Perigee-Syzygy

This Is Not Jewish: How to Criticize Israel Without Being Anti-Semitic

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 19:59:03 -0500

This Is Not Jewish: How to Criticize Israel Without Being Anti-Semitic:

If you’ve spent any time discussing or reading about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I guarantee you’ve heard some variation of this statement:

OMG, Jews think any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic!

In the interests of this post, I’m going to assume that the people who express such…

guardiancomment: “This is a Catholic country,” was what Irish...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:00:56 -0500

guardiancomment:

“This is a Catholic country,” was what Irish doctors told Savita Halappanavar after she learned she was miscarrying her pregnancy and asked for an abortion to avoid further complications. She spent three days in agonising pain, eventually shaking, vomiting and passing out. She again asked for an abortion and was refused, because the foetus still had a heartbeat.

Then she died.

She died of septicaemia and E Coli. She died after three and a half days of excruciating pain. She died after repeatedly begging for an end to the pregnancy that was poisoning her. Her death would have been avoided if she had been given an abortion when she asked for it – when it was clear she was miscarrying, and that non-intervention would put her at risk. But the foetus, which had no chance of survival, still had a heartbeat. Its right to life quite literally trumped hers.

Jill Filipovic on the heart-rending story of Savita Halappanavar, who died after she was refused an abortion. The procedure is illegal in Ireland.

Photograph: Irish Times

israelfacts: Omar Mashrawi holds his one-year-old son who was...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:57:05 -0500

israelfacts:

Omar Mashrawi holds his one-year-old son who was killed by the Israeli Air Force in their latest attack on the densely populated Gaza Strip, on November 14, 2012.

Al Shifa hospital struggles with the number of casualties due to the latest multiple Israeli military attacks all over the Gaza Strip, which killed 9 Palestinians and injured over 30.

(Photo by Anne Paq / Activestills.org)

Jezebel.com Updates: Tasteful American Apparel Ad Hawks U-Neck Dresses In The Midst Of Sandy's Massive Destruction

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:54:42 -0400

Jezebel.com Updates: Tasteful American Apparel Ad Hawks U-Neck Dresses In The Midst Of Sandy's Massive Destruction:

jezebelcom:

Last night American Apparel sent out an email blast in the midst of Hurricane Sandy (ironically, most of their targeted audience had already lost power by then) to launch a sale intended for “bored” shut-ins in the path of the storm. Nothing like power loss, upset pets and wind-noises outside that…

Gross.

221cbakerstreet: quigonejinn: bowiecadmium: ipsadixit: guinev...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:54:13 -0400

221cbakerstreet:

quigonejinn:

bowiecadmium:

ipsadixit:

guineverethecat:

Some ladies are far more articulate than I can be…

since “You go, girl” doesn’t seem appropriate, “You go, Justice Bader Ginsburg”!!!

Bitches get shit done

True Story: Ginsburg and her husband attended law school together. After their first kid was born, her husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and Ginsburg attended class for both of them and took notes. With a sick husband and a newborn baby, she still made law review.

True fact: Ginsburg’s opinion in the VMI case is 50 tons of smoking-hot judicial “fuck you, if the standard is equality of opportunity, VMI, you can’t put three adjunct professors in a classroom next to a jungle gym, tell them to teach the ladeez, and then claim that you’re offering female students the same opportunity that you offer male students”.

True fact: Ginsburg’s beef with Roe v. Wade is that it was insufficiently clear that the decision of whether or not to give birth to a kid is all about the goddamn person who has to give birth.

True fact: Ginsburg is saucy as fuck, calling Scalia straight-out on his bullshit on the health care law by quoting his very own words back to him.

True fact: Ginsburg is a tough old bird who didn’t miss a day on the bench while she was getting chemo for colon cancer, but she is only human, and what Romney will appoint to replace her if he wins the presidency does. not. bear. thinking about.

hero

"When I was in college, a teacher once said that all women live by a ‘rape schedule.’ I was baffled..."

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 13:14:04 -0400

“When I was in college, a teacher once said that all women live by a ‘rape schedule.’ I was baffled by the term, but as she went on to explain, I got really freaked out. Because I realized that I knew exactly what she was talking about. And you do too. Because of their constant fear of rape (conscious or not), women do things throughout the day to protect themselves. Whether it’s carrying our keys in our hands as we walk home, locking our car doors as soon as we get in, or not walking down certain streets, we take precautions. While taking precautions is certainly not a bad idea, the fact that certain things women do are so ingrained into our daily routines is truly disturbing. It’s essentially like living in a prison - all the time. We can’t assume that we’re safe anywhere: not on the streets, not in our homes. And we’re so used to feeling unsafe that we don’t even see that there’s something seriously fucked up about it.”

- Jessica Valenti (via hurrl-scout)

emma .m. woolley: What it's like being a teen girl

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:26:53 -0400

emma .m. woolley: What it's like being a teen girl:

sodisarmingdarling:

The violations started small. I was 12, fairly tall with brand new boobs. My mother wouldn’t let me buy “real bras” for a long time. It didn’t occur to me that was weird until boys in my class started advising me to “stop wearing sports bras” because I was looking a little “saggy.”

It was a…

Axolotls have the unique ability to regenerate most body...

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 19:07:36 -0400

Axolotls have the unique ability to regenerate most body parts. In a period of months, they can grow entire new limbs and even portions of the brain and spine.

they also have the ability to make cute little smiley faces and be completely adorable

Shameful. And here we are criticizing China and Russia all the...

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 15:56:45 -0400

Shameful. And here we are criticizing China and Russia all the time.

Bahrain: Shouting in the dark (by AlJazeeraEnglish) This is...

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:15:14 -0400

Bahrain: Shouting in the dark (by AlJazeeraEnglish)

This is really powerful. I didn’t know too much about the revolution in Bahrain before watching this documentary.

innocenceisdeceiving: Love this… Telephone! That was a fun...

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 09:06:26 -0400

innocenceisdeceiving:

Love this…

Telephone! That was a fun childhood game. Good comparison…

true freedom is...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 09:55:47 -0400

nakedpastor:

True freedom is not to choose from given options, but to question the system giving you those options.

streetstyled: New York street style. I never reblog clothing...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 09:43:42 -0400

streetstyled:

New York street style.

I never reblog clothing posts, but… I love this.

"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders’ faces. I saw the..."

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:22:01 -0400

“

I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders’ faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath. For one man, it was in the middle of a busy food court on a Saturday evening.

I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.

I feel like I am overreacting about what I experienced. But I can’t help but be thankful for whatever caused me to make the choices that I made that day. My mind keeps replaying what I saw over in my head. I hope the victims make a full recovery. I wish I could shake this odd feeling from my chest. The feeling that’s reminding me how blessed I am. The same feeling that made me leave the Eaton Center. The feeling that may have potentially saved my life.

”

- Jessica Redfield was shot and killed last night at a midnight screening of ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ along with 11 others when a gunman opened fire in a theater. The above is from her blog, written in June, after she narrowly escaped another senseless shooting at a mall in Toronto. (via newsweek)

whoa…

honeykin:americawakiewakie:peace-love-bliss: Small West...

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 09:55:26 -0400

honeykin:americawakiewakie:peace-love-bliss:

Small West Yorkshire town aims to be first town with food self-sufficiency by growing all its own vegetables

Different local authorities throughout the USA have been harassing homeowners for growing veggies or herbs in their front lawns. But in the small town of Todmorden, England, a grass-roots food movement has been started by one woman who grew veggies in her front yard and let neighbors pick them free.

It took six months before neighbors and passers-by got the notion that Mary Clear’s lowered fence and signs encouraging people to pick veggies from her lawn was for real. Mary, a 56 year old grandmother, kicked off a scheme thought up with local Bear Cafe owner Pam Warhurst and others to engage in local guerrilla agriculture.

Soon, others joined in and they called the movement Incredible Edible. Now this small community has 70 large, raised beds flourishing with fruits and vegetables, all of which are there for others to take from without paying.

Even the Todmorden police station has a few of those beds on its premises. The police also allow others to come and pick from them. It’s a high profile setting that lets others know it is okay to grow your own in Todmorden.

Mary and Pam realize that Incredible Edible isn’t up to feeding all 15,000 residents of Todmorden yet. But their goal is to achieve that level of self sufficiency by 2018. They’re working on getting more involved with growing veggies and fruits with a grass roots free educational system to help others learn how to plant and nurture communal food gardens.

So far, there has been no government financial support or interference with Incredible Edible, which has even sprouted up in another British town, Somerset.

From: http://www.naturalnews.com/036300_self-sufficiency_food_town.html

More here: http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/

mrperson95: milesjai: alwaysdenytheapocalypse: kassieking: t...

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 21:06:19 -0400

mrperson95:

milesjai:

alwaysdenytheapocalypse:

kassieking:

the three MOST honest minutes in television history. EVER.

I can’t tell you how beautiful the Newsroom is.

wow i need to watch the newsroom.

*slow clap* YES.

If I were American I’d reblog this. But since my wife and kids are I’ll reblog this.

a few reasons why Wal-mart sucks.

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:24:18 -0400

a few reasons why Wal-mart sucks.

No yelling or screaming or blaming or fighting…nothing...

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 10:16:00 -0400

No yelling or screaming or blaming or fighting…nothing like the Hollywood portrayals of birth. “A mother gives birth to her son. This photograph captured a momentous introduction of a mother and baby’s first exchange. The baby is suspended in time, half way inside his mother and the world; being guided out by his mother’s own hands. Photograph was captured by friend and doula of the mother.”

National Geographic Photo Contest, Photo and caption by Tara Garner

(via This Image is So Healing | Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross)

Wow… I can’t stop looking at this photo.

thepoliticalnotebook: Over at WORN Fashion Journal, Sacha...

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 22:05:44 -0400

thepoliticalnotebook:

Over at WORN Fashion Journal, Sacha Jackson has a very interesting post about the red felt square adopted by the printemps érable. The carré rouge has become a symbol of Québec’s student strike and is being incorporated into a wide variety of protest fashions…. Jackson writes:

In the past five months, the red square has become ubiquitous. I’ve seen it worn as earrings, dangling like tassels from the hem of a skirt, pinned on backpacks, shirtfronts, and leather jackets, piled like candy in a bowl at a bar, and secured to the lapel of more than one classy business suit. Arcade Fire wore the red square durning their recent appearance on SNL, exposing the symbol to a whole new audience. I am most excited, though, when I see it put to good, practical use, like when naked protestors use squares of red duct tape as pasties.

Read more about le carré rouge and check out more photos of the creative incorporation of the symbol into clothes and jewelry.

All photos by Allison Staton.

(I encourage printemps érable/Québec student protest-related submissions to this blog.)

(via A Chart About Silence That Will Leave You Speechless)

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 19:34:49 -0400

(via A Chart About Silence That Will Leave You Speechless)