the bolshechix

8 workers fighting for sick days fired at Twin Cities Jimmy John's

2011-03-22T21:58:00.000-07:00

Workers at Jimmy John's in Minneapolis have been standing up for justice in the food service industry since going public as union in September 2010. Yesterday the Jimmy John's franchise in Minneapolis illegally fired 6 workers in retaliation for our efforts to win paid sick days in order to ensure safe food for customers. This outrageous firing wil...l not stand. Workers at Jimmy John's and across all industries will keep on standing up for dignity, sick days, and customer health.

Please call Jimmy John's franchise owners Mike and Rob Mulligan on Wednesday March 23rd. Tell them you support paid sick days and demand an end to their illegal retaliation.

Rob Mulligan
612-817-9016

Mike Mulligan
612-824-7946

If you're not sure what to say, here's a place to start:

"Hi my name is __________. I'm a Jimmy John's customer. I'm calling because I don't want to buy sandwiches made by sick workers. I want you to provide paid sick days so I know that my sandwich wasn't made by a sick person. I also know you illegally fired some people for standing up for paid sick days. I support those people. Will you provide paid sick days? Will you re-instate the fired workers?"

***

Donate to the Jimmy John's Worker Union online at http://www.jimmyjohnsworkers.org/donate

Sign the supporter petition http://www.jimmyjohnsworkers.org/content/supporter-petition

Come to the IWW Jimmy Johns Workers Union Solidarity Committee: 7pm Thursday, March 24th at 79 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis
If you have questions about the Solidarity Committee email jake.virden@gmail.com

www.jimmyjohnsworkers.org

https://www.facebook.com/jimmyjohnsunion
Please make the attached poster your facebook picture.

http://twitter.com/tciwwact
To follow us on twitter on your phone text "Follow TCIWWACT" to 40404 and reply to the text message.

You say peace, I say pieces

2010-07-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

What Happens If We Leave Afghanistan?

Thanks Time magazine for dropping such a lovely bomb on the American public. A cover that evokes fear in the minds of many that see it. If US troops leave Afghanistan, then Afghan women will suffer. My college logic professor would have a problem with this cover. As I surely do. While the photo of this young woman who is missing a good portion of her nose brings me to tears, it is more disturbing that Time would use fear to sell war. The problem is that the story of this young woman happened while the United States was in Afghanistan. US presence is/was/will not be a proper solution for Afghan women. More blood is being shed. War as a means to peace is a cruel justification. This capitalist war will not led Afghanistan to peace, but instead into pieces.

so how bout that america?

2010-07-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

keep fighting!

keep resisting!

god bless the revolution!

dear BP

2010-06-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

love,

the bolshechix

p.s. viewers, track the spill yourself.

Action Alert - Peter Erlinder Arrested!

2010-05-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

the Bolshechix have had the pleasure of hearing Peter Erlinder lecture a few times. Please pass this information along!

National Lawyers Guild Demands Immediate Release of Attorney Peter Erlinder Vigorous Legal Advocate Arrested in Rwanda

For Immediate Release: May 28, 2010
Contact: David Gespass, 205-566-2530
Heidi Boghosian, 917-239-4999

New York - The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) demands the immediate release of its former president, Professor Peter Erlinder, whom Rwandan Police arrested early today on charges of 'genocide ideology. He had traveled to Rwanda's capital, Kigali, on May 23, to join the defense team of Rwandan presidential candidate Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. Erlinder is reportedly being interrogated at the Rwandan Police Force's Kacyiru headquarters.

"Professor Erlinder has been acting in the best tradition of the legal profession and has been a vigorous advocate in his representation of Umuhoza. There can be no justice for anyone if the state can silence lawyers for defendants whom it dislikes and a government that seeks to prevent lawyers from being vigorous advocates for their clients cannot be trusted. The entire National Lawyers Guild is honored by his membership and his courageous advocacy," said David Gespass, the Guild's president.

Erlinder traveled to Kigali after attending the Second International Criminal Defense Lawyers' Conference in Brussels. Since his arrival in Kigali, the state-sponsored Rwandan media has been highly critical of Erlinder. The Rwandan Parliament adopted the 'Law Relating to the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Ideology' (Genocide Ideology Law), on July 23, 2008. It defines genocide ideology broadly, requires no link to any genocidal act, and can be used to include a wide range of legitimate forms of expression, prohibiting speech protected by international conventions such as the Genocide Convention of 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.

Sarah Erlinder, Arizona attorney and NLG member said, "My father has made a career defending unpopular people and unpopular speech and is now being held because of his representation of unpopular clients and analysis of an historical narrative that the Kagame regime considers inconvenient. We can help defend his rights now by drawing U.S. government and media attention to his situation and holding the Rwandan government accountable for his well-being."

Before leaving for Brussels and then Kigali, Professor Erlinder notified the U.S. State Department, his Minnesota Congressional Representative Betty McCullom, Representative Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Senators Al Franken and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Professor Erlinder is a professor of law at the William Mitchell College of Law. He is a frequent litigator and consultant, often pro bono, in cases involving the death penalty, civil rights, claims of government and police misconduct, and criminal defense of political activists. He is also a frequent news commentator. Erlinder was president of the National Lawyers Guild from 1993-1997, and is a current board member of the NLG Foundation. He has been a defense attorney at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda since 2003.

The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
# # #

Call and demand the immediate release of Professor Peter Erlinder:
Senator Al Franken (202) 224-5641 Or send an email at
http://franken.senate.gov/contact/

Senator Amy Klobuchar 202-224-3244 Fax: 202-228-2186 Or send an email at
http://klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm?contactForm=emailamy&submit=Go

Representative Keith Ellison 202-225-4755 Or send an email at
http://forms.house.gov/ellison/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

Representative Betty McCullom (202) 225-6631 Fax: (202) 225-1968 Or send
an email at http://forms.house.gov/mccollum/webforms/issue_subscribe.htm

Take it back!

2010-04-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

FUCK YOU ARIZONA

Happy May Day!

It is clear from the inspiring and massive marches today around the country that people want immigration reform. They are angry about SB 1070 and all other laws that obstruct the rights of immigrants. Reform not racism.

So here at Bolshechix, we demand that Arizona repeal its racist immigrant law SB 1070.

Just take it back. take this god awful law back. bury it in the idiotic laws of America hole. Just because we are not middle age white dudes in fancy suits does not mean that we are not Americans.

three word rant

2010-03-20T03:34:00.000-07:00

today marks some anniversary of some war in some other country. i won't be making an appearance, but don't worry, i'll be there next year. call me demoralized, but i just can't bring myself out to the streets for another annual anti-war march. especially with everyone chanting such powerful chants like

AIN'T NO POWER LIKE THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE
'CAUSE THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE DON'T STOP!

that is, until the rally is over and it's time to go home and feed our families. & how does

NO JUSTICE!
NO PEACE!

resignate when it's a peaceful permitted march? and in the instance of the minneapolis, they're calmly marching in a circle on some of the lesser seen streets. cedar and riverside are quite populated, but not as populated as say, nicollet or lake streets. isn't the point of these protests to cause a ruckus and a scene? how are you going to stop the war machine if you're barely going to disrupt the status quo? if you wanna stop a war, you gotta push some buttons!

we shouldn't be protesting once every 6 months, but once every few weeks. and not just in my city, but in your city and across the globe. while i admire those who are still willing to go out and have their little permitted temper tantrum against the war, i think i'd rather stay home and read a book.

Lesbians at the Prom! oh no!

2010-03-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

A student in the Mississippi's Itawamba County School District wanted to bring their girlfriend to the prom. AND wear a tuxedo. Said student is a female. Apparently this is a problem. And solution: cancel the prom. Nobody gets to go. Is the school district trying to avoid a discriminatory lawsuit here? Everyone is equally not going to prom. Well, the student, Constance McMillen, is suing the school regardless. The ACLU is helping her with the case, asking the courts to force the school to hold the prom. In the words of one of the greatest television lawyers,Marshall Eriksen, "you've been LAWYERED!" While the rights to go to prom may not be the first priority for gay rights activists, nevertheless it is important. Man, all she wants to do is dance with her girlfriend.

Let me simplified this case using baked good metaphors.

School wants gender normative muffin while Constance McKillen is a lesbian cupcake with tomboy frosting and "being proud of my sexual orientation" sprinkles. I would pick the cupcake over an anti-gay muffin anytime.

In an "Early Show" interview, the student said "I don't know how everybody was raised, but that's how I was raised, to always be yourself and be proud of who you are. And it's like they're asking you, like for prom, you can be gay, just don't be openly gay, just hide it for a little while."

you go dance at the prom girl!

international women's day

2010-03-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

8th of March is the day of the rebellion of

the working women against the kitchen slavery

Say NO to the oppression and babbittry of the household work!

today, sisters, marks march the 8th: international women's day. today we not only reflect on the disparities of our oppression, but we must start to rethink how our society is run. year after year, another women's day comes and goes & each year it becomes more like a hallmark holiday than a day of action. no longer do we challenge the way the government treats it's citizens and those abroad. we do not stand up for the injustice of the slaughtering of women and children and men alike across seas in the name of the united states. we do not stand up for the women raising children alone in our cities. instead we go about our day to day lives without much thought of the suffering of our mothers and sisters across the globe. it would seem it is so much easier to push the blame upon on our sisters who are suffering than to recognize that it's the fault of the patriarchal ways of the state.

should we not break free and take back our lives? should we not tear down a system based upon the exploitation of women, not only as workers, but as the potential producers of future workers? with in a capitalistic society, women face a great deal of oppression as the unpaid domestic labor will most likely fall down upon you. we need to stand up and call for revolution. not for reforms within capitalism for equal pay and such, but for the economic and cultural revolutions in which we are not just paid to be equal, but to be seen and heard as equal. after all sisters, we too have nothing to lose but our chains.

Doàn Kêt by Meridel le Seuer

I

How can we touch each other, my sisters?
How can we hear each other over the criminal space?
How can we touch each other over the agony of bloody roses?
I always feel you near, your sorrow like a wind in the
great legend of your resistance, your strong and delicate strength.

It was the bumble bee and the butterfly who survived,
not the dinosaur.

None of my sons or grandsons took up guns against you.

And all the time the predators were poisoning the humus, polluting
the water, the hooves of empire passing over us all. White
hunters were aiming down the gunsights; villages wrecked
mine and yours. Defoliated trees, gnawed earth, blasted embryos.

We also live in a captive country, in the belly of the shark.
The horrible faces of our predators, gloating, leering,
the bloody Ford and Rockefeller and Kissinger presiding over
the violation of Asia.

Mortgaging, blasting, claiming earth and women in the chorale
of flayed flesh and hunger, the air crying of carbon and thievery.

Our mutual flesh lights the sulphur emanation of centuries of
exploitation. Amidst the ruins we shine forth in holy mutual
cry, revealing the plainest cruelties and human equation,
the deprivations of power and the strength of numbers and
endurance and the holy light from the immortal wound.

The only knowledge now is the knowledge of the dispossessed.
Our earth itself screams like a bandaged, roaring giant about
to rise in all its wounds and bear upon the conqueror.

Lock your doors in the cities.

There are no quiet dead - and no quiet deed.
Everything you touch now is ticking to its explosion.
The scab is about to infect.
The ruined land is dynamite. Cadmus teeth of dead guerrillas
gnaw the air. Nature returns all wounds as warriors.
The Earth plans resistance and cries, "Live".

What strikes you, my sisters, strikes us all. The global earth
is resonant, communicative.
Conception is instant solidarity of the child.
Simultaneity of the root drives the green sap of the flower.
In the broken, the dispossessed is the holy cry.

We keep our tenderness alive and the nourishment of the earth green.
The heart is central as lava.
We burn in each other. We burn and burn.
We shout in choruses of millions.
We appear armed as mothers, grandmothers, sisters, warriors.
We burn.

II

Sisters, the predators plan to live within our bodies.
They plan to wring out of us unpaid labor.
Wrench their wealth from our bodies.
Like the earth they intend to bore inside the woman host,
open the artery like weasels, use, consume, devour, drill for
oil, eat the flesh of the earth mother.
Like the earth they will consume all woman flesh and the
commodities of her being.
The harbors of the world will be for the sale of her body.

The sweat shops will multiply stolen wealth of her living skin.
They slaver at the cheap labor of women around the world.
They will ground us on the metate, like living corn.
We will be gutted and used by the Companies to make wealth.
General Motors, Ma Bell, Anaconda, pickers of cotton and
coffee, hanging our babies on our backs, producers of hand
and brain and womb.
The world eaters sharpen their teeth.
Out of the unpaid labor of women they will triple their wealth.
Women far down under are trashed, pressed into darkness,
humiliated, exploited.
Half the women of Puerto Rico sterilized, the salt savor
of our sweat tiding like an ocean.
Brothels called meat markets in all the ports of the conqueror.

We are the wine cast struck to the ground, spilled.
We are a great granary of seed smashed, burned.
We are a garroted flight of doves.
We are face out of bone. Years of labor bend the bone and back.
Down the root of conquest our bodies receive the insult.
Receive a thousand blows, theft of ovum and child.
Meadows of dead and ruined women. There is no slight death.
After the first death there is no other.
The Body trashed, dies.
There is no abstract death or death at a distance.
Our bodies extend into the body of all.
Every moment is significant in our solidarity.

In solidarity I stood at the gates of Honeywell where the "Mother
Bomb" is timed and triggered. I hid my grandsons from the gun.
I crouched under the terrible planes of Johnson, Nixon and
Kissinger.
I felt the boots on your throat as my own.
I saw the guns pointed at us all.
It was the gun used on my sister.

Now in the "White house" another mask of white criminals
turn upon us, on our native people at Wounded Knee, cut food for
our children and promise us a bigger army. Children are shot
down, I hear mothers crying from the black belt.

Women of the earth, bear the weight of the oppressor,
bearing us down into deep to glow upward from the dark,
from the womb, from the abyss of blood, from the injured
scream, from below we glow and rise singing.

III

I saw the women of the earth rising on horizons of nitrogen.
I saw the women of the earth coming toward each other
with praise and heat
without reservations of space.
All shining and alight in solidarity.
Transforming the wound into bread and children.
In a new abundance, a global summer.
Tall and crying out in song we arise
in mass meadows.
We will run to the living hills with our seed.
We will redeem all hostages.
We will light the bowl of life.
We will light singing
across all seas
The resonance of the song of woman,
lifted green, alive
in the solidarity of the communal love.
Uncovering the illumined fruit
the flying pollen
in the thighs of golden bees
We bring to you our fire
We pledge to you our guerilla
fight against the predators of our country.
We come with thunder
Lightning on our skin,
Roaring womb singing
Our sisters
Singing.
Choruses of millions
Singing.

solidarity call!

2010-03-02T14:39:00.001-08:00

We appeal to people everywhere, and in particular to all our libertarian comrades, to demonstrate their class solidarity over the coming days by helping the worst-hit neighbourhoods.

On 27th February 2010, a strong earthquake hit our country, causing incalculable damage, mostly between the 5th (Valparaíso) and 10th (Los Lagos) Regions. The regions most badly affected are the 8th (Bío-Bío) and the 7th (Maule). People have lost their homes and all their belongings, and are now on the streets, cold and hungry. Roads have been destroyed, impeding movement and distribution. As usual, it is the poor who are worst affected by this natural disaster, those who have no resources to make up for what has been lost.

We appeal for the creation of aid groups, to help with the removal of debris and food collections, particularly among the most precarious sectors who, after years of economic hardship, are all too easily exposed when such situations arise. CLASS SOLIDARITY NOW FOR OUR PEOPLE!

Convergencia Libertaria
www.banderalibertaria.cl.vg

Organización Revolucionaria Anarquista Voz Negra
voznegra.entodaspartes.net

Translation by FdCA-International Relations Office

Fire teachers, teach kids to trust your country.

2010-03-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

President Obama has tailored a $900 million budget for the sake of improving national graduation rates, specifically allocating funds for struggling schools in every state. This issue of graduation rates is incredibly close to Obama's heart, because as he said, dropping out of school... well, "It's giving up on your country."

(NPR ARTICLE HERE)

In this wonderful plan, Obama holds money over poor-performing school districts, only giving it to them if they abide by one of his models for increasing graduation rates.

The four models, as listed in the article:

— Turnaround Model: The school district must replace the principal and at least half of the school staff, adopt a new governance structure for the school, and implement a new or revised instructional program.

— Restart Model: The school district must close and reopen the school under the management of a charter school operator, a charter management organization or an educational management organization. A restarted school would be required to enroll, within the grades it serves, former students who wish to attend.

— School Closure: The school district must close the failing school and enroll the students in other, higher-achieving schools in the district.

— Transformational Model: The school must address four areas, including teacher effectiveness, instruction, learning and teacher planning time, and operational flexibility.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?

These models are supposed to help students get from freshman year through graduation? And how do you measure help? Standardized tests? OH YEAH THOSE WORK SO WELL. What kind of schools are probably eligible for this incentive funding? Schools whose students probably wouldn't excel at standardized tests for reasons outside of the students' control. So yeah, fire the teachers. They are obviously the problem here.

OR, close the fuckin' school all together, ship the kids off to a nearby similarly crowded one. GOOD CHOICE FOR EVERYONE.

Fire the teachers, really?

MPR recently posted the 34 Minnesota schools that are on Obama's game plan. What kind of schools are on this list? How about schools in American-Indian populated districts, or a Hmong-populated school within Minneapolis, or schools like Isle Secondary, which has 2 schools in the whole damn district. And plenty of others! Every school, if they need this funding (they do), HAS to take on one of Obama's models for success.

The plan is already underway; last week a district in Rhode Island fired the principle and all teachers at Central Falls -- and Obama praised them. (MPR)

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Breaking News: Glass ceiling is a myth -- women just haven't discovered high-paying jobs yet!

2010-02-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

Forbes has recently posted an article titled The Best-Paying Jobs That Women Aren't In, on their section ForbesWomen. Here Forbes saves the day for womankind by writing the piece "in hopes of finding the best jobs women haven't yet discovered."

For example, one such job that women have yet to discover is chief executive. As pointed out in the article, of the top 500 companies in the US, only 3% of chief executives are women. It's strange, isn't it, that women just sit around at the lower-level positions of the workforce, when they could be CEOs!

They even do the math for you:

"By choosing engineering over nursing, for example, a woman could earn three to four times more each week."

Oh, golly, Forbes, I..I..I never thought of that!

Nevermind that the higher-paid jobs are male-designed career paths, featuring competitive/boys-club atmosphere, with blatant pay and treatment discrimination. Plus, contrary to what the article may suggest, factors outside of the payroll come into play to box women out of ideal worker success.

As for the future, Forbes predicts that since women are now studying business, "the playing field may even out in the next few decades." So really, women will snap out of it, no need to address that awkward subject anymore.

So, you heard 'em, ladies, get on that shit!

White people are not terrorists, says Department of Homeland Security.

2010-02-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

This morning, a man of a particular race deliberately drove a plane into the IRS building in Texas, as a suicide act. He left a note citing his detailed rage against the IRS and the US Government, in explanation of why he had to end his life.

He closed his letter with:

Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Hold on, however, because THAT'S NOT THE ILLOGICAL PART. The Department of Homeland Security has decided that this was NOT terrorism. Rather, this white man's irrational activity was "criminal". Why? Because if you refuse to call it terrorism, you can de-politicize the entire thing as some idiotface decided to drive a plane into a building. Why de-politicize it? Cause it's nothing to gang up against as Americans. Even the most patriotic flagwavers are probably not fans of the IRS. UNITED WE STAND does not apply here, THE ENEMY is a fellow American... soooo we'll just call it crime and hope people rally for increased security!

As the NYTimes' headline for the story reads: Small Plane Crashes Into IRS Building in Texas. Not Man Fed Up With Capitalism Drives Plane Into IRS Building in Texas. Sentence structure 101: the PLANE was not the subject here.

Read his suicide note HERE. It's incredibly long and detailed. Not to make this guy anything more than what he is (and I have no idea what he is), but there are some fucking interesting political overtures here. Anyway, read/skim it sometime.

The points I want to get to here are: is it terrorism, and does that matter?

Definition of 'terrorism' as per my handy dandy Macbook Dictionary (New Oxford American): "The use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of a political aim."

SO, if a man writes a long-winded suicide letter about the outrageous cruelty of the US government, specifically of one wrath of this government, and as the Times article explains, has "frustrations with the nation’s tax and health care systems", and then drives a plane into said cruel wrath of the United States government, I'm going to call that violence for the sake of a political aim. Answer: Yes, terrorism.

But, does that matter? Is what we call it that important? Yea, kind of. Because what we call it influences how we talk about it. Read over this guy's suicide note; it's worth talking about.

It's an obscure concept,you probably haven't heard of it

2010-02-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

I browsed through the American Apparel online website and surprise surprise it was very American. By American I mean racist. With exception of the children and baby section, there was not a single non-white model on the website.

I will not even ask "How is that possible?".

American Apparel should probably rename itself "Skinny White People & Their Expensive Potato Sacks".

Perhaps this Hipster brand has finally found something that it has not heard of.

diversity.

other commentary:

"The Search For the Best Bottom in the World"-http://i.americanapparel.net/storefront/UGCStyle/BestBottom2010/index.asp

American Apparel is asking for butt shots. Then once butts are posted on the AA website, people can rate it. this is so degrading to all women. thanks AA for another fun lesson in sexism.

2010-01-28T00:08:00.000-08:00

"The challenge remains. On the other side are formidable forces: money, political power, the major media. On our side are the people of the world and a power greater than money or weapons: the truth. Truth has a power of its own. Art has a power of its own. That age-old lesson – that everything we do matters – is the meaning of the people’s struggle here in the United States and everywhere. A poem can inspire a movement. A pamphlet can spark a revolution. Civil disobedience can arouse people and provoke us to think, when we organize with one another, when we get involved, when we stand up and speak out together, we can create a power no government can suppress. We live in a beautiful country. But people who have no respect for human life, freedom, or justice have taken it over. It is now up to all of us to take it back."

- Howard Zinn, 1922 - 2010

touchdown freethrow interception jesus says no abortions goaaaal!

2010-01-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

On... whatever Sunday that the superbowl is happening, during one of the commercial breaks from whatever teams are playing eachother, college football player Tim Tebow is going to star in a tearjerking anti-choice commercial, where he and his mother will explain that had she taken the doctor's advice and gotten an abortion, this wonderful gift from the Lord would have never become the football star that he is.

Take a look at this article, by a woman who is pro-choice:

Women's Groups Protest Tim Tebow's Anti-Abortion Superbowl Ad

The article itself is a critique of the groups that are against this ad, proclaiming that, well, the Christian Right has the fucking money, give them the fucking ad. It's only fair.

"If those pro-choice orgs could come up with all the dough, I would want them to be able to run commercials during the Super Bowl, too."

Because only financially-backed causes deserve to be seen. This is just another fair is fair, black-and-white, fundamental standpoint - I'm not chosing sides here, if pro-choice organizations were rich, then we'd let those pretty little ladies voice their opinions, too!

If mom-and-pop stores had enough money to keep their customers when Walmart came into town, then they would deserve to survive! No shit Sherlock.

And, is that really true? As the article says, in 2004, CBS wouldn't play the (funded) commercial that supported gay rights, so what's the use in being so gosh darn fair about it? You know who controls the information waves, mister.

The point is, this is how political issues work in the public, and somehow, it is conceived as fair. Capitalist ethics to the bone; free market free speech. So, who has the money? They must be right, then. Probably looking out for the better interest of us all, yeah. Is it really that big of a shocker that our government is protecting the personal rights of corporations? The bigger issue is, why was it a shocker at all? And what are we going to do about it?

In conclusion - fuck football.

ted kennedy apocalypse

2010-01-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

Ted kennedy's seat went to Scott Brown (zomg, republican!) today and the excuses have already begun. "Obama Can't Get Anything Else Done Without Majority In House And Senate" one blog proclaims. Bullshit, George Bush was able to pass plenty of war funding under a complete democrat majority when he was president, but somehow Obama won't be able to create "change" because of one more republican? If healthcare reform bill fails, it will be on the shoulders of the democrats and their constituents for not putting enough pressure on their senators and house members.

Time and Time again the people were foolish enough to trust, believe, and support their last farthing aspiring politicans, only to find themselves betrayed and cheated.
- emma goldman

here's to a new year of politics as usual.

As if we needed another reason not to like Oprah.

2010-01-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

This is a really devastating diagram put out by Dangerous Minds, illustrating the economic and environmental disparities that take place every minute. At the same time, it demonstrates how real the effects of class division, capitalism, and colonialism are.

The purpose was to transform the massive, almost abstract studies that we have access to but rarely understand. So they have taken the large numbers and put them into a selection of things that all happen in the world every minute. And... it does a terribly effective job.

Some of the facts:

In 1 minute, 250 babies are born - 113 of them are born into poverty.

In 1 minute, Oprah makes $523 ... and the average person makes $0.013.

In 1 minute, 120,673 pounds of edible food are thrown out in the United States.

In 1 minute, Nike makes $36,505, and a worker in a Nike factory in Vietnam makes $0.0014.

Take a look at the actual diagram, here.

Now imagine if this diagram added, for example, how much the average woman makes in a minute, how many women are abused in a minute, etc.

So... Happy New Year?

Celebrating Human Rights - And Hillary!

2009-12-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Today I received a very inspiring e-mail from the Hillary Clinton online community - NoLimits.org (which i excitedly signed up for upon seeing her in 2008). This e-mail was a reminder that tomorrow is Human Rights / Hillary Clinton Day!

" When then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton told the world in 1995 that "women's rights are human rights, and human rights are women's rights," she sent a message of hope and aspiration that continues to resonate today, from kitchen tables in American cities to small villages in countries around the globe. "

Thanks for this e-mail reminder that you actually care about human rights; i was a little concerned after reading about how you welcome the troop surge to Afghanistan. It's great that your message of human rights resonates today, otherwise people might catch on to your commitment to war.
It's wonderful that you take the time to give some lip service on issues on conveniently beneficial days for your career.

Maybe we are talking about different human rights here, you sorry excuse of a vagina.

...and about those small villages - did you telepathically let them know that they deserve human rights? Cause none of your actual work has helped them out in the slightest.

So donate your plentiful dollars to Hillary Clinton! We know that she spends her supporter money well, and she is certainly lacking monies as of late.

" P.S. As Hillary said, "With our creativity, ingenuity and innovative spirit, there are No Limits to what is possible." We can do so much by working together - will you help by sending this message on to a friend? "

No problem, Hillary!

Sexism is not sexy

2009-12-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

Actress Ashley Judd at the March for Women's lives in 2004. She is doing something important, fighting for women's rights. But why do anti-feminists think the following pictures are funny? They do not understand the subordination of women and further add to it. Instead of examining real issues the creators of these photos choose to attack women using sexist jokes. Sexism is not sexy. Man up, check your facts and analyze real issues.

The wage gap is real. women still make way less than men. Is that fair? No.

Don't have any thing to support your argument? Just toss in a few sexist stereotypes.
Domestic violence is not funny. 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic violence in her lifetime. Women are psychologically affected by these experiences and even worse die from the extensive beatings.

Abortion should be free. And most importantly there should be single payer healthcare. The right to choose is a human right, not based on how much you make. And men, don't think that you had nothing to do with us getting pregnant, the sperm got there somehow.

Feminist vs Feminine-ist

2009-12-04T11:13:00.001-08:00

Karen Salmansohn's "Are you a Feminist or a Feminine-ist?" is an attempt to add another word to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Scrabble will not accept this and neither will I.

According to K.S.:

Feminist=a woman who's basically unattractive both in looks and in spirit

Feminine-ist= beautiful, leggy, sexy woman

Let's take a quick look at her arguments:

"With the word 'feminism,' it might have been embarrassing for a man to say he was a supporter because it might sound like he was admitting to supporting of a group of controlling, bitchy women. But with new pro-sexiness, pro-sweetness, pro-balance words like 'feminine-ist' and 'feminine-ism,' what's not for a man to love."

Geez,wouldn't taking off all our clothes be an easier way to get men to support our cause? Men should support what feminism stands for, not the sexy long shapely legs we stand on. Futhermore a man who does not support feminism because it is unattractive is not worthy of your love.

"I see too many women these days rushing around trying to do it all, but meanwhile they're not being it all! They're not being their fullest, best feminine selves. Instead, they're being tougher than they'd like to be as well as more exhausted, strident and irritable, thereby feeling unattractive inside and out."

Unlike Salmansohn who has a cushy job writing 'articles' like this one, most women have to work long hours to support their families. So forgive us if we're not as cheery as you are after a long work day.

if you want to read this article for giggles http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/knowyourself/20091103-orig-karen-salmansohn-feminine-ism.

open letter to the youth of america

2009-12-04T00:40:00.000-08:00

Alternet posted an article stating that while most young american's hate Obama's policies, they still love the guy.

HEY YOUTH OF AMERICA - get a grip!

If you don't agree with his escalation in Afghanistan & you don't agree with his illusion of healthcare and countless other issues, you probably don't agree with him at all. If you don't agree with the man, why continue to love him?

Is it because....
- he's charismatic?
- you spent too much money on obama t-shirts and other paraphernalia?
- that new LSD is just so damn good?

while it might've been trendy in 2008 to rebel against the old regime of G. dubz and the republican'ts it's time to get a new perspective. Obama & the democrats aren't doing our generation any good with allowing such atrocities as the Stupak Amendment to exist or bailing out wallstreet. It's time to recognize that he is not fulfilling his promises of Change and get angry. Only once we're angry and start addressing what's happening in our country can we start to fix the problems.

If you're angry about the escalation of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, speak out.

If you want real healthcare reform not for-profit healthcare, stand up.

& if you want Change in america - it's time to wake up.

Human Sexing

2009-12-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Caster Semenya. you go girl!

Chick sexing is a method of distinguishing the sex of chickens. You think that's shit. Well, let's talk about human sexing. To be more precise let's talk about the human sexing of Caster Semenya.

Caster Semenya,for those of you who do not know, is an 18 year old runner from South Africa. She captured the gold medal in the 800 meter race during the World Championships of Athletics in 2009 and then became one of the most talked about athletes of 2009. Unfortunately for Semenya the world was talking about whether or not she was a female rather than her achievements. Fuck this shit.

Well, here's where the human sexing comes in. In order to determine her sex, she had to go through a string of tests. How humiliating. To boot, these tests do not guarantee the so-called right answer. Why does it matter what your sex is? The category is a social construction and should be thrown out. A person should be judged based on their merits, not their genitalia.

Caster Semenya will probably not get the endorsement deals that Anna Kournikova gets, but that does not make her any less of a woman. Semenya is perfectly content with the way she looks and no one better tell her otherwise.Why does a woman have to look like a model? Embrace our differences. Let's toss those ridiculous gender norms out the itsthefuckin21stcenturystopbeingasexist window.

Oh, just an update. Semenya does get to keep her gold medal.

a Bolshechix picture response

2009-11-15T00:47:00.000-08:00

Army Sends Infant to Protective Services, Mom to Afghanistan

by Dahr Jamail

VENTURA, California - U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas.
Hutchinson, of Oakland, California, is currently being confined at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, after being arrested. Her son was placed into a county foster care system.
Hutchinson has been threatened with a court martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan on Sunday, Nov. 15. She has been attempting to find someone to take care of her child, Kamani, while she is deployed overseas, but to no avail.
According to the family care plan of the U.S. Army, Hutchinson was allowed to fly to California and leave her son with her mother, Angelique Hughes of Oakland.
However, after a week of caring for the child, Hughes realised she was unable to care for Kamani along with her other duties of caring for a daughter with special needs, her ailing mother, and an ailing sister.
In late October, Angelique Hughes told Hutchinson and her commander that she would be unable to care for Kamani after all. The Army then gave Hutchinson an extension of time to allow her to find someone else to care for Kamani. Meanwhile, Hughes brought Kamani back to Georgia to be with his mother.
However, only a few days before Hutchinson's original deployment date, she was told by the Army she would not get the time extension after all, and would have to deploy, despite not having found anyone to care for her child.
Faced with this choice, Hutchinson chose not to show up for her plane to Afghanistan. The military arrested her and placed her child in the county foster care system.
Currently, Hutchinson is scheduled to fly to Afghanistan on Sunday for a special court martial, where she then faces up to one year in jail.
Hutchinson's civilian lawyer, Rai Sue Sussman, told IPS, "The core issue is that they are asking her to make an inhumane choice. She did not have a complete family care plan, meaning she did not find someone to provide long-term care for her child. She's required to have a complete family care plan, and was told she'd have an extension, but then they changed it on her."
Asked why she believes the military revoked Hutchinson's extension, Sussman responded, "I think they didn't believe her that she was unable to find someone to care for her infant. They think she's just trying to get out of her deployment. But she's just trying to find someone she can trust to take care of her baby."
Hutchinson's mother has flown to Georgia to retrieve the baby, but is overwhelmed and does not feel able to provide long-term care for the child.
According to Sussman, the soldier needs more time to find someone to care for her infant, but does not as yet have friends or family able to do so.
Sussman says Hutchinson told her, "It is outrageous that they would deploy a single mother without a complete and current family care plan. I would like to find someone I trust who can take care of my son, but I cannot force my family to do this. They are dealing with their own health issues."
Sussman told IPS that the Army's JAG attorney, Captain Ed Whitford, "told me they thought her chain of command thought she was trying to get out of her deployment by using her child as an excuse." '
Major Gallagher, of Hutchinson's unit, also told Sussman that he did not believe it was a real family crisis, and that Hutchinson's "mother should have been able to take care of the baby".
In addition, according to Sussman, a First Sergeant Gephart "told me he thought she [Hutchinson] was pulling her family care plan stuff to get out of her deployment".
"To me it sounds completely bogus," Sussman told IPS, "I think what they are actually going to do is have her spend her year deployment in Afghanistan, then court martial her back here upon her return. This would do irreparable harm to her child. I think they are doing this to punish her, because they think she is lying."
Sussman explained that she believes the best possible outcome is for the Army to either give Hutchinson the extension they had said she would receive so that she can find someone to care for her infant, or barring this, to simply discharge her so she can take care of her child.
Nevertheless, Hutchinson is simply asking for the time extension to complete her family care plan, and not to be discharged.
"I'm outraged by this," Sussman told IPS, "I've never gone to the media with a military client, but this situation is just completely over the top."

OUR REACTION:

Way to go Army, for forcing a woman to abandon her child in order to support and inflict violence on innocent children abroad. This mother had no way to provide care for her child if she deployed, she lacked the financial sway and the personal support systems to set up something like complete, 24 hour child care for the entirety of her service.

As in most areas of the workforce, women have to chose between being a good mother and being a good worker, because there is no way to be both. This is an incredibly polarized and disgusting case of the constant balance that women must always strive for, but systematically can never reach.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE - but if you're a woman, especially a poor woman of color, well, you're fucked no matter what you do.

Working class children suffer more than we know.

2009-11-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

The American Psychological Association, for the first time, surveyed children for the predominant sources of stress in their lives. Children responded with expected reasons, such as getting along with friends and the way they look, but even more than looks or friends, kids worry about finances. 1 in 3 children worry about their family having enough money. This number is consistent for young people age 8 through 17 years old. What does this say? An 8 year old is more likely to worry about their families financial burden than their friends.

Even more, a recent study at the University of California has found that in households where the working parent(s) have lost a job, children are 15% more likely to repeat a grade. Children that have to repeat a grade in school experience grave consequences, not just academically, but socially.

The effect of money is HUGE on kids. In the most consequential years in their lives, in spite of popular culture, teenagers worry more about money than their looks.

What's worse, is that 63% of parents responded that they think their own life stresses have very little or no influence on the stress of their children. Can we blame parents for hoping that their financial concerns aren't passed onto their children? With the amount of job losses and turmoil we see everyday, what does this mean for kids growing up in the recession?

The result of recession is not simply that those damn kids might get a few less Christmas gifts this year - those damn kids might worry everyday about their family's bills, and their parents probably don't even know it. Probably, because they are too worried about trying to put food on the table this week.

On that note - everyone give a hand to Warren Buffet for speaking at Columbia University, telling indebted students that the economic crisis is over, to "marry the right person," buy stocks, and that "capitalism is great." Thanks for using your influence for the greater good, asshole.

Sources:
USATODAY on Children & Stress.
NYTIMES on Children & Unemployment
StarTrib on WARREN BUFFET IS A PIECE OF SHIT.

A Crash Course in Marxisms

2009-11-13T00:56:00.000-08:00

If a student at the University of Minnesota wanted to begin their studies in Marxist theory, where would they begin?

The best thing they could do is take the course taught by April Knutson this spring. The class starts with the basics of Material Dialectics and goes through a wide variety of topics. Books covered include: the Communist Manifesto, State & Revolution, and The Philosophy of Marxism. There are plenty of guest lectures by a variety of amazing professors and April Knutson herself. This may be your only opportunity to imagine and plan what it would be like to take over the streets of Minneapolis in an academic setting. The journaling may seem tedious, but is beneficial in the long run. There was debate whether or not this class was going to ever be offered again so take it while you still have the opportunity. This class is a must for any liberal or self proclaimed radical. If you know a little or a lot about socialism this is a well-rounded theory class that I recommend everyone and anyone takes… plus April owns an adorable puppy!

Two of us blog authors have already taken the course (to say it was an inspiration would be downplaying the course) and another will be taking it next semester. Take this class if only to be sitting next to a real life bolsechik!

COURSE INFORMATION:
ENGL 3090, 3 Credits
M/W/F 10:10-11:00 AM

http://webusers.physics.umn.edu/~marquit/intromarx.htm
for past readings & syllabus

Our Manifesto

2009-11-11T20:15:00.001-08:00

WHO WE ARE a few select highly caffeinated girls taking ownership over our own ideas instead of being fed the ideologies of second wave feminism & old world communism. we recognize the disparity in the one sided focus on only the white male working class by current day socialism. feminist theory does no better with their neglect of concrete solutions in smashing the state.

we intend to use this space not for promotional use, but as means for our own political development. we intend to make a caffeinated analysis of current events on the global spectrum & their relation to the intersections of capitalist oppression.

WE ARE WOMEN WRITING BACK.