They are as eager to fight ISIS as their male counterparts. I did not know this:
The Kurdish Peshmerga’s battle against Islamic extremists is drawing hundreds of female volunteers and persecuted minorities, many of whom are being trained by a unit in Dohuk.
“It’s my duty to defend my country,” said Sashida Sadiq, a police commander from Dohuk. The 27-year old was one of 20 women selected for military service among the 2,800 people who tried to enlist in Dohuk.
Although Sadiq’s role is primarily administrative and logistic, she is prepared to fight the Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS) and many are proud of her service. Sadiq is single but maintained that even if she had a husband and children “I would fight. The situation is too bad.”
“I’m not afraid of fighting IS,” she said. “My being a women makes no difference. The Peshmerga will be stronger than IS once we get better weapons. I am eager to use those against them.”
In Sulaimania, the Peshmerga has five female reservist battalions, and many of the soldiers are married with children. They have been called to serve since the battle against IS began in June.
In addition, female fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) have joined the war effort and make up 30 to 40 percent of the militias’ fighters.
So Condoleezza Rice won't be the Commencement speaker at Rutgers after all because too many people there don't want to hear her. You know, it's embarrassing that an institution of higher education that supposedly prides itself on the free and open discourse and debate of ideas can do this to the country's first black female Secretary of State and still pat itself on the back for being oh-so-enlightened and progressive. Rice was the most powerful woman in the US during her time in office. If she hadn't been in a Republican administration, colleges and universities across the country would have canonized her by now.
From a fascinating collection of colorized vintage photos comes this great image. Caption: "'Girls deliver ice. Heavy work that formerly belonged to men only is being done by girls. The girls are delivering ice on a route and their work requires brawn as well as the patriotic ambition to help.' September 16, 1918. Original black and white photo by American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917 - 1918, colorized by Dana Keller."
Frozen.
There's no other way I can think of to describe this article. Time to make some popcorn and watch the fireworks!
La Parisienne just sent me this link to Wil Wheaton's blog, in which he nails the reason why we've all fallen out of love with Supernatural, a TV show that used to be so much fun. It's too bad, because Jensen Ackles is really easy on the eyes and Misha Collins is just adorable.
On a related note, we've also fallen out of love with Doctor Who. The show was never as much fun after the departure of Rory and Amy. Recently the BBC with great fanfare announced Peter Capaldi as the next actor who will play the renegade Time Lord, but all I could summon up in response was "meh." It's not Capaldi's fault. I lay the blame squarely at the feet of showrunner Steven Moffat. The season finale was a snoozefest, and in retrospect there are other issues too, some of which are covered here.
I should add, though, that I am emphatically not in the chorus of whining Whovians who seem to think that feminism's been gut-shot and left to die because the next Doctor is a man and not a woman. Personally I thought that there was (a) practically zero chance that a woman would be cast as the Twelfth Doctor, while (b) maybe an actor of another race would be chosen. Can you just imagine the glory of someone like Idris Elba in that role? (No chance of Idris himself, though - he's far too busy being a star elsewhere.)
Anyway, another thought about the show: the Doctor's supposed to be the good guy and all, but everywhere he goes, he leaves a huge body count in his wake, and not just of bad guys. Plenty of good people end up dead or injured or traumatized, and it's really starting to bother me. (Remember when the rot started to set in?)
Blurb:
An American academic, who argues for gender equality in Islam, was prevented from addressing students at a university in India after an intervention by police, according to the organizer of the event.
Chennai police asked the University of Madras in the southeastern state of Tamil Nadu to cancel the talk by Amina Wadud on feminist reforms in Islam and refused to provide security for the event, said P. K. Abdul Rahiman, assistant professor at the department for Islamic Studies at the university.
*Sigh*
It's feigning men.
The movie is pretty much just an animated version of the its poster: all flash and no depth. Neither fully guilty pleasure nor truly incisive storytelling, Magic Mike shows us a lot of muscles while neglecting the two most important organs of all: the heart and the brain.
I'd never really thought about it until I read this piece.
I was kind of hoping this was a joke, but it seems legit. Anyway, the car is pink (natch), and part of the marketing is that it has "a windshield designed to block skin-wrinkling ultraviolet rays." Oh, I laughed out loud at the whole thing. The cutesypoo car is only available in Japan. Somebody slap a Hello Kitty face on the hood and be done with it, OK?
On a related note, let's play with a certain stereotype, shall we? Here's an actual bumper sticker with proof that somebody's got the sassy sense of humor to use it:
WELL, DUH.
So just how many years did it take you to realize that the one-child policy and its ramifications, from gendercide to forced abortions to corrupt adoptions, are gross human rights violations that are also, by the way, wreaking havoc with society?
As a childless unmarried monster, I was not amused by this.
Neither "economics" nor "culture" are the driving reasons behind my (apparently offensive and civilization-imperilling) personal lack of mini-Minervas. You know, some people don't have kids because - for just two examples - health issues are in play or they hold the quaint old-fashioned conviction that they want to get married first. It's not, in that unfortunate wording in the piece, that we simply don't "bother to have children at all." That kind of makes us childless monsters sound like self-absorbed dirtbags, and I jolly well do not appreciate that.
This whole thing might depress some people, but it frankly just ticks me off. Hey, people, how about you walk a mile in my shoes awesome high heels before you presume to judge me? It's another round of modern socio-politics' favorite song: "You Played Nicely and Tried to Be Responsible? You're A SUCKER." The coda here: "Oh, and You're Evil Now Too." Thanks, people, thanks a lot. That really helps. Pfffft. Meanwhile, Feminist Ryan Gosling continues to amuse:
Call Me Maybe.
FYI, politicians. There. I've spelled it out for you. Do I really have to add that I think it's insulting of you to reduce me to those things? to campaign to me as if those are the issues that will determine my vote? I had thought that the DNC's loopy estrogen festival was absolutely hilarious, but I don't think the ongoing attempts to win the "woman vote" are funny anymore. I'm getting reeeeeeeeeeeeeally tired of this particular brand of campaigning. Guess what, Poindexter: women care about jobs too, and energy costs and taxes and debt. To think otherwise would be ... what's the word I'm looking for? ... oh yes, SEXIST.
Well, I had said before that China's social engineering was going to blow up in its own face, so who's surprised that it is? I've posted before about the "Sheng Nu," and the New York Times has a new piece about the phenomenon: "China's Leftover Women." Wow, if that isn't a shot in the self-esteem, girls, I don't know what is. Whoohoo, Childless Unmarried Monsters R Us! Pfffffft. Bonus: Did you know that according to China's Women's Federation, our expiration date is age 27? Not, of course, that I ever give any credence to any of the social agitprop that comes out of there.
That's my response to this. OK, we all know that posture matters in public speaking. Now I don't care if I sound "sexist" or whatever, so here's my bit of advice: If you're stuck at a podium, guys, you shouldn't put up a foot because it looks stupid and sloppy. Nobody should, really, because it's a fidget.
BUT if you're a girl, you can get away with it once a speech/presentation
- if you're wearing beautiful heels (and preferably have good ankles and/or great stems) and
- if you do it slowly and gracefully and
- if you don't also slouch or break eye contact with the audience.
I've done it myself on occasion for the simple reason that high heels can be uncomfortable and it helps sometimes to shift your weight on those teetering structures. But having said that, I freely admit that it's not fair and it's gendered and all, but if you're a guy in wingtips, you should not do this. (Besides, you don't have the "high heels hurt" reasoning. What's your excuse?)
