Hey! You Guys! Stop That! Or . . .

Despite attempted blocking by misogynists from Iran, Syria, Russia, and the Vatican Taliban, there has finally been an agreement at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women meeting.

NGO ActionAid welcomed news that the CSW had managed to reach an agreement, following the failure of members to do so last year. The commission took up the topic of ending violence against women in 2003.

It should be shocking that ten bloody -- and I mean bloody -- years later ending violence against women is a contentious issue.

But, sadly, it's not.

And I have some news for Vivian Thabet.

Vivian Thabet, women's rights programme director at CARE-Egypt, said: "It has been sad to see some governments at the CSW attempting to unravel longstanding international commitments to protecting women and girls. Women's rights have become a kind of bartering chip to be traded away for political agendas that have little or nothing to do with the interests and wellbeing of women and girls."

Women's rights aren't becoming bartering chips, they always were and still fucking are. See, for example, the Excited States, where women's healthcare rights were aborted to get Obama's 'reform' package passed.

Still, we grrils should be grateful that a buncha countries are at least giving lip service to the notion that maybe beating, raping, killing, and starving women and girls is to be frowned on.





Yeah. That'll work.



Image source

Wolf at the Door, Blades at Our Backs.

Re: the dust-up between Progressive Bloggers and what became Real Canadian Progressives.

I must have read this from Montreal Simon at the time but didn't keep up with the comments -- all 39 of them.

Tonight I read this great analogy from DJ!'s own Niles.

Mr Simon, no one blames you for wanting harmony inside the cave when the wolf is at the door. Trouble is, some inside the cave started talking about amputating part of a woman's personhood to throw out to the wolf because it wasn't like actually throwing out all of her to be eaten.



Except, those in the cave, especially the women, had seen that happen to other women in caves further south, only to watch more and more womanly person parts get tossed out the door to the wolf and many women could remember their aunts and grandmothers getting tossed out bodily and bloodily to the wolf.

Meanwhile, the cave owners decided such talk of expendable parts was ok for the cave population's intellectual entertainment, never mind what the parable forewarned and anyway, it wasn't as if the hunters would be affected. The women could just stick around the cave more and learn to deal with their restrictions.



So, when those who were looking at amputation said to themselves, 'we can face the wolf but we can't face the wolf *and* the sharp knives at our backs, it's time to find a new cave, no matter how risky it is' and the response was in essence 'typical selfish wussies for not wanting to hear the logic of how amputation will keep the wolf happy for an hour or so' fresh air sounded like a really good idea.



That said, I never came to your site from PB. I got here via links and blogrolls from many of the now ex-cavers and I found some of them off your links after I found I enjoyed your stuff and trusted your opinions (btw: 'allo to the M. Sebastien). I -coff- first saw the aggregator during all this spelunking. Guess I'm really behind the times, eh?

We say again: Women's rights always seem to be negotiable, optional frills.

No more.

Yo! Penis People!

Read this and try to plumb the depth of Theo-Neo-Con loathing and disgust for women.

Today the GOP-led House of Representatives, with the blessings and encouragement of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops and extremist religious groups such as the Family Research Council, passed a bill in a vote of 251 to 172 that would, among other things, allow doctors and hospitals to "exercise their conscience" by letting pregnant women facing emergency medical conditions die.

Yes. Die.

This is what the Republicans called the "Protect Life Act." And no, I am not kidding.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called it what it is... "a savage assault on women's health."

Here's the representative of that hate.





Abortion is always an issue.

Yes, Dan, Abortion Is Always an Issue

Yesterday on Twitter, Dan Gardner sniped about the 'non-issue' of abortion in the upcoming provincial election.

Warren Kinsella sniped back that women might not agree on that designation.

As we've said here many many times, women's reproductive rights are ALWAYS negotiable.

And as I keep saying, just look south to the insane War on Women being waged as the USian economy teeters towards the edge.

So. Yeah, Dan. Abortion is always an issue because our rights were so hard won and so susceptible to idle musings by weaselly wannabee pols.

Speaking of which, Tim Hudork has recovered his memory.

In Ottawa to announce a new anti-crime initiative, Hudak clarified comments he made Monday on an abortion pledge he "may have" signed. He told reporters he did sign the pledge, but stressed the issue would not become part of the government agenda if he wins the Oct. 6 election.

"It was a petition that came from my church in my riding back in 1998 that I brought forward as an individual member," Hudak said.

My new best pals, Ken Gray and Warren Kinsella, aren't buying the 'private citizen' spin the Con-Men are trying.

To quote WK: 'Well, he isn’t a private citizen. He’s someone who has a shot at becoming the most powerful lawmaker in the province. So, when he says he’ll stop funding abortion, it now means something.'

Something that should scare the hell out of Ontario women and their friends and allies.

One more WK link. You gotta go here to see the photo a reader sent him.

It's Over, Jack

For sleazeball politicians, women's rights are always negotiable. Or at least, a political football.

But I never thought the Fucking NDP® would sink to this.

Here's the full text of the press release:

Reality check: Ignatieff record doesn’t match words on women’s right to choose

April 17, 2011

Michael Ignatieff today professed his personal support for abortion access.

What he didn’t tell the crowd gathered at his town hall in Vancouver? In December, ten Liberal MPs stood up in favour of a Conservative Private Member’s Bill that risked criminalizing abortion providers and promoted an anti-choice agenda.

Those Liberals are:
Kevin Lamoureux
Ruby Dhalla
John McKay
Dan McTeague
Paul Szabo
Alan Tonks
Jim Karygiannis
Gurbax Malhi
Albina Guarnieri
Lawrence MacAulay

In fact, when the Liberal caucus introduced a motion to guarantee a “full range” of family planning options in Canada’s G8 commitments to Child and Maternal Health last March, their own members caused the motion to fail. Mr Ignatieff left this fact out today when he spoke about the G8 initiative.

Some of that is true. Those ten Fucking Harper Liberals® did vote in favour of Rod Bruinooge's lying POS bill, C-510, supposedly to penalize 'coerced' abortions.

And, yes, the Fucking Liberals® did screw up the no-brainer vote against the Cons' hypocritical 'maternal health without family planning' initiative.

But as the CBC's own Reality Check points out, Iggy was there for the second and voted against it.

But [Iggy] did specify what his position is on abortion and indicated that not everyone in his caucus shares his view.

He's OK with that because, as he explained it, abortion is an issue of conscience.

"I want you to know what my position, the position of most of my party is," he said Sunday.

"I say most for a reason. We're talking about abortion, these are issues of conscience. A democratic society that truly respects freedom of belief, and freedom of opinion, cannot compel in matters of abortion," he said.

Ignatieff's position by the way is that he believes in defending a woman's right to choose and that there should be public funding support for "the full gamut" of women's reproductive health services, both at home and overseas, he said Sunday.

I do NOT agree with Iggy's position that choice is a conscience issue. It is a human rights issue.

But these are Fucking Liberals® we're talking about here. They are the poster children for 'Opportunistic Politicians R Us'.

I expected better of the Fucking NDP®.

With the continuing attacks on the Liberals, rather than joining forces with them to defeat a common enemy, the Fucking NDP® was fast losing my respect.

Now, with this totally sleazy move, they've lost my vote.

That's it. It's over between us, Jack.

Until the Fucking NDP® finds its conscience again and loses Jumping Jack Flash as leader, I'm outta there.

Luckily, in my riding, the Con has less chance than a snowball in hell. So I'm holding my nose and voting Fucking Liberal®.

You can all pick yourselves off the floor now.

Harbingers of a Majority

For Canadian readers of DJ! who may not be following events in the Excited States, two matters. And they do matter, because if Stevie Peevie gets a Majority, this is exactly where Canada is headed.

Item 1

This week Rethugicans stole the Wisconsin Supreme Court election -- I know, weird to elect judges, but hey, otherwise they might be 'activist' judges.

A little back ground: when Rethug Gov Scott Walker pulled his TeaBag-, Majority- and Koch-feuled union-busting attack on the middle class, a number of recall efforts started, but democrats (small and Large) saw an early chance to rebuke (at least) the Thugs in the Supreme Court election on April 5. The good people of Wisconsin campaigned hard for a woman named JoAnne Kloppenberg (D) against incumbent David Prosser (R).

And for a heady but short time, it looked like they were winning a little. Kloppenberg held a 204-vote lead.

Then, ooopsie!

The Political wing of the Tea Party Terrorists have found 7,582 votes for their pet Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate.

The Clerk involved took her computer systems off the State network so vote tallies could not be verified. Some history:

Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus’ decision to go it alone in how she collects and maintains election results has some county officials raising a red flag about the integrity of the system.

Nickolaus said she decided to take the election data collection and storage system off the county’s computer network – and keep it on stand-alone personal computers accessible only in her office – for security reasons.

Check the link for Nickolaus's history of electoral oopsies.

And, oddly enough, the 'found' votes are just enough to avoid a state-funded recount. So, if anyone wants to investigate, it's gonna cost big time. Remember Al Franken's long drawn-out ordeal?

When Michael Moore said: 'They may have the money but we have the numbers', perhaps he should have added: 'But then again, they have the money to corrupt the numbers'.

Sad and disheartening as that is -- not to mention the precursor of much more to come -- dig this.

Item 2

The entire US federal government is about to grind to a halt over Planned Parenthood.

Yes, ladies, the greatest country in the world will stop paying its bills and its soldiers, teachers, and public servants because you sluts insist on having some say over your own bodies, or to use the latest swear word, 'uterus'.

Negotiations on the federal budget failed yet again last night, with reports coming out of Washington that the two parties are more or less in agreement on the numbers, but that they cannot agree on several “social” issues:

Republicans are threatening to shut down the government unless Democrats agree to cut funding for Planned Parenthood. They’re also demanding the de-funding of the UN Populations Fund and the Environmental Protection Agency, because if you’re slutty enough to get accidentally pregnant, your unplanned children don’t deserve to breathe clean air.

Here’s what the Republicans are demanding, in convenient and infuriating bullet point form, thanks to the New York Times:

• No federal financing for Planned Parenthood because it performs abortions. Instead, state administration of federal family planning funds, which means that Republican governors and legislatures will not spend them.
• No local financing for abortion services in the District of Columbia.
• No foreign aid to countries that might use the money for abortion or family planning. And no aid to the United Nations Population Fund, which supports family-planning services.

'More or less in agreement' except for UTERUSES GOING ROGUE!!!!!

(Aside to skeptics: Yes, at DJ!, we do occasionally exaggerate. Check the bloody links. This is true.)

OK, the Excited States have always been particularly insane when it comes to abortion and women's rights. But they gone totally batshitoverthetoploco BECAUSE last November's elections gave the Tea Baggers a Majority.

Majority, as in 'we can do whatever the fuck we want and you can go suck lemons' or bleach or Lysol or other creative concoctions.

Again, we are taught that women's rights are always negotiable.

Coincidentally, a gang of NeoTheoCons here in Canada, who happen to number way too many fetus fetishists among them, want the very same thing. A Majority.

And they need us wimmins on their side -- or the sidelines -- in order to get it.

We cannot let this happen.

Vote. Vote strategically.

And drag every woman you know -- and every friend of women -- to the polls.

There's a saying: 'When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving a cross.'

Well, when it comes to Canada, it will come wrapped in apathy and waving a double-double.

Women Are Livestock

With all the abortion insanity going on the Excited States, I've just about given up trying to keep up. But this headline demanded attention.

Agriculture Committee passes abortion bill

It's not a joke. And it's in Illinois, another formerly sane northern state.

The House Agriculture Committee might seem like a proper venue to debate the state’s approach toward crossbow-hunting, soybean rust or farmers markets, but it became a battleground Tuesday over abortion.

By a 13-0 vote, before a standing-room-only room of angry abortion-rights supporters clad in “Women are not livestock” T-shirts and buttons emblazoned with a cow, the panel advanced legislation putting new financial burdens on abortion clinics.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Darlene Senger (R-Naperville), would require abortion clinics to be retrofitted to resemble outpatient surgery centers, meaning equipment such as defibrillators and ventilators would be required for the first time while hallway and parking-lot dimensions would have to change.

Another 'harass the providers' bill, in short.

But WTF about the agriculture bit?

“I don’t know,” said Senger, when asked why her abortion-clinic bill was in front of the farming committee. “These committees have been all over the place this time. I got some other bills in some crazy places right now, too."

In the US, everyone is qualified to make judgements on women's reproductive lives, I guess. Except women themselves.

Obligatory IWD Post

'Euphoria is not victory.'
-- From an article by Robert Freeman I plan to blog on later.

Today in Tahrir Square in Cairo, fifty* women rallied for women's rights on International Women's Day. I followed pakinamamer and Egyptocracy, women who were there.

They report that they were shouted at, groped, and intimidated. By ordinary Egyptian men.

They left, telling women on their way into the square to forget it.

Egyptocracy said:

Women of #Egypt, we have a long way to go.

She was echoed by anameenana:

Sexism and inequality sadly remain wide spread in #Egypt #Jan25 can NEVER be a success if women remained 2nd class citizens

My feelings on IWD align pretty well with Antonia Z's.

Sorry, but I can't get it up for International Women's Day.

And the Voice on CBC's The Current, who this morning said something like: 'It's International Women's Day. To politicians, cue the empty rhetoric.'

Fuck IWD.

(Ha. Just came here to post this and saw that my virtual roomie and I agree. Again.)

*CORRECTION: Tweeps are now saying the number was around 200.

And the next state to get riled up over abortion is. . .

The UK.

Really.

A general election has been called for May and the Conservative leader, David Cameron, is definitely opening the abortion debate.

Cameron himself calls for the lowering of the abortion time limit, giving one of the first interviews of his election campaign to the Catholic Herald. He says that he thinks "the way medical science and technology have developed in the past few decades does mean that an upper limit of 20 or 22 weeks would be sensible." (The current limit is 24 weeks.)

That Cameron should choose to deliberately make abortion an election issue - and so early in the campaign - is deeply alarming. Those vociferous anti-choice Conservatives who hijacked the last Human Fertility and Embryology Bill in order to launch an unsuccessful assault on abortion rights have pledged to reopen the debate if elected. It's a terrifying prospect that they should now enjoy their leaders' support so explicitly.

Cameron is entirely wrong that scientific advances require a revision of the upper limit. The government's own science and technology committee, reporting to parliament in 2007 at the time of the HEF Bill, along with the Royal College of Gynaecologists and the British Association of Perinatal Medicine all concurred that the survival of babies born under 24 weeks has not improved to such an extent that they see any value in redefining the limit.

It's also worth remembering that late abortion (at 20 or more weeks' gestation) is rare, accounting for just 1.6% of all procedures. And those women who opt for them are the most vulnerable of abortion recipients, often suffering from mental illness or domestic violence.

In short, it's time to dust off your pro-choice banners. Meanwhile, remind your socially liberal neighbour who is still flirting with voting Tory about the harsh reality of their compassionate Conservatism.

Thing is, they just had the abortion debate in Britain.

His comments brought an angry reaction from pro-choice groups, which accused him of resurrecting an issue that has already been comprehensively debated in parliament.

In 2008 MPs rejected a free vote to reduce the time limit to 22 weeks by 304 to 233 – with wider margins on alternatives proposals to reduce it to 20, 18 and 12 weeks.

Remember how Harriet Hardman, Deputy Labour Leader, whipped that vote?

Technically, once the MPs turned up, they could vote either way. In reality, sources say, they were greeted by Ms Harman’s group, who pressured them to vote against the move, proposed by Tory MP Nadine Dorries.

According to one account, women Labour MPs formed a ‘human corridor’ to channel their colleagues into the ‘No’ lobby. One Labour MP claimed to have heard one of Ms Harman’s team shout: ‘Vote against us and the sisterhood will never let you forget it.’

Ah, if only the fucking Liberals here had a Harriet Hardwoman.

But, hey, it's politics, where women's rights are ALWAYS negotiable.