Good morning!

Readers: What are your thoughts from Obama’s address last night? What’s on your mind?

This is what’s on mine. From the Wash Po.

I am a 14-year-old Yazidi girl given as a gift to an ISIS commander. Here’s how I escaped.

“Narin” was deeply scarred by her ordeal. (Hassan Haji for the Washington Post)

This is the story told to me by a 14-year-old Yazidi girl I’ll call “Narin,” currently staying in northern Iraqi Kurdistan. I am a Kurdish journalist with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia who covers northern Iraq as a freelancer for several international news outlets. I heard about Narin’s tale through a Yazidi friend who knew her. Aside from translating from Kurdish and excerpting her story in collaboration with Washington Post editors, the only things I changed are all the names, at Narin’s request, to protect her and other victims from reprisal; many of her relatives are still in captivity.

*       *       *

As the sun rose over my dusty village on Aug. 3, relatives called with terrifying news: Jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) were coming for us. I’d expected just another day full of household tasks in Tel Uzer, a quiet spot on the western Nineveh plains of Iraq, where I lived with my family. Instead, we scrambled out of town on foot, taking only our clothes and some valuables.

After an hour of walking north, we stopped to drink from a well in the heart of the desert. Our plan was to take refuge on Mount Sinjar, along with thousands of other Yazidis like us who were fleeing there, because we had heard a lot of stories about Islamic State brutality and what they had done to non-Muslims. They’d been converting religious minorities or simply killing them. But suddenly several vehicles drew up and we found ourselves surrounded by militants wearing Islamic State uniforms. Several people screamed in horror; we were scared for our lives. I’ve never felt so helpless in my 14 years. They had blocked our path to safety, and there was nothing we could do.

The militants divided us by gender and age: One for young and capable men, another for girls and young women, and a third for older men and women. The jihadists stole cash and jewelry from this last group, and left them alone at the oasis. Then they placed the girls and women in trucks. As they drove us away, we heard gunshots. Later we learned that they were killing the young men, including my 19-year old brother, who had married just six months ago.

That afternoon, they brought us to an empty school in Baaj, a little town west of Mosul near the Syrian border. We met many other Yazidi women who were captured by Islamic State. Their fathers, brothers and husbands had also been killed, they told us. Then Islamic State fighters entered. One of them recited the words to the shahada, the Muslim creed – “I testify that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is his prophet” – and said that if we repeated them, we would become Muslims. But we refused. They were furious. They insulted us a lot and cursed us and our beliefs.

A couple of days later, we were taken to a large hall full of a few dozen more Yazidi girls and women in Mosul, where Islamic State has its Iraqi headquarters. Some of the fighters were my age. They told us we were pagans and confined us for 20 days inside the building, where we slept on the floor and ate only once per day. Every now and then, an Islamic State man would come in and tell us to convert, but each time we refused. As faithful Yazidis, we would not abandon our religion. We wept a lot and mourned the losses suffered by our community.

One day, our guards separated the married from unmarried women. My good childhood friend Shayma and I were given as a gift to two Islamic State members from the south, near Baghdad. They wanted to make us their wives or concubines. Shayma was awarded to Abu Hussein, who was a cleric. I was given to an overweight, dark-bearded man about 50 years old who seemed to have some high rank. He went by the nickname Abu Ahmed. They drove us down to their home in Fallujah. On the road, we saw many Islamic State fighters and remnants of their battles.

Abu Ahmed, Abu Hussein and an aide lived in a Fallujah house that looked like a palace. Abu Ahmed kept telling me to convert, which I ignored. He tried to rape me several times, but I did not allow him to touch me in any sexual way. Instead, he cursed me and beat me every day, punching and kicking me. He fed me only one meal per day. Shayma and I began to discuss killing ourselves.

We were given mobile phones and instructed to call our families. Their journey had been almost as hard as ours: They’d made it to Mount Sinjar, where ISIS surrounded them and tried to starve them to death. After five days under siege, Kurdish rescue forces evacuated them to Syria and then brought them back to northern Iraq. If they traveled to Mosul and converted to Islam, our captors had us tell them, we would be released. Understandably, they did not trust ISIS, so they did not make the trip.

On our sixth day in Fallujah, Abu Ahmed and the aide left for business in Mosul. Abu Hussein, Shayma’s captor, stayed behind. Around sunset the next evening, he went to the mosque for prayers, leaving us alone in the house. Using our cellphones, we had contacted Mahmoud, a Sunni friend of Shayma’s cousin, who lived in Fallujah, for help. It was too dangerous for him to rescue us from the house, so Shayma and I used kitchen knives and meat cleavers to break the locks of two doors to get out. Wearing traditional long black abayas that we found in the house, we walked for 15 minutes through town, which was quiet for evening prayers. Then Mahmoud came and picked us up on the street and took us to his home.

That night, Mahmoud fed us and gave us a place to sleep. The next morning, he recruited a cab driver to take us all on the two-hour ride to Baghdad. The driver said he was afraid of Islamic State but offered to help us for God’s sake. We dressed like local women and covered our faces with a niqab, leaving only our eyes visible. Mahmoud gave us fake student IDs in case we were stopped at checkpoints.

Islamic State militants shot Narin’s brother and still hold her sister-in-law captive. (Hassan Haji for the Washington Post)

I had never felt so much anxiety. At each checkpoint, I was sure we’d be discovered. At one – I cannot recall if it was controlled by Islamic State or Iraqi forces – Mahmoud bribed the guards to let us through. We had contacted Yazidi and Muslim Kurdish family friends to help us in Baghdad, and I cannot describe the dizzy sense of relief I felt when we arrived at their house.

In Baghdad, the family friends gave us another pair of fake ID cards that enabled us to board a flight to Irbil, the capital of Kurdistan in the north. I still couldn’t believe we were free until our plane touched the ground. After staying in Irbil overnight at the house of a Yazidi member of the Iraqi parliament, Vian Dakhil, we traveled north to Shekhan, to the residence of Baba Sheikh, the spiritual leader of the world’s Yazidis.

After so much fear for so many days, hugging my dad again was the best moment of my life. He said he had cried for me every day since I disappeared. That evening, we went to Khanke, where my mother was staying with her relatives. We hugged and kept crying until then I fainted. My month-long ordeal was over, and I felt reborn.

But there more bad news to come. That’s when I learned that Islamic State had shot my brother at the oasis. My sister-in-law, a very beautiful woman, is still captive somewhere in Mosul. Now I am trying to come to terms with what happened. I can never again set foot in our little village, even if it’s freed from Islamic State, because the memory of my brother who died nearby would haunt me too much. I still have nightmares and swoon several times a day – when I remember what I saw or imagine what would have happened if Shayma and I hadn’t escaped.

What can I do? I want to leave this country altogether. This country is no place for me anymore. I want to go to a place where I might be able to start over, if that is even possible.

*****

Readers: These young girls were lucky they were able to escape. Many girls and women are not so lucky. I don’t know what the answer is nor what actions are needed to take out and destroy this disease, ISIS, but I trust Obama and his advisors will do what is necessary to protect the U.S.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch his address last night or would like to read the transcript, click here. 

With respect to Roger Goodell, after reading the writes from the Huff Po, I have no doubt that he saw that second video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiance.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that an unnamed law enforcement official sent an NFL executive the video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee in April, months before it was released by TMZ. The report contradicts the claims of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that no one in the league office had seen the footage before it became public on Monday.

In my opinion he’s just protecting his own interest. Ray Rice is a big ticket for him…so it all comes down to money. Once again money means more than anything. So what if a woman gets knocked out cold by her so-called loving man. If men will take down a country for money and racism (That’s a nod to you Henry and Wendy) a mere woman is expendable. As usual, sickening.

HOPEfully it will all be revealed soon, but as Chris Hayes mentioned on MSNBC, they’ll try to blame it on some guy in the NFL mailroom who didn’t deliver the video.

Goodell should be fired.

Keith Olbermann said it well:

“You have already forfeited your privilege of resigning because to restore just the slightest credibility to the den of liars, CYA specialists and investigators whose job it is to bury whatever they actually find, the owners and the NFL need to publicly and loudly fire you,” Olbermann said.

Debra: I think about that all the time. Not only with Obama but just about any other OTW, that is held back or limited because of racism. We are such a beautiful diverse country that we could be the leaders in so much more if we just nourished the incredible assortment of brain power that resides in the U.S.

It’s really too bad and so sad that the color of one’s skin gets in the way of being truly a great country. Because if we were truly the greatest country in the world, we would love and cultivate the diversity, and be an inspiration to the rest of the world.

I ignorantly thought that Obama, a black man, becoming president, and doing all that I knew he was capable of accomplishing, would break down racism. Was I wrong. Obama becoming president inflamed racism to rear its ugly head. It is more strong than ever before. Or perhaps I should say, if we ever doubted racism was prevalent in this country, what we have been experiencing in politics and the murder of young black boys, etc., should erase that doubt.

As much as I loathe and am thoroughly disgusted by the racism I witness here and in the world, just because we may not have noticed as much racism before Obama became president, does not mean it did not exist or was as rampant as it is. Ask any black person.

In a way, as much as I am sickened by it, the blatant acts of racism that were always there, just not so obvious as they are now, perhaps needs to be exposed and revealed to the world so that we can be sickened and shocked enough to do something. It is a rough way to bring about change but it may be the only way.

Anything else to add…blog me. 

Peace & Love

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

I am so tired of women being blamed for being sexually assaulted by men, when women are the victims. I am also tired of men making it a woman’s responsibility to make sure that what she is wearing isn’t too sexy, revealing, suggestive…you finish the sentence, to help them control their thoughts. Wha’at?? Why is it men want to control everything else in this world, but they somehow don’t want to control their own thoughts, or can’t, when it comes to seeing a woman dressed in a particular way?

Well…girls are getting tired of it too and deciding to fight back. Here’s the write from Think Progress.

Mormon Student Fights Back Against BYU’s ‘Slut Shaming’ Stance On Women’s Sexuality

Keli Byers, a sophomore at Brigham Young University, is fed up with the Mormon church’s approach to women’s sexuality. And she’s fighting back in a big way: By publishing her complaints in Cosmopolitan, a magazine that’s become infamous for its coverage of sex.

Students who attend BYU — which describes itself as seeking to provide an education “in an atmosphere consistent with the ideals and principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” — have to adhere to a strict student conduct code that requires them to “live a chaste and virtuous life.” The school bans students from engaging in sexual activity, as well as requires women to adhere to a strict dress code. The young adults who break those agreements could face expulsion from the institution.

But not everyone is happy about those policies on campus. “The Church doesn’t see women as equal to men and how BYU is slut-shaming,” Byers’ piece explains. “The school’s honor code forces women to dress modestly — no skirts above the knee — supposedly to help men control their thoughts.”

According to Byers, the emphasis on sexual purity is particularly problematic within the larger context of the church’s approach to chastity. Byers describes growing up learning that women who become sexually active are dirty and used, like a chewed up piece of gum. Then, when she was sexually assaulted as a teenager, she was essentially blamed for the incident and banned from church for a month. “I was punished because a man had touched me,” Byers recounts.

Once Byers got to BYU, she joined an unaffiliated student group calledYoung Mormon Feminists, which ultimately helped her process some of her feelings about her sexuality and her relationship to the church. She says “the group helped me reclaim my sexuality and realize my sexual assault wasn’t my fault.”

Byers’ comments echo similar statements from another Mormon woman, Elizabeth Smart, who became a household name after she was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home and held in captivity for nine months. Smart made national headlines last year when she said that growing up with a focus on abstinence made her feel like being sexually assaulted was her fault. She recounted a similar story about being told that girls who aren’t virgins are like chewed gum, and noted that she “felt so dirty and so filthy” after she was raped. Smart has continued to speak out about how our society shames victims of sexual assault.

Although Byers and Smart were both raised within the Mormon church, however, their experiences aren’t necessarily unique to the young woman who are part of that faith community. Other conservative Christian denominations have similar approaches to sexuality and chastity, and it’s very common for young girls to take “purity pledges” to commit to remaining abstinent until marriage. These messages are also reinforced in many of our public schools. Across the country, abstinence-only education courses teach kids thatsex makes them dirty.

Those lessons are imparted to both boys and girls, but the emphasis on purity ends up having bigger consequences for women, who are expected to bear most of the burden for avoiding tempting men. Byers is among several young women who have been starting to push back against these societal attitudes. Across the United States and Canada, students are demanding an end to “slut shaming” dress codesand abstinence classes that police women’s bodies to prevent them from distracting their male peers.

These types of clashes have particularly coming to a head within Mormonism lately. Feminists have been fighting to expand women’s role in the church, which doesn’t currently allow women to be ordained or take on leadership roles that aren’t primarily “supportive” to men’s work. As part of those efforts, some women are pushing back against the church’s traditional dress codes and gender roles by wearing pants to religious services.

“Talking about this could get me in trouble, but I want to start a discussion about changing an honor code that hurts women,” Byers concludes. “I’d rather be judged and scrutinized than silenced and shamed.”

*****

To think that some people were comfortable to vote for a creep with this cult as his religion for POTUS. They claimed to be devout christians, yet to defeat a black man they got in bed with a religion that says the man gets a whole planet of women to impregnate after death. That certainly beats a lousy 75 virgins by any count.

Big kudos and courage to Byers and Smart. Let’s HOPE they will continue to get their message heard and heeded by young girls around the country.

Thoughts? Blog me. 

James: I couldn’t agree with you more. We have young girls like Mo’ne taking on the boys and proving that she can not only hang with the best, but be the best. Good, clean, fun, and a great example of teamwork, and camaraderie.

Then swing over to the other side where you have a young girl learning how to fire an automatic weapon for God knows what reason because I certainly don’t have one. When I heard this story, I was speechless. So many questions flew through my mind. The first being, “What the hell were parents thinking when they put an Uzi in a child’s hands?” And then…”Who the hell thinks it is a good idea to teach a 9-year old to shoot an Uzi?” I am baffled, and beyond words. All I can say is this is absolutely sickening.

We need more young girls like Mo’ne Davis to be an inspiration to other young girls. She’s an inspiration to me. It is stories like hers that keeps me pushing for the women and girls on this planet to take their equality and get ahead and prosper. It is girls like Mo’ne that give me HOPE, because believe me, as much as I try to stay neutral and not let my emotions get the best of me, they sometimes do.

Readers: We are living in a world that is so polarized right now with both ends of the extremes being seen. Currently we have women wanting to be seen for more than their bodies…or at least for who they really are without being photo-shopped to perfection (That’s a nod to you, Celia – thanks for posting your comment). We have women shouting no to inequality, female injustices and stereotypes, and to sexual objectification in the media.

And then you take one look at the women in the music industry who couldn’t be more undressed and provocative, sending the message that their talent alone isn’t enough and they have to shed almost everything, baring almost all, to make it big. Some talent isn’t enough, so to compete they do what ever they can to get ahead, and make the big money. Unfortunately, it pushes those that do have talent to do the same…and there we have this perpetuating throughout the industry in a never ending cycle. Have you seen the music video “Anaconda?“! I think this says it all.

And now we have the reality show “Dating Naked.” Really. (Thanks Henry for posting.) I caught a clip of this awhile ago and I just couldn’t believe the BS that spewed to justify dating naked. Do you think a woman came up with this idea? Pretty soon porn will be a reality show, and no doubt some women will be lined up to be on that show.  Women are just buying into the drift that men perpetuate.

If we believe that men hold sacred and value, what isn’t just given openly and easily to others (like Steve Harvey’s book), then women are doing it all wrong by showing it all and giving it all up. Were buying into the drift that we need to do this to get ahead or to get a man. Harvey says it all – Men will do and say what they need to, to get laid, but if you do so before the vetted 90 days, you won’t be around after that – he’ll be onto the next. And coming from a man, I believe he’s right.

You may judge me for feeling this way about women in the media. You may say that they have very right do what they do and flaunt what they wish. And they do. But I respect my body. What I have to offer is sacred between myself and those I chose to share it with, and not for everyone and anyone to see and enjoy. To me there is beauty in the mystery and excitement of the unknown. If we just let the entire world see all of our beauty, what is left to the imagination and the anticipation of that special person we intend to share it with? If we don’t value ourselves, why would we expect men to?

I HOPE for more women to realize that we’re sending out mixed signals with our polarizing actions. I look forward to seeing women in the media take back their bodies and claim them as sacred. To realize their beauty and worth and present them to the world as such.

When women stop competing with each other and learn to support each other, then we will see real change for women.

I HOPE everyone is enjoying the 3-day holiday!

xo

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

“Just noticing…”

From the Huff Po:

These Are The Things Men Say To Women On The Street

Street harassment is defined as any unwanted gawking, whistling, commenting and/or physical contact of a sexual nature — something that up to 99 percent of women report experiencing in their lifetimes. In case you needed proof that the sidewalk can be a hostile place for women, these are just a few of the things female editors at The Huffington Post have heard while walking down the street:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

“Just noticing…”

What men are saying about street harassment.

This video was created by a group of women and men in NYC who believe that street harassment is wrong, and that we all have a role to play in ending it – especially us guys. The video shows non-violent some ways that men can interrupt street harassment as it happens. (And it happens all the time. Seriously. Go check. We will wait.)

“Just noticing…”

One guy stands up for women and he gets knocked unconscious.

From Think Progress:

Man Knocked Unconscious For Trying To Stick Up For Women Being Catcalled

NYC protester against street harassmen

A 39-year-old man was knocked unconscious, and ended up being taken to the hospital for treatment, after attempting to push back against a group of men who were catcalling several women on a Philadelphia street this weekend.

According to NBC Philadelphia, the man was in downtown Philadelphia around 2:45 a.m. on Saturday when he noticed a car full of men pull up next to a group of women on the street. After they began taunting and catcalling the women, the man said something to the effect of “hey, watch what you’re saying.” That prompted the men get out and punch the victim in the head. He hit the concrete and fell unconscious.

The man, whose name is not being released, received treatment for his head injuries in the hospital. “This is a tragic, tragic story. Here’s a guy trying to stick up for these girls and he gets victimized,” Philadelphia police captain George Fuchs told NBC.

The incident highlights the fact that it’s not entirely uncommon for street harassment — something that an estimated 65 percent of women have experienced at some point — to turn deadly. Although catcalling is often framedas simply a compliment for the women subject to strangers’ advances, and it’s hard for some people to understand why women wouldn’t enjoy being reminded that they’re attractive, research into the subject has revealed it actually makes victims feel unsafe. The majority of women report feeling “angry, annoyed, disgusted, nervous, and scared” when they’re catcalled, and many of them are concerned it will escalate into something more physically threatening.

There’s a lot of precedent for those concerns. When women reject men’s sexual advances, they’re often met with violence, even when they’re in public. For instance, last year, a 14-year-girl was walking down the street when a man offered her $200 to have sex with him; when she refused, he pulled her by the hair and choked her. Not long after that, a woman was on a run in California when a man pulled up next to her and offered her a ride; when she declined, he hit her multiple times with his car.

Many more stories along these lines are collected on the website “When Women Refuse,” which was launched after Elliott Rodger went on a shooting rampage against “every single blonde slut” who rejected him and sparked a national conversation about gender-based violence.

Street harassment prevention groups encourage men to be part of the solution by speaking up when they see women on the receiving end of unwanted attention. As the incident in Philadelphia illustrates, that can sometimes subject allies to the same type of violence that plagues women.

*****

Readers: What are you “just noticing?”

Blog me.

Peace & love…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Considering the responses from two days ago, I’m happy I didn’t hold my breath. This one’s for you Lea and Holly.  Lucy: Let’s see how the “creeps” comment on this one.

This write shows again how women are being raped by the very men who are supposed to be their colleagues and friends. Just like in the military, the greatest danger to American women are the American men who serve with them in whatever capacity they work with them in. Be it military, scientific, or humanitarian, it is the men who go to work with them, many their superiors, that American women have to be concerned about.

From NPR. 

Young Scientists Say They’re Sexually Abused In The Field

Many young scientists dream of their first trip to a remote research site — who wouldn’t want to hang out with chimps like Jane Goodall, or sail to the Galapagos like Charles Darwin, exploring the world and advancing science?

But for many scientists, field research can endanger their health and safety.

In a survey of scientists engaged in field research, the majority — 64 percent — said they had personally experienced sexual harassment while at a field site, and 22 percent reported being the victim of sexual assault.

Most of the people reporting harassment or assault were women, and the vast majority were still students or postdocs.

And for female victims, the perpetrator was more likely to be a superior, not a peer. “This is happening to them when they are trainees, when they are most vulnerable within the academic hierarchy,” says evolutionary biologist Katie Hinde, an author on the study published Wednesday in PLOS ONE. Hinde and her colleagues say this could be a factor in the large number of women who enter scientific fields but don’t continue.

A total of 666 scientists, primarily in the fields of anthropology and archaeology, completed the voluntary Internet survey. And while the results do not reflect the true prevalence of sexual abuse in field research — this type of survey is not designed to measure that — the numbers are still alarming.

While sexual violence can occur in all workplaces — roughly 50 percent of women report experiencing sexual harassment at some point in their careers — Hinde says the particular nature of field sites, where researchers are far from home, and the lines between work life and personal life are blurred, may make them more prone to this type of wrongdoing.

But in the survey, fewer than half of respondents recalled ever having encountered a code of conduct or sexual harassment policy at their field sites.

“People are being told ‘what happens in the field stays in the field,’ ” says biological anthropologist Kathryn Clancy, who led the survey team.

Many academic sciences have a problem retaining women. Though they enter the disciplines in high numbers, many leave before they reach the postdoctorate or professor level. The lack of role models and mentors and professional demands that leave little time for family life have been cited as reasons.

“One of the things that is not discussed out loud very much is how sexual harassment and sexual assault play into this problem,” says Hinde.

Psychologist Rebecca Campbell, who studies the effect of sexual harassment on communities, says that while all workplace harassment is harmful, it can be particularly damaging when coming from a superior.

She also says these findings should be incorporated into the broader discussion about campus sexual harassment and violence.

“The cultural narrative is that this is two drunk college kids in a dorm room, and we are seeing now that sexual assault is occurring as part of the core curriculum,” says Campbell.

While both Hinde and Clancy say that it was difficult to parse so many stories of wrongdoing perpetrated by and against their colleagues, they hope the results spur scientific communities to come together in search of a solution.

“As horrifying as this data is, I’m really excited to have it out there,” says Clancy. “Every person who has had this experience will be validated and know there are others out there who have their back. If this keeps just one more woman in science, it is absolutely worth it.”

Editor’s note:

July 21, 2014 A previous version of this story was illustrated with a file picture of an archaeological site in the United Kingdom. NPR did not intend to suggest that there are links between the content of this story and this archaeological site or the institution that organizes it.

*****

Readers: I don’t know if I would choose the word “excited” when referring to having this data out there, but I certainly do think it is good that the writer is illuminating this subject, because this is the first time I have heard about abuse in this type of field.

Am I surprised? I wish I could say that I was. But unfortunately, life is filled with low-life degenerate men that are so disgusting, they will use any available opportunity to take advantage of females.

And in the same vein, it is certainly a sick way for men to keep the competition down if you can keep the women from even entering into your field for fear of having to endure the abuse.

My suggestion: Make that pick tool you’ve been digging with your best friend and keep it close by. It just might come in handy.

Thoughts? Have any of you girls out there experienced rape or harassment in this field? Blog me. 

Peace & Love: “Live it, Give it.”

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

This is literally a Flap Your Lips Friday kind of write. Only in Paris!

From Artfido:

NSFW: Performance Artist Reenacts the Painting ‘The Origin Of The World’

Following on from our previous post where a performance artist was restrained, force-fed and injected with cosmetics in a high street shop window as part of a hard-hitting protest against animal testing (see HERE), another performance artist has gone to great lengths to make a point.

Background: if you’ve ever gazed into the beautiful void that is Gustav Courbet’s “The Origin of the World”, you’re probably familiar with just how provocative (and NSFW) the painting is.

As the title cleverly references, it is a portrait of the female genitalia, through which all human beings enter into life. Combining the romance of realism and the lustful voyeurism of erotic art, it’s, well, heavy stuff.

So, you can only imagine what would happen if someone – let’s say, a daring performance artist – attempted to reenact the racy anatomic still life from 1866… in front of an audience of museum patrons assembled at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay to see Courbet’s masterpiece face-to-face.

Une artiste expose son sexe sous «L’origine du… by quoi2news

According to Le Monde, the racy act took place on May 29 at the Musée d’Orsay’s Room 20. De Robertis entered the room in a gold sequin dress and proceeded to expose her own “L’Origine du monde” to a crowd of unsuspecting security guards and applauding gallery goers. The artist was eventually taken away by police and, as Artnet reports, the museum and two of its guards subsequently filed sexual exhibitionism complaints against the bold woman.

“This is a typical case of disrespecting the museum’s rules, whether for a performance or not,” the Musée d’Orsay’s administration said in a statement published in Artnet. “No request for authorization was filed with us. And even if it had been, it’s not certain we would have accepted it as that may have upset our visitors.”

De Robertis feels differently. “If you ignore the context, you could construe this performance as an act of exhibitionism, but what I did was not an impulsive act,” she explained to Luxemburger Wort. “There is a gap in art history, the absent point of view of the object of the gaze. In his realist painting, the painter shows the open legs, but the vagina remains closed. He does not reveal the hole, that is to say, the eye. I am not showing my vagina, but I am revealing what we do not see in the painting, the eye of the vagina, the black hole, this concealed eye, this chasm, which, beyond the flesh, refers to infinity, to the origin of the origin.”

To be fair, de Robertis claims she’s performed “Mirror of Origin” more than once in the Paris museum, without causing hysteria. And it’s not the first time that an avid student of art history has opted to demonstrate the sincerest form of flattery by imitating a famous work of art. Just last year, a 26-year-old known as Arthur G stripped down to his birthday suit in front of the Musée d’Orsay’s parade of male nudes, “Masculin/Masculin.”

As the Guerrilla Girls pointed out in the 1990s, less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art section of New York’s Metropolitan Museum were women, but 85% of the nudes were female. Does it take a nude performance artist disrupting a casual day of museum revelry to make the world notice? Let us know your thoughts on de Robertis’ performance in the comments.

♥V♥A♥J♥A♥Y♥J♥A♥Y♥

Readers: Well? Let the flapping begin. Oh yeah…it already has. :)

Blog me.

Happy Friday!!

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"