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POPSHollywood Movies Hs probably contribute to violence:Kidman 
Nicole Kidman conceded Wednesday that Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak, sex objects. The Oscar-winning actress said she is not interested in those kinds of demeaning roles, adding that the movie industry also has made an effort to contribute to solutions for ending the violence. Kidman appeared before the committee in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Development Fund for Women, known as UNIFEM, to promote the International Violence Against Women Act. "In the real world, the laws go unenforced and impunity is the norm," she said.The legislation has stalled in the past, but a sponsor, Democratic Rep. Bill Delahunt, said he and others plan to reintroduce it soon. The Australian star told Congress that the U.N. women's fund needs more resources. "We need the money," she said. Before the hearing began, a crowd of people lined the hall and around the corner to hear her speak.
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POPSNoor Almaleki is Dead :( :( Let's pray Rifqa Bary isn't next. Btw: I met Pam Geller, Robert Spencer and a whole wack of other awesome folks at the International Legal Conference of Free Speech and Religion last week in Washington Dc. It was a real honor. You can hear much more about the conference at : http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/11/legal-conference-on-freedom-of-speech.html#readfurther (and on a much needed lighter note, I had the good fortune to run into Steven Crowder at Dulles Airport last night and got to thank him for his work---he was exactly like he is in the videos---good guy )
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POPSEvicted for Reporting Domestic Abuse To add insult to injury, this past July Cleaves-Milan received a call from a collection agency seeking nearly $3,800 they claimed she owed for the early termination of her lease. She returned home a day after telling police her boyfriend threatened to kill her to find a 10-day eviction notice taped to her door. She didn't terminate her lease early – she was given no choice in the matter. Luckily Aimco dropped this fee, but only after the Chicago Tribune inquired. This story is horrific and unfortunately not uncommon. While the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 protects domestic abuse victims who live in public or subsidized housing from eviction, the law concerning private landlords is unclear. This lack of protection for women who rent in the private market creates a disincentive for women to report abuse, trapping women, and often their children, in violent relationships with no legal recourse.
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POPSRape Is Not A Game Recommended Actions Please write to the Japanese government officials below, calling on them to comply with Japan’s obligations under CEDAW, including the recent strong exhortation of the CEDAW Committee to ban games and cartoons that normalize and promote sexual violence against women and girls. In your letter to the Minister of Justice ask her also to inquire about the requested investigation into the apparent gang rape video sent by Equality Now to the Tokyo police department, and ask that her office investigates this and other actual rape videos to ensure that all those involved are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Please also continue to write to Illusion Software asking it to withdraw immediately from sale all games which involve rape, stalking or other forms of sexual violence or which otherwise denigrate women.
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POPSStop Blaming Others and Get Involved! I have been involved with Equality Now since I learned of them. If you cannot afford to donate $$ right now, sign up anyway. You will receive action alerts to add your voice to issues involving human rights. Trying to do something is better than pointing fingers while doing nothing. Get involved if you care! Thanks.
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POPSMark Morford: The gang rape and 30 Republican senators who don't give a damn about battered women
More: Turns out, when faced with such vileness, all filters fail. All balance is thrown off. You thought you had some sort of way to process and attain perspective? You are proven wrong. So perhaps all we can do is ponder how pathetic and sad these various senator's lives must be, how these bitter old men will now go home at night and announce around the dinner table that, yes, today they worked very hard to help improve the welfare of the nation by essentially enabling rape and sexual abuse, tried their darndest to prevent women who've been viciously attacked from having much legal recourse. And lo, Satan will chuckle happily. Then maybe these senators will try and hug their wives, or their daughters. And maybe, if there's any justice in the universe, their wives and daughters will slap them as hard as humanly possible, lock them in a shipping container, and never let them touch them again.
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POPSWhat is "rape culture"? Click through for the whole thing. More: Rape culture is treating straight sexuality as the norm. Rape culture is lumping queer sexuality into nonconsensual sexual practices like pedophilia and bestiality… Rape culture is rape being used as a weapon, a tool of war and genocide and oppression. Rape culture is rape being used as a corrective to "cure" queer women. Rape culture is a militarized culture and "the natural product of all wars, everywhere, at all times, in all forms." Rape culture is 1 in 33 men being sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. Rape culture is encouraging men to use the language of rape to establish dominance over one another ("I'll make you my bitch")… Rape culture is 1 in 6 women being sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. Rape culture is not even talking about the reality that many women are sexually assaulted multiple times in their lives. Rape culture is the way in which the constant threat of sexual assault affects women's daily movements.
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POPS"Violence is animalistic" meme reduces support for war More: Although right-wing authoritarians "typically show strong in-group bias and support for violence against out-groups, their heightened need to view themselves as non-animals makes them reticent to demonstrate violence when it is linked to animality," Motyl concludes. It should be noted that 104 of the 136 participants in the test were women. Before generalizing these results too widely, one would like to see them duplicated with a mostly male sample, preferably one from outside the walls of academia. Nevertheless, these are hopeful findings for those looking for ways to inspire peaceful resolutions to problems.
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POPSHouse Votes To Expand Hate Crime Laws The proposed expansion would include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It eases restrictions on federally protected activities. The FBI says there are some 8,000 hate crimes reported around the country in a year. More than half of those are motivated by racial bias. Next most frequent are crimes based on religious bias at around 18 percent and sexual orientation at 16 percent. Hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership in a certain social group, usually defined by race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation. "Hate crime" generally refers to criminal acts which are seen to have been motivated by hatred of one or more of the listed conditions. Incidents may involve physical assault, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults, or offensive graffiti or letters.
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POPSShould Sex Trade workers get a better deal? This is an issue all over the world! Some for it as they keep perverts from other women, some against it for morality issues. I am not sure where I stand now! Holland has it all legalised and government controlled, they even pay tax. I wonder at other people and their ideas??
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POPSBatterers Don't Just Appear Read The Whole Article Kids need to learn to respect each other when they are young and bring that attitude forward to adulthood. They need to understand that the loud, obnoxious people who always seem to get the laughs get tiresome. The respectful people are more and more in demand as they grow older. Kids need to understand that the way to a better life is not by bullying and dominating others, but by being a part of their lives, sharing the good and difficult times.
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POPSpoem: "wishful thinking" or "what i'm waiting to find in our email boxes" by Alexis Pauline Gumbs Too long to clip – click through for the rest. More: 9. people are interested in what you are wearing simply because it tells them what paintings to make. 10. everyone has always told you you can stay a child until you are ready to move on 11. if you run across the street naked at midnight no one will think you are asking for anything. 12. you do so many things because it feels good to move. you have nothing to prove to anyone. 13. white people cannot harm you. they do not want to. they do not do it by accident. 14. your smile makes people glad to be alive 15. your body is not a symbol of anything 16. everyone respects your work and makes sure you are safe while doing it 17. at any moment you might relive the joy of being embraced 18. no one will lie to you, scream at you or demand anything. 19. when you change your mind, people will remember to change theirs. 20. your children are safe no one will use them against you.
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POPSInsurance companies: "Domestic violence is a pre-existing condition." Your partner hit you? No health insurance for you, ever! This is WRONG. More: “In 1995, the Boston Globe found that Nationwide, Allstate, State Farm, Aetna, Metropolitan Life, The Equitable Companies, First Colony Life, The Prudential and the Principal Financial Group had all either canceled or denied coverage to women who’d been beaten.” Source
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POPSNigeria-Italy Human Trafficking Rises Sharply Every time I read about this issue I feel that a part of our humanity is dying. There are so many good people in the world. I just hope the balance stays to the good. A conference of women’s group’s was held in Rome Sep 9-10 to raise issues such as rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, access to education, and violence against young girls. While the U.N. report says most victims of traffickers are women and girls, they are also the majority among perpetrators in 30% of the countries that provided evidence on the gender of traffickers. Many former victims, pushed by psychological or financial reasons, become traffickers. According to Nigeria’s Women's Promotion and Child Protection, the government of Nigeria is doing a lot to stop human trafficking. But since the numbers are on the increase, I submit that they are not doing enough.
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POPSBahamas Proposal to Ban Marital Rape Sparks Controversy Sandra Dean-Patterson, director of a nonprofit that aides abuse victims continues to speak out in support of the bill. She told the Associated Press that the bill "says that our nation will no longer condone violence in the family. If you have to force your husband or your wife to be sexual, something is wrong with the relationship." *applauds*
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POPSMen, Women Divided Over Sex Bill From the author “It looks to me as if being brought up with a belief in the literal truth of a misogynistic document like the Bible can inculcate the evil idea that women are possessions, and that marriage is an act of handing over a woman's bill of sale to a man. I thought a wife was a partner, not a slave.” I’m amazed that only now there is consideration of a bill to outlaw marital rape. And the fact that there is opposition to it is simply imcredible. Forcing anyone to have sex is rape, period. And rape is not sex, rape is violence. For a man to seek ‘authority’ from the bible for commission of such a brutal and controlling act defies any sense of humanity.
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POPSThe last abortion doctor NOTICE: Comment policy on this clip goes beyond my usual "keep it civil". Any comments insulting or vilifying doctors who perform abortions, women who get abortions, or people who support freedom of choice WILL BE DELETED. Any comments implying that it is reasonable to murder a doctor for performing a legal procedure WILL BE DELETED. You want to argue against abortion, take it somewhere else.
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