What We Missed

Former CNN Anchor T.J. Holmes tweets traffic stop in Atlanta, “Driving while black ain’t no joke.”

Arizona judge upholds the 20 week abortion ban despite lawsuit fighting it by pro-choice groups.

Please read this amazing piece of writing about gun violence, violence and dying slowly in the US. 

I just really like this list of advice on how to be a young writer. 

Former CNN Anchor T.J. Holmes tweets traffic stop in Atlanta, “Driving while black ain’t no joke.”

Arizona judge upholds the 20 week abortion ban despite lawsuit fighting it by pro-choice groups.

Please read this amazing piece ...

Saudi woman will be competing in judo donning hijab

This year in the 2012 Olympics women are competing from every country that is participating in the Olympics including, for the first time ever, Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Qatar. To be clear, Qatar and Brunei weren’t as resistant as our dear friends in the Middle East–Saudi Arabia who made women’s inclusion next to impossible. They finally gave in when the International Olympic committee threatened to ban their participation in the games.

Almonitor has a brief history of when most countries in the Middle East and North Africa began to allow women to compete from Iran to Bahrain. The last of the region’s hold outs included:

…Kuwait (which sent its first female athlete in 2004), Oman (2008), UAE (2008), and ...

This year in the 2012 Olympics women are competing from every country that is participating in the Olympics including, for the first time ever, Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Qatar. To be clear, Qatar and Brunei weren’t ...

hugh-hefner-sherlyn-chopra

Sherlyn Chopra: The first ever Indian lady to pose nude in Playboy

Sherlyn Chopra is making naked lady history by being the first Indian woman to pose nude for Playboy. And she’s getting a lot of criticism for this–not because she is supporting a misogynist publication that perpetuates ridiculous standards of sexy. No, that’s not why. Instead, she is getting criticism because some people believe she is hurting the view that Indian women should be modest and pure.

Playboy has always had this awkward relationship to feminism. Hefner is a sexist pig that lives off the objectification of women’s bodies and posits nudity as faux-empowerment–since you get paid for it! (He ignores the part where it is a sexist marketplace that believes a women’s greatest asset is that booty which allows for ...

Sherlyn Chopra is making naked lady history by being the first Indian woman to pose nude for Playboy. And she’s getting a lot of criticism for this–not because she is supporting a misogynist publication that perpetuates ...

Matrix director Lana Wachowski promotes new film after transition

The director of my favorite movie The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded (real Matrix fans like me pretend the third movie in the trilogy doesn’t exist) has transitioned and is the first director in tinsletown to come out as transgender.

Lana Wachowski announced that she was transitioning nearly a decade ago but now in promotions for a new film out October 26th named Cloud Atlas, she is seen with her brother and Matrix co-director Andy Wachowski, gearing up for the new film.  Lana appears in the trailer announcement with pink locked hair and a beaming and contagious smile.

Check out Lana’s big announcement below (if anyone can find a transcript to put in the comments I will be forever in your debt):

The director of my favorite movie The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded (real Matrix fans like me pretend the third movie in the trilogy doesn’t exist) has transitioned and is the first director in tinsletown to come out ...

There’s no crying in…the Olympics?

I must have missed the memo but apparently it’s a BFD that U.S. gymnast Jordyn Wieber cried.  Wieber, last year’s World Champion, missed the cut and will not be able to compete in the upcoming individual all-around competition at this year’s London games.  The rule states that only two athletes from each team are allowed to perform and although Wieber finished in 4th place overall finished third on the U.S. team after qualifying and hence has to watch the all-around from the sidelines.  Wieber will be able to compete in tonight’s team final as well as the individual event final on the floor exercise so she still has two more shots at medals.

But now that we’re caught up let’s talk about the ...

I must have missed the memo but apparently it’s a BFD that U.S. gymnast Jordyn Wieber cried.  Wieber, last year’s World Champion, missed the cut and will not be able to compete in the upcoming individual all-around ...

What We Missed

Spain’s conservative Justice Minister is trying to roll back access to abortion. As usual, Spaniards are taking to the streets of Madrid in protest! Check out the video and transcript here and notice how intergenerational the demonstration is.

Westboro Baptist Church picketed a military base Friday, but the protesters were outnumbered by zombies.

Oxford University has changed its rule requiring students to wear ceremonial clothing specific to their assigned gender when taking tests (as far as I can tell from the lousy reporting). Which is good. This line from the Press Association’s story is not so good: “It will mean men will be able to sit tests in skirts and stockings and women will have the option of ...

Spain’s conservative Justice Minister is trying to roll back access to abortion. As usual, Spaniards are taking to the streets of Madrid in protest! Check out the video and transcript here and notice how intergenerational ...

What “Obamacare” will bring you the day after tomorrow

While we won’t see the fruits of some of Obama’s Affordable  Care Act until 2014, a regulation goes into effect on August 1 guaranteeing certain free reproductive health care services. Check out this Center for American Progress infographic to see what this could mean for you:

While we won’t see the fruits of some of Obama’s Affordable  Care Act until 2014, a regulation goes into effect on August 1 guaranteeing certain free reproductive health care services. Check out this Center for American Progress ...

Breaking: Democratic Party platform to include gay marriage plank

The Washington Blade reports that on Sunday Democrats approved draft language supporting same-sex marriage and other pro-LGBT positions as part of the Democratic Party’s platform. The process is not officially complete – the language will have to be approved in a full platform meeting, and then by the delegates at the Democratic National Committee Meeting. But the decision is basically final, according to reports. Barney Frank, who was part of the 15-member panel that voted on the language, said they unanimously backed the language.

More from the Blade:

A Democratic National Committee staffer, who is familiar with the process and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the language in the platform approved on Sunday not only backs marriage equality, but ...

The Washington Blade reports that on Sunday Democrats approved draft language supporting same-sex marriage and other pro-LGBT positions as part of the Democratic Party’s platform. The process is not officially complete – the language will have ...

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