AND NONE FOR NONSENSE, BYE

Jun 19

New York City’s institutionally racist and privacy-violating stop-and-frisk procedure is currently on trial for constitutionality:
Devin Almonor, the teenage son of a former police officer, said he was thrown against an unmarked car and temporarily handcuffed walking home from a bus stop. Medical student David Floyd was frisked by officers outside of his apartment as he helped a neighbor locked out of his home.
For both, the experience was humiliating and frightening. They also say it was illegal, because they believe they were stopped because of their race. Both are black.
“I am not a criminal. I did not commit any criminal acts,” said Floyd, who testified along with Almonor at the opening of a federal trial.
Testimony continued Tuesday in the case that challenges the constitutionality of some encounters under the controversial law enforcement tactic of stopping, questioning and frisking New Yorkers on the street.
Learn more here. Graphic via.

New York City’s institutionally racist and privacy-violating stop-and-frisk procedure is currently on trial for constitutionality:

Devin Almonor, the teenage son of a former police officer, said he was thrown against an unmarked car and temporarily handcuffed walking home from a bus stop. Medical student David Floyd was frisked by officers outside of his apartment as he helped a neighbor locked out of his home.

For both, the experience was humiliating and frightening. They also say it was illegal, because they believe they were stopped because of their race. Both are black.

“I am not a criminal. I did not commit any criminal acts,” said Floyd, who testified along with Almonor at the opening of a federal trial.

Testimony continued Tuesday in the case that challenges the constitutionality of some encounters under the controversial law enforcement tactic of stopping, questioning and frisking New Yorkers on the street.

Learn more here. Graphic via.

(via pixyled)

Insights Teen Parent Program

mamala-doula-care:

It is always exciting to discover and add a new program or organization to the resource page on my website!

Today I found the website for Insights Teen Parent Program, a non-profit offering free services in Southeast Portland (Oregon). The website opens with an inspiring and affirming quote, “Because we know teen parents can be great parents”.

Insights offers a variety of in-home and community services, including:

Parent education and support for young mothers and fathers

Child developmental screenings

Networking and peer support

School advocacy

Transitional housing and short term rental assistance

Emergency assistance for food, diapers, clothing and personal supplies

Domestic violence safety planning and harm reduction services

Healthy relationship and sexuality education

Family planning and birth control support and education

Resource and referral

Child welfare advocacy services

www.insightstpp.org
503-239-6996

(via pixyled)

Jun 18

everyoneknowhequeer:

bryanthephotogeek:

Samantha Bee is a role model.

Damn

(via what-themath)

prochoice18:

provoice:

thelordslittlefirefly:

Really proud to learn that Pope Francis, even before he was Pope, will NOT give communion to Pro Choice Catholics!

Really proud to be a United Methodist because everyone is welcome at the table of the Lord.

(via pixyled)

Jun 17

The Myth That Rape Rarely Causes Pregnancy Comes From Nazi Experiments

thepoliticalfreakshow:

I dont understand why Republicans continue to offer up headlines like GOP congressman: Rate of pregnancies from rape is very low. It is terrible politics for them to focus the publics attention on their justification for the fact that they dont support an exception to abortion bans for rape…

I don’t understand why Republicans continue to offer up headlines like “GOP congressman: Rate of pregnancies from rape is ‘very low.’ ” It is terrible politics for them to focus the public’s attention on their justification for the fact that they don’t support an exception to abortion bans for rape victims. The view doesn’t have anything like majority support, and they come off as heartless, ignorant scolds. If I were an anti-abortion activist, I’d want to muzzle these people. But they are irrepressible.

At a congressional hearing Wednesday, Rep. Trent Franks, a Republican from Arizona, argued against an exception for rape and incest victims from a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He said, “Before, when my friends on the left side of the aisle here tried to make rape and incest the subject—because, you know, the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.” He is of course following in the footsteps of former Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri, who said that women can stave off pregnancy after a “legitimate rape.” (He apologized but that didn’t save him from losing his next election.)

These claims are false, of course, or as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists puts it, “medically inaccurate, offensive, and dangerous.” That is not all that’s wrong with the claims. They originate with Nazi experiments on women in concentration camps. Here’s what I wrote about this last November

“In the aftermath of Akin’s statement, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on a 1972 essay by an obstetrician named Fred Mecklenburg, who cited a Nazi experiment in which women were told they were on their way to die in the gas chambers—and then were allowed to live, so that doctors could check whether they would still ovulate. Since few did, Mecklenburg claimed that women exposed to the emotional trauma of rape wouldn’t be able to become pregnant, either. (He also argued that rapists are infertile because they masturbate a lot.) The essay was published in a book financed by A.U.L.”

A.U.L. is Americans United for Life, a pro-life advocacy group with increasing clout because of its success in drafting model state laws to restrict abortion. The line from the Nazis to Mecklenburg to Akin and Franks runs through Jack Wilke, a doctor who is the former head of the National Right to Life Committee.

He said, “What is certainly one of the most important reasons why a rape victim rarely gets pregnant, and that’s physical trauma.” And he stuck with this when the Los Angeles Times called to ask him about Akin last year. When I asked A.U.L. head Charmaine Yoest about the claim that rape rarely results in pregnancy, she was smarter and called it “a distraction.”

Abortion opponents sure do keep bringing it up, though.

(via pixyled)

duchessofc:

What’s really happening in Brazil. Please help us.

(via pixyled)

RANDOM CONDOM INFORMATION FOR YOU

neoliberalismkills:

Erm, seems appropriate since it’s father’s day, so

Trojan actually has a higher level of failing the stress tests with condoms than Durex, so use Durex

if you’re allergic to latex, Skyn is a REALLY GOOD BRAND and one of the only non-latex condom brands commonly sold that have extra large condoms

And if you need really thin condoms that are effective, Kimono is a really good brand

that is all, carry on

(via backwardblackbyrd)

“A woman’s right to bodily autonomy outweighs fetal pain because we live in a society that does not force people to use their bodies to support others — not their organs, not their bone marrow, not their blood, not their skin. We do not force people to sacrifice parts of their bodies to save others not because we don’t care about a patient’s pain, but because we recognize that bodily autonomy is an essential part of a functioning free society. To suggest that we ignore that and make an exception when it comes to forcing pregnant women carry a pregnancy to term suggests that we force pregnant women to submit to a violation of their rights that we impose on no one else.” Ana Mardoll via Shakesville
http://www.shakesville.com/2013/03/the-rhetorical-power-of-pig-pain.html (via catronicon)

(via pixyled)

#CHANGEBRAZIL Masterpost: Understanding the cause

forgottencapital:

I sure hope you are seeing a bunch of stuff about Brazil, either on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook or TV. But I need you to understand what is going on. What’s truly going on around here. So I prepared this masterpost, a list of links that should explain this to you!

Some background:

Brazil is one of the most corrupt governments in the world

Our government doesn’t take care of us

And goes unpunished, leaving us conformed

Mostly because we have laws that they can manipulate to protect themselves, seen here and here.

There’s so many problems with our government it’s hard to list everything.

What triggered the people:

Is Brazil ready to host the 2014 World Cup? (With this government? No.)

Football being used to distract the people from the World Cup and corruption issues

In Brazil, you work 5 months a year to pay tax. By the age of 70, the average Brazilian will have worked 30 years just to pay tax. Brazilians pay around 61 different taxes

“Several of these stadiums risk becoming white elephants,”

José Sarney, an undistinguished but influential former president, earns 62,000 reais a month

81 senators in the upper house will have parity with the country’s Supreme Court judges, earning R$26,723.13 (£10,063) a month.

The bus pass is now 20 centavos (10 cents) more expensive in 22 May. 10 cents for each bus ride (some people take 2 different buses to get to work, so that would be at least 4 bus rides a day) for each person in São Paulo alone (with a population of 11.32 million), we know damn well what are they doing.

Where the protest begins

First protest in Porto Alegre in March 2013, when protesters convinced the local city hall to reduce the fare price.

In Goiania, 16 May also before the prices were officially changed, where two buses were incinerated and two buses were stoned, but leaving no victims on behalf of the protesters.

There was another protest in Goiania, on 6 June, where the fares were brought back to their previous price by judge Fernando de Mello Xavier.

An then finally, São Paulo.

I say finally because the São Paulo protests were everywhere in the news.

The city hall announced the raise of the tickets prices from R$3,00 to R$3,20, starting on 2 June. It’s one of the most expensive bus tickets in the country.

Not just the bus tickets, but healthcare, economy and education are being left aside in order to steal from us and invest as much money as possible in the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.

13th June 2013: The day 5 thousand protesters occupied Avenida Paulista, one of the most important avenues in São Paulo. There was a worldwide repercussion to it.

There was also a protest on 16 June in Brasília, our capital, right before a Brazil vs Japan football match. “They are building these overpriced stadiums and are not worrying about the situation of their own people.”

There was a protest today on Maracanã, one of the stadiums where 2013 Confederations Cup is taking place, a match between Italy and Mexico. And yes, it was violent.

In all of these cases, most of Brazil’s media websites (like Veja, one of the most important and influential Brazilian magazines) blamed the protesters, saying the police was violent because they were violent first, saying the protesters deserved what they got, calling them troublemakers (among other names)

Even though “innocent people” (non-protesters) were injured by the police, like people passing by and reporters.

I won’t link you pictures of the victims specifically, but you can see some here. TW violence TW blood TW bruises.

Examples of the police being violent with protestants (TW violence):

A group of people are yelling “no violence” in portuguese, as the police shoots rubber bullets at them

Same scene, from another point of view

Repercussion:

Please Help Us Change Brazil: Why we are saying #changebrazil

There are protests about this all over the world!

Dublin, Ireland, scheduled for 1pm local time Sunday in sign of solidarity with Brazilian protesters, many of whom are university students.

Dozens of demonstrations are also being organized in other cities, including Paris, Madrid, London, Berlin, Brussels, Boston, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City and Buenos Aires. In general, the actions are scheduled for Tuesday.

So please, hear us out! Don’t let the media fool you about what is going on. Support us, we want to change Brazil! I will be updating this post with more information and news! Please reblog, watch this video and support us!

(via pixyled)

Jun 16

pro-choice-teddy-bear:

You don’t have to have an abortion if you don’t want to!

It is your choice whether or not to have an abortion. If abortion is not something you feel comfortable with, that’s ok. It’s not a bad thing to be pregnant or to give birth. You need to do what’s best for you right now. <3

(via pixyled)

AND NONE FOR NONSENSE, BYE

All the nonsense arguments we love to hate.

Insights Teen Parent Program

The Myth That Rape Rarely Causes Pregnancy Comes From Nazi Experiments

RANDOM CONDOM INFORMATION FOR YOU

#CHANGEBRAZIL Masterpost: Understanding the cause