GHISLAINE MAXWELL FOUND GUILTY IN SEX ABUSE TRIAL British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty on five counts in her trial for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell faces years in prison — an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold her accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein‘s victims. [AP]
In defending his anti-abortion bill, Oklahoma state rep George Faut reveals that he thinks rape and incest all part of God’s will. “The Lord uses all circumstances.”
THESE CORPORATIONS FUNDED CO-SPONSORS OF OHIO’S PROPOSED ABORTION BAN A number of health care companies and major corporations have made campaign contributions to two dozen Ohio state lawmakers who are co-sponsoring new legislation to ban abortion in the state. The list includes health care companies such as Pfizer, Anthem, Molina Healthcare and Merck. [HuffPost]
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN OKLAHOMA ABORTION PROVIDER Since Texas banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, a doctor at Planned Parenthood’s Tulsa clinic has been working nonstop to accommodate the influx of Texans. “I worry a lot,” Dr. Joshua Yap said. “What if I get sick or if I become incapacitated? I can’t take a day off knowing that people are driving, sometimes eight to nine hours, to get to our clinic.” [HuffPost]
“He recalled his mother’s last letter. ‘What would she feel,’ he wondered, ‘if she saw me here now, on this field, with cannon aimed at me?’ ~ Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, 1865
For more than a century women and women’s organisations and movements have mobilised in support of peace and disarmament. There have been examples of women’s organisations and movements at the national, regional and international level with a primary focus on peace and disarmament. It is noted as early as in 1904 when women of Manipur fought using non-violent tactics against British Colonial Rule in the First Women’s War and exploitative policies, and later on April 28, 1915 for the first time in history when nearly 1,200 women called “International Congress for Women” from warring and neutral countries came together to protest the conflict at The Hague in Holland.
During the Cold War, women lobbied against stockpiling and the possible use of nuclear weapons. After a 1959 Conference on the “Responsibility of Women in the Atomic Age”, the newly formed “European Movement of Women For Nuclear Disarmament” and other women’s groups, embarked on a massive educational and petition campaign. Around the world, in the Pacific region, women have organised against nuclear testing. For instance, a group of women in Japan set up a peace camp at the base of Mount Fuji. Women’s groups in Africa have also been involved in advocating for peace and reconstruction as seen in Angola, Burundi, Somalia and Niger.
An individual’s decision to disarm is influenced by his/her/their perception of personal and economic security, an issue that is closely related to women. This makes disarmament a continuing process that is dependent on myriad factors such as the state’s ability to protect its citizens, crime levels, economic opportunities and the degree to which a weapon has become legitimate within society. A key to understanding why women have organisations in favour of disarmament is the link many women have made between gender equality and peace. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security was adopted in October 2000. This resolution specifically mentions the need to incorporate gender perspectives in disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation initiatives. This resolution was a monumental turning point in recognizing the concept of women’s direct contribution to Disarmament.
The webinar on 5 March is being organised by the Asia Group of International Peace Bureau to mark International Women’s Day of 2021 and will be focusing on the sharing of important ongoing work done in this field. We look forward to having you with us.
Featuring:
Ms. Emiko Hirano, New Japan Women’s Association (Japan)
Dr. Lisa Natividad, Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice (Guam)
Ms Jung Min Choi, World Without War (South Korea)
Opening remarks will be given by IPB Co-President, Lisa Clark.
Moderated by IPB board member and Founder-Director of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network, Binalakshmi “Bina” Nepram.
#AtlantaShootings: Suspect, 21, with ‘passion for guns and God‘ arrested after eight killed.. 6 Asian women, 1 White man & 1 White woman at three separate massage parlors in a span of 1 hour
White supremacist propaganda nearly doubled in 2020 to most in a decade, ADL says: here.
A 17 March 2020 video about the USA used to say about itself:
At least eight people have been killed in a series of shootings at three Atlanta area massage parlors. Authorities described a number of victims as women of Asian descent. A 21-year-old man, Robert Aaron Long, has been taken into custody. The first shooting occurred at Young’s Asian Massage near Acworth in Cherokee county, just north-west of Atlanta. Police officers responded to a reported robbery at Gold Spa in the city’s north-east and were then alerted to another shooting across the street at the Aromatherapy Spa.
This 17 March 2020 video about the USA says about itself:
All but one of the people killed were women and six of them were Asians.
First, I wish strength and healing for the surviving relatives and friends of this heinous mass murder.
CHINA PARANOIA FUELS ANTI-ASIAN RACISM Former President Trump spent years demonizing China and perpetuating anti-Asian sentiments. Joe Biden condemned anti-Asian racism in his first speech as president and signed an executive order, but his administration continues to mostly describe China as a threat — language that could be dangerous for Asian Americans. [HuffPost]
MASSAGE SPA MASSACRE NEAR ATLANTA At least eight people, including six of Asian descent, were killed during three shootings at massage spas in the Atlanta area. Police arrested 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia. While there still aren’t concrete details about the killer’s motive, the country has seen a “documented pattern of recent attacks against our community,” said Stop AAPI Hate, a collective of advocacy organizations for Asian American and Pacific Islander people. [HuffPost]
‘BAD DAY’ COP PROMOTED RACISM Capt. Jay Baker, a spokesperson for the Cherokee County sheriff’s office, said the man charged with the Atlanta shootings wasn’t motivated by race. But HuffPost verified that Baker has used his Facebook account to promote merchandise that demonized the Asian community over the coronavirus. [HuffPost]
INCIDENTS OFANTI-ASIAN RACISM SOAR For more than a year, Asian Americans have faced an alarming deluge of racist attacks and harassment, such as being shunned, spit on and denied services. While the current wave of racism is tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s one chapter of a long history of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans, writes HuffPost’s Marina Fang. [HuffPost]
TERROR TEARS THROUGH ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES A white gunman was charged Wednesday with killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage spas in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community, which has increasingly been targeted during the pandemic. The shootings appear to be at the “intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia,” said Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen. [AP]
HOW TO HELP Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Asian Americans have reported being targeted in nearly 4,000 hate incidents nationwide. If you want to help, first recognize that the community is under attack, and then take action. Activists and advocates share eight things you can do to help the community as an ally. [HuffPost]
This music video, also from the USA, says about itself
L7 performing “Deathwish” at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, California on September 26th, 2017. Band lineup: Donita Sparks: guitar & vocals, Suzi Gardner: guitar & vocals, Jennifer Finch: bass & vocals, Dee Plakas: drums.
This video from Britain is called Rabies Babies – Windmill, Brixton 25/8/2019.
This video shows the band the Nixe playing their song Searching in 2008 in their city Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Translated from French monthly Rock & Folk, 132, its punk section Béret Punk, January 1978:
Born to Lou’s [an allusion to the Johnny Thunders song Born to lose]
The Lou’s, do you know them? Yes. They are a rock group. A good band, but most of all a real girl band. At last, the first band proposing an active program. A macho approach, strongly male-like accents. I liked to get to know more. And I met them at the place of Raphaëlle (guitar), near the Place de la Bastille.
An apartment without luxury. On the walls, posters of the Clash, Iggy Pop and Richard Hell. They are just back from a tour in England, as support band of the Clash. They have changed their soft T-shirts and jeans to clothes from London punk shops like Sex and Boy. Trousers with straps, extra-large knit sweaters. The London look.
‘Our first concert was in the theatre-restaurant Campagne-Première [in Paris]. To get that concert, we passed an audition, to see whether they wanted us. It was advertised in Libération daily as a free concert. 450 people came. We have been playing together for nine months. We had enormous problems getting somewhere to rehearse. At first, we went to a dance hall in the Marais neighbourhood. We had to get out because of noise. We landed in a sordid cellar where we froze. That did not last long as well. Then, we went here, Raphaëlle’s place. The amps and the drum kit in the apartment, that was terrible noise … the neighbours wanted to murder us. Then, in mid-December, we left London again. We have good contacts and a manager there. We managed to find two rooms. We will be able to work, rehearse and improve for four months. It’s good but it also requires big sacrifices. It’s badly paid but the lack of money does not hold us back. There are so many other advantages. The relationships in the music scene are not the same as in France. There is no real rivalry between bands. They all play in their own way, there is space for everyone. There, bands have the right to be just ordinary bands, while here, you are stuck in a permanent quality contest.
And then, in England the public is fantastic. The funniest thing is when they gob at you. That shows they love you. The band that has played best is the band most covered in spittle. Over there, the guys are impossible. When you talk to them about their gobbing, they open their mouths! It is disgusting. The concerts have nothing to do with the ones over here. With French audiences, you have the impression of playing at a fridge. Over there, the audiences move, they dance up and down, they move, they move massively’.
And then the Lou’s have just landed a nice contract with CBS. It opens up horizons.
The band consists of Sacha, drums; Raphaëlle, guitar; Toto, bass; and Popo, lead guitar.
‘Mainly Popo writes the songs. Then, we work together, insert special things. We sing in English. In French, it does not work. In a band like Bijou, the instruments sound excellent, but the lyrics don’t. Similarly with Téléphone. In French, it is difficult to avoid clichés. That starts either in the beginning or later. Only Higelin is an exception. Also, basically, only the chorus matters. It is the main thing which the people remember. What we want is music which connects people, which makes them jump into the air! We are just crazy girls. Crazy girls! And we tend to stay that. It is so boring to be intelligent. We are seen as a group of non-serious girls, it makes us laugh. Every time it happens, it makes us laugh.
When it was announced that we were the support band of the Clash during their UK tour, some pretended to know why. CBS had supposedly imposed that on the Clash. Or, they said, we had given in to the sexual wishes of the CBS manager. Or, again, the Lou’s musicians, one by one, had gone to toilets with all Clash members. Only one Clash member at a time? No, three Clash members at a time. They never considered that we might have become support band because of our musical quality. All that because we are a band of girls, and girl bands supposedly should not be taken seriously.’
Translated from Rock & Folk 143, 1978:
‘The Lou’s, Pamela Pop[o] and her bandmates, watch out, they bite! And after that, they laugh, because deep in their hearts, they nevertheless love us. ‘No Escape’, the sugary/acidic taste of the Seeds and 1960s punk. No need to run away, it’s better to stay and have fun with them.’
In this video, you can hear French-Dutch punk women’s band the Lou’s playing their song Back On The Street.
Three Frenchwomen and Dutch Saskia aka Syama de Jong on drums, they were one of the first punk bands on the European continent. Also the first all-women band in any rock genre in France.
They were the only band playing on both days of the 1977 Mont de Marsan punk festival. Later in 1977 and 1978, they played with many British bands in Britain: Sham 69, the Skids, Subway Sect, Penetration, the Mekons. On 14 November 1977, The Lou’s played with Neo, Richard Hell and the Voidoids and Siouxsie and the Banshees in the Music Machine in London. They were support band to The Clash during the 1977 Out of Control tour in the UK and Ireland.
In 1978, they played with Public Image Limited, both in Paris and in London. The Clash helped them land a recording contract with CBS. However, the Lou´s did not like that contract, broke it, and went back to small label Skydog in France.
Yesterday, an extensive Lou’s biography was published on the internet, here.
Today, thanks to Sounds Clips, a 31 December 1977 interview in British Sounds weekly with this pioneer band was rediscovered. Three French girls, a Dutch drummer.
This 12 January 2020 video from the USA says about itself:
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, of Seattle, says she has tested positive for COVID-19 after being locked down in a crowded room with other lawmakers during the siege on the U.S. Capitol last week.
JAYAPAL TESTS POSITIVE AFTER RIOT LOCKDOWN Less than a week after a Trump-fueled mob attacked the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to hide in a secured room, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Democrat-Wash.) has tested positive for COVID-19. She tweeted: “I just received a positive COVID-19 test result after being locked down in a secured room at the Capitol where several Republicans not only cruelly refused to wear a mask but recklessly mocked colleagues and staff who offered them one.” [HuffPost]
NEW BOOK: GENERAL FEARED TRUMP WOULD USE MILITARY TO STAY IN POWER Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was deeply worried that then-President Donald Trump would refuse to leave the White House and warned colleagues he feared Trump would try to use the military to stay in office, according to excerpts from a new book. Milley, the nation’s top military officer, also compared Trump’s actions to the rise of Adolf Hitler. [HuffPost]
Doctor who breached US Capitol is on a crusade to spread misinformation on COVID vaccine: report https://t.co/wPVsWvh9gj
Don’t laugh at Marjorie Taylor Greene — her Jewish constituents must live with her hate: here.
TRUMP MOB’S MEN: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN A HuffPost investigation found that multiple men arrested for the U.S. Capitol insurrection have restraining orders against them over domestic violence accusations. Others have faced charges and served prison time for sexual assault. Experts have linked extremism to violent misogyny in recent years, especially in the wake of mass shootings in which the perpetrators had a history of violence against women. [HuffPost]
DEFENSE CONTRACTORS RESUME DONATIONS TO REPUBLICANS WHO REJECTED DEMOCRACY The nation’s biggest federal defense contractors have quietly resumed giving money to Republicans who helped fuel the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, despite making a public show of halting their political contributions after the attack. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and Northrop Grumman donated to GOP lawmakers who voted to reject Biden’s electoral win based on the same lie about voter fraud that led to the attack. [HuffPost]
Dear Kitty. Some blog