River has become one of those life-changing, must-do-before-you-die travel experiences.

Read the rest of this article on the Sydney Morning Herald’s website here.