Category Archives: Feminism

Industrial Agriculture: Too Big to Succeed – Inter Press Service

By the early 1990s, she made the switch to organic farming, minus these inputs and with the assistance of an NGO, the Institute for Integrated Rural Development.

“Chandrakalabai’s story shows us that smaller farmers in the developing world can lessen their input costs and grow organically. If they can then embed themselves in a local food system with a minimum of intermediaries between them and the consumer, they can earn more money and secure a better future,” Elton writes in her book.

The other problem with global industrial food is that single crop farming undermines the soil’s fertility and makes these kinds of operations especially vulnerable to storms, floods and drought, associated with climate change, adds Elton.

She cites how 880 small holders based farming plots in Nicaragua with diverse crops and minus the commercial agricultural inputs managed to survive the catastrophic battering of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. On average these agro-ecological operations retained 40 percent more topsoil after the storm and lost 18 percent less arable land in landslides.

via Industrial Agriculture: Too Big to Succeed – Inter Press Service.

Muslim world scholars condemn Nigeria kidnapping | News , International | THE DAILY STAR

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Top religious scholars working under the world’s largest bloc of Islamic countries say they strongly condemn the kidnapping of more than 270 Nigerian schoolgirls, and are calling for their immediate release.

The kidnappings three weeks ago by the extremist group Boko Haram have led to worldwide condemnation. The group’s leader has used Islamic teachings as justification for threatening to sell the girls into slavery.

The Islamic Fiqh Academy, which is based in Saudi Arabia and dedicated to the advanced study of Islam, said Thursday that this “crime and other crimes committed by the likes of these extremist organizations contradicts all humanitarian principles and moral values and violates the provisions of the Quran and Sunnah,” or teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

via Muslim world scholars condemn Nigeria kidnapping | News , International | THE DAILY STAR.

TV journalist accused of attacking police in Guatemala – Reporters Without Borders

But Cabrera rejected this option, resulting in a postponement until 24 June, when she will be required to demonstrate her innocence and the prosecution will not be required to prove her guilt.

“This procedure poses a very disturbing risk of a large fine or even detention for Cabrera, who is accused of carrying out the very attack of which she was the victim,” said Camille Soulier, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Americas desk.

“The case is all the more worrying because the burden of proof has been reversed and she does not benefit from the presumption of innocence. The policemen involved in this case should be thoroughly investigated without delay, in order to shed light on this apparent abuse of authority.”

The attack on Cabrera is symptomatic of the violence that journalists face in Guatemala. The creation of a proper mechanism for protecting journalists is one of the main recommendations of the April 2014 report on Guatemala by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

via TV journalist accused of attacking police in Guatemala – Reporters Without Borders.

Lebanese women ‘run forward’ for their rights in Beirut marathon | WNN – Women News Network

This is the second year the women’s marathon has taken place in Beirut. Image: Al Arabiya

Crowds lined the streets of Beirut as a women’s marathon snaked its way through the city this week.

Women from all walks of life – the handicapped, the young and the elderly – participated in the event aimed at empowering women through sports and geared towards reminding women that health is vital.

A number of men also joined in the campaign which ran under the slogan “Run forward, there is no going back” . . .

via Lebanese women ‘run forward’ for their rights in Beirut marathon | WNN – Women News Network.

Conservative Women Argue Sexual Assault Numbers Are Overblown – The Wire

Now, some female conservative pundits are questioning the facts that the White House based its recommendations on — namely, that one in five women will be sexually assaulted by the time they leave college.

via Conservative Women Argue Sexual Assault Numbers Are Overblown – The Wire.

Now can anyone explain why this would be a liberal v. conservative or GOP v. Democrat issue? Are conservatives and GOP so hyper-anti-female rights that they will try and discount seriousness of problem of rape?

The Open-and-Shut Assault Case Against Occupy Activist, Cecily McMillan: Just Look at the Pictures — BagNews

Officer Bovell (surely unjustly accused in an assault charge by another Occupier) certainly not continuing to mete out justice for the elbow, his right hand still nowhere in the vicinity of McMillan’s chest, in this shot from the Lanyon photos published at Gawker.

via The Open-and-Shut Assault Case Against Occupy Activist, Cecily McMillan: Just Look at the Pictures — BagNews.

The Gun Report: May 6, 2014 – NYTimes.com – NYTimes.com

Cherry Allen, 56, an anti-violence and neighborhood watch activist, was struck in the chest by a stray bullet while sitting outside her home in Wilmington, Del., Monday afternoon. Police said two gunman had opened fire on someone. The victim is in stable condition. “For this to happen to her, when this is what she does for the community, is just sad,” her niece said.

—CSNPhilly.com

via The Gun Report: May 6, 2014 – NYTimes.com – NYTimes.com.

Watch a video of a woman getting an abortion

These days, when you can find YouTube videos of someone doing just about everything you can imagine (and some things that you’d rather not), it’s a testament to the deep stigma that remains around abortion that Letts’ video is such an anomaly. Many thanks to her for putting her story out there and helping to fight it.

via Watch a video of a woman getting an abortion.

Sotomayor Finds Her Voice Among the Justices – NYTimes.com

Last month’s dissent, in Schuette v. BAMN, was a mix of legal analysis, historical overview and policy arguments. It looked closely at the governing precedents, reminded readers of the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow, decried recent “discriminatory changes to voting procedures” and reproduced graphs on declining enrollment rates for black and Hispanic students at public universities in states that have banned race-conscious admissions. But what stood out was a fairly brief reflection about what it was like to grow up Puerto Rican in New York City.

“Race matters to a young woman’s sense of self when she states her hometown, and then is pressed, ‘No, where are you really from?’ regardless of how many generations her family has been in the country,” she wrote. “Race matters to a young person addressed by a stranger in a foreign language, which he does not understand because only English was spoken at home.”

via Sotomayor Finds Her Voice Among the Justices – NYTimes.com.