Friday, September 30, 2005

News
Hawa Sy the first female taxi driver in Senegal wants to encourage other women to become more independent.
HAWA SY

Karen Hughes completed her "listening tour" of Egypt, Saudia Arabia and Turkey and learned that even audiences hand picked by the White House still have issues with US foreign policy. At least her tin ear doesn't deviate from the rest of the adminstration's tin ears.
KAREN HUGHES HAS A TIN EAR
Slate offers more commentary on why Hughes is such a bad diplomat.
KAREN HUGHES- STAY HOME!

Ellen Goodman
THE DOWNSIDE OF EQUALITY

Judith Miller, reporter from The NYTimes who spent her summer in jail, was released after agreeing to testify before the Grand Jury. Her testimony was made possible after a waiver from her source, Scooter Libby, Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

The new and changing world of sexual harrassment.
SEXUAL HARRASSMENT

Katha Pollitt on the continuing controversy over the NYTimes story on a new generation of overeducated and underemployed women
KATHA POLLITT

Dahlia Lithwick from Slate has written some of the best commentary on the Supreme Court this summer. She hits the nail on the head again.
PICK A CHICK!

Movies
Julianne Moore stars in Jane Anderson's The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio about 1950s woman with 10 kids who entered jingle contests to support her family.
USA Today says " Moore is exceptional as Evelyn Ryan, one of the more stalwart and inspiring characters in recent movies. Her portrayal has depth, nuance, humor, warmth and, above all, intelligence."

Theatre
Cherry Jones continues to secure her role as the best dramatic actress of her generation by signing on to the revival of Brain Friel's Faith Healer with Ralph Feinnes and Ian McDiarmid.

Five-time Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman will be honored on Monday, October 10th at the 6th Annual Elan Awards an event celebrating choreography by producing new works by selected choreographers.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
Karen Hughes got her ass kicked again on her "let's export American democracy tour" this time in Turkey.
KAREN HUGHES IN TURKEY

Many young women in Africa who try to deliver babies at home run into difficulties that could be avoided by Caesarean sections. These women lose their babies, are shunned by their communities and need surgery to repair the damage.
BIRTHING INJURY FOR AFRICAN WOMEN

Portugal is holding a referendum this year on whether to make abortion legal in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
PORTUGESE REFERENDUM ON ABORTION

Married women are more likely to have sexual problems than married men or single women a UK study suggests.
SEX PROBLEMS FOR SMUG MARRIEDS

Federal Judge Constance Baker Motley who at one time represented Martin Luther King Jr. was died at 84.


Film
Renee Zellweger will topline Miss Potter, a biopic about Beatrix Potter. The film explores the life of the author of such beloved children's books as The Tale of Peter Rabbit and her struggle for independence in Victorian England.

Kate Winslet is in final negotiations to join Cameron Diaz in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy Holiday for Columbia Pictures. Holiday, which also is written and produced by Meyers, centers on an American woman (Diaz) with man troubles who crosses paths with a British villager (Winslet) with similar problems.

TV
Things went really well for ABC's Commander in Chief in its debut outing on Tuesday night. Not only did it win its timeslot with a lot of competition, but it was the most watched show of the night even beating Law & Order- SVU, but it got beaten by House in the all important 18-49 demo. The total viewers were approximately 16.37 million.
THELMA FOR PRESIDENT (this is a Salon article - so the drill is that you join or watch an ad)

Alias kicks off its fifth season tonight in another new timeslot; 8pm on ABC- with Jennifer Garner's real life pregnancy bring written into the show. Can't wait.

Books
Ann Beattie has been named the winner of the annual $30,000 Rea Award for the Short Story.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
Three army officers in Nepal have been found guilty of torturing a 15-year-old girl to death. They got six month prison terms (they have already served the time) and have to pay a paltry $1500 compensation to her family.
ARMY OFFICERS CONVICTED OF TORTURE

Sandra O'Reilly was the victim of two separate gang rapes in one night in July 2002 in the resort country of Mauritius. Sandra said: "It wasn't easy to bring the rapists to justice, but I knew that it was important not only for me, but for all women."
SANDRA O'REILLY

Dorothy Aken'Ova the founder of the International Centre for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights, is teaching sex education in Nigeria in hopes to reduce domestic violence against women.
DOROTHY AKEN'OVA

Pakistani women continue to speak out about rape in light of President Musharef's remarks.
WOMEN SPEAK OUT

Anna Nicole Smith's case about whether her husband promised her millions of dollars upon his death (he was about 60 years older than her when they got hitched) will be heard by the Supreme Court. Great use of their time.

Girls are being used to fulfill drug debts in Afhganistan.
GIRLS USED AS PAYMENT FOR DEBTS

Is abortion politics endangering the Democrats?
PARTY OF CHOICE

Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes tells the Saudis that they need to get into the 21st century and give women the right to drive and other rights, yet the women in the audience were not particularly receptive to Hughes' Americancentric depiction of what freedom is.
HUGHES IN SAUDI ARABIA


Gloria Feldt, former president of Planned Parenthood on wha tto expect from the Roberts Court.
GLORIA FELDT

Movies
Flight attendants are protesting their depiction in the new Jodie Foster film Flightplan.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS ARE MAD

TV
More on Commander in Chief which premiered last night on ABC.
COMMANDER IN CHIEF- WILL IT EFFECT THE 2008 RACE?

If you have Tivo and you are watching Lost tonight at 9; use your other tuner to record one of my faves- Veronica Mars also at 9pm on UPN.

Monday, September 26, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
A leading TV journalist, May Chidiac, from Beirut was critically injured when a carbomb blew up her car on Sunday, September 25.
JOURNALIST CRITICALLY INJURED

73 year old legendary singer Miriam Makeba is beginning a farewell world tour after a 50 year performing career.
MIRIAM MAKEBA

Women in Pakistan who allege rape must have 4 "pious" male witnesses to the assault or the vicitm is likely to be accused of adultery. 60% of the women are in jail is due to these controversial "Hudood laws". Rapes in Pakistan have started to get some attention in recent weeks. Here are some interviews with Pakistani women about the current situation in Pakistan.
RAPE IN PAKISTAN

Movies
Women rule- Jodie Foster's Flightplan was #1 at the box office this past weekend grossing over 24 million dollars. That's two weekends in a row (last weekend Reese Witherspoon's Just Like Heaven was #1) that women have topped the box office.

Uberpublicist Pat Kingsley, who is both revered and feared was actually the subject of an interview on the ocassion of her company opening a London office. Learn a little, very little, about one of the owrlds most famous flacks.
PAT KINGSLEY

TV
Commander in Chief- the new ABC show that premieres tomorrow night at 9pm, is helping organizations like the White House Project gain visibility for its mission- to put a woman in the White House.
A WOMAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE
People around the country are hosting house parties to welcome the first woman president into their home.
HOUSE PARTIES

Rosie Perez has signed a one year holding deal with Fox which is hoping to create a comedy vehicle for the actress.

Stockard Channing takes on comedy this season in Out of Practice with Henry Winkler. She will still make occasional appearances on The West Wing, but don't on seeing too much of her . On the premiere of The West Wing last night her name and photo disappeared from the opening credits.
STOCKARD CHANNING

Music
Fiona Apple is back after 5 years with a new album.
FIONA APPLE

Theatre
Oprah Winfrey is investing 1 million dollars towards the capitalization of the new Broadway musical The Color Purple. We should all remember that is was the film of the Color Purple that made Oprah more than a talk show host, she was truly extraordinary in that film. It only makes sense that she would invest in this. I'm actually shocked that this is her first foray into producing. Maybe she could revolutionize theatre like she has revolutionized books.

The playwright Deb Margolin ("Three Seconds in the Key") is the recipient of the 2005 Kesselring Prize for playwriting, which includes $15,000. The National Arts Club presents the annual honor, now in its 25th year, to an emerging American playwright. The prize's honorable mention, $5,000 , will go to Tanya Barfield ("Blue Door"). Both awards will be presented on Nov. 20 at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park in Manhattan. Previous recipients of the prize, named in honor of the playwright Joseph Kesselring ("Arsenic and Old Lace") include Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Nicky Silver and Jose Rivera.

FYI
Left handed women are more prone to premenopausal women. More discrimination against us lefties.
BREAST CANCER RISK FOR LEFTIES

Thursday, September 22, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
Continuing saga of the NYTimes article from earlier in the week on whether elite, educated young women want to work outside the home after the have kids (this is a gross generalization of the article, but it is the gist). Gelf Magazine has an interesting update on the story about how women at Yale who received the survey thought it was too long and flawed so they declined to answer.
IVY LEAGUE MOMS

Here's a quote from one of the young women interviewed about her reaction to the story (don't know which one.- courtesy of media bistro fishbowl)

"It saddens me that I am portrayed as an insensitive and unambitious person in the article, and really did not know that Louise was only going to quote those of us who wanted to stay at home if/when we had kids. She in fact did interview my other suitemates who answered the survey as either not wanting to have children at all, or would continue working as a mother. I am somewhat shocked that she did not include ANY of their ideas or views in the article."

There have been many reports of rapes in the New Orleans Superdome in the Katrina aftermath yet after one minor story in the NYTimes it has disappeared from coverage.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN DURING THE HURRICANE

Judge John Roberts is one step closer to being Chief Justice John Roberts when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted for his nomination to the Court. Three weasel, men who people call liberal but not anymore, Herb Kohl, Russ Feingold (Russ- what the fuck man?), and Patrick Leahy voted for his nomination. His nomination will be voted on by the Senate next week.
Ellen Goodman asks where is John Roberts heart.
ELLEN GOODMAN

Film
A conversation with one of the greatest actresses around- Catherine Deneuve
CATHERINE DENEUVE
Deneuve has recently published a memoir - Close Up and Personal - available in Europe.

TV
Commander in Chief starring Geena Davis as the first female president premieres Tuesday at 9pm on ABC. WATCH IT! Geena hosted an inaugural ball for a premiere.
COMMANDER IN CHIEF

The show that everyone watches but nobody knows why they watch it or like it- Desperate Housewives returns on Sunday night at 9pm on ABC.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

Personally, I'm more excited for the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy which is created by an African American woman.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

The effect of war, particularly the Iran-Iraq war on women and families is highlighted in this BBC story.
WOMEN'S WAR STORIES

Rania al-Baz, a Saudi TV presenter was brutally beaten and disfigured by her husband. She allowed photos of her injuries to be shown and put a face on domestic violence in Saudia Arabia.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN SAUDIA ARABIA

Dear President Bush, Justice Ginsburg has a list of qualified women who could join her on the Supreme Court. Give her a call.
WOMEN SUPREME COURT OPTIONS

FYI
Women wash their hands after going to the bathroom. 25% of guys leave the bathroom without washing. Yuck.
WASH YOUR HANDS!

What We Need to Know Today

News
Educating Indian women about AIDS in a culture that does not discuss sex and where many women have not even heard of the disease is a very difficult prospect.
WOMEN AND AIDS IN INDIA

Melissa Etheridge is cancer free, in love and awesome and about to release a greatest hits album (I am so buying it) which has two new songs on it.
MELISSA ETHERIDGE

Books
Zadie Smith has written another best-seller. Her On Beauty was recently shortlisted for the Booker Prize and is getting a lot of play here. Frank Rich wrote a review of it in the NYTimes book review.
ZADIE SMITH

Feminist TV writer Jill Soloway from Six Feet Under has a new book of personal comic essays out entitled Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants: Based on a True Story. Can't go wrong when one of the chapters is entitled "Why Jews Go to the Bathroom with the Door Open." I'm buying it- I bet 10 bucks she's from Long Island.
JILL SOLOWAY

Movies
Jodie Foster's new film Flightplan opens on Friday. An interesting point is that Jodie's character was actually written for a male actor. Peter Dowling, the film's screewriter says it best:
"I think one of the most amazing things about that kind of situation when it starts off, as a man, it has a tendency not be to written as a victim, because a male star doesn't want to be seen as a victim, whereas a lot of these female-driven thrillers ... well it's a woman in peril, that's the way people come at her, so I think it is good that she is a very proactive, strong woman."

So we should change all the scripts with guy characters to girl characters and we'll have proactive women and not victims. Note to Hollywood.

Sports
WNBA
The Sacramento Monarchs won the city of Sacramento its first ever championship trophy by defeating the Connecticut Sun 3-1 in the WNBA Finals. It was a great series, Connecticut had its chances but with the injury to Lindsey Whalen the team could not handle Sacramento's defense. Before the knee and ankle problems Lindsey would be threat to penetrate the lane on every possession which created challenges for the defense. Without her penetrating ability, Sacramento's stifling defense was able to hold tight. Congrats to them. Can't wait until next May for the 10th anniversary season. I can't believe its 10 years.

16 years old golfer Michelle Wie could be going pro as early as this weekend. If she would have been a pro this past season she would have earned $640,870 based on her tournament records. Ouch.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
I am very disturbed by the front page NYTimes article on young women deciding to choose raising their families over working. First thing, the women's movement was about choice; if a woman want to stay home - ok, but give me a break.

This article was just so snotty, so upper class and so white. It just made me cringe. I'm actually having heart palpitations right now. So basically we're going to have an entire generation of women who are supereducated but choose to use that education in the private sphere rather than the public sphere. There is really something wrong here. Why is this so pervasive? Is it really pervasive? Is it only at Yale and Harvard? What does this say about our culture? Help me out here. Email me at melsil@earthlink.net with your thoughts.
OVEREDUCATED AND UNDEREMPLOYED BY CHOICE

What are the chances of Bush nominating a woman to take Justice O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court? Here are some potential nominees from women watching the process.
WOMEN FOR SUPREME COURT

Two women, a Palestinian and an Israeli one who lost her sister and one who lost her son to the conflict have joined forces to promote peace. They have met with soldiers about the enter the army and have taken their peace brigade on the road meeting with officials in the UK. Go girls!
WORKING FOR PEACE

TV
S. Epatha Merkerson who plays Lt. Van Buren on Law & Order won an Emmy for her role in Lackawanna Blues. This is a woman who has put in her dues. Love her so much.
S. EPATHA MERKERSON

Monday, September 19, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
The Bush adminstration cares so much about women that it appointed Norris Alderson a veterinary expert as acting head of its office of women's health. So now a vet knows more about women health than say a woman's health expert. Unbelievable.

Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark won a third term in office in New Zealand elections over the weekend; in Germany Angela Merkel did not receive enough votes to form a coalition government in Germany.

Pakistan has opened more Madrassa schools for girls but these schools only test girls on the rules of Islam and instead of creating a more open environment for learning. Women's activists are concerned that girls are being stymied in their education.
GIRLS EDCUATION IN PAKISTAN

Women in Nepal have finally been released from the cowshed- literally. During the periods women were forced to stay in cowsheds. The Supreme Court in Nepal outlawed this practice over the weekend.
NEPALESE WOMEN RELEASED FROM COWSHED

Mosou women run the family structure in the Chinese tourist hamlet of Lugu Lake. Women determine the family line and only women have the right to inherit. Additionally, there are no typical marriages just "walking marriages" where men come to the women's home at night but leave in the morning. Maybe we should all learn from this.
MOSOU WOMEN

ABC radio is lanching a channel geared towards talk radio for women.
WOMEN'S RADIO


Movies
Women directors are few and far between in Hollywood. This year's Toronto Film Festival featured 4 films directed by women in its Gala (high profile) section. North Country by Niki Caro starring Charlize Theron; Mary Harron's The Notorious Bettie Page, with Gretchen Mol; and Phyllis Nagy's Mrs. Harris, featuring Annette Bening and Deepa Mehta's Water.
WOMEN DIRECTORS

Women's power at the box office was evident this weekend. Reese Witherspoon's new romantic comedy Just Like Heaven topped the box office with 77% of those purchasing tickets for the flick women over 25.

TV
The TV season officially opens tonight and the disturbing trend about many of the shows is the gruesome intense level of violence against women in dramas. Is it because TV networks are trying to lure young men into their shows? Do people really believe that young men will only watch shows that mutilate, rape and degrade women?
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN TV

Sports
Sania Mirza is back in India looking for her second WTA title and her first since making it to the fourth round of the US Open. Security is tight because a Muslim group threatened to stop her from playing in the attire she wears which they deem as inappropriate for a Muslim woman.
They should be kissing her feet since she is a young woman with strong beliefs and is painting a very pretty picture of Islam.
SANIA MIRZA

Friday, September 16, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
The Massachusetts Legislature has overrode Governor Mitt Romney's veto to expand access to emergency contraception.
EC ON MA

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf stuck his foot in his mouth when he said that rape victims are "money grubbers" who want visas to emigrate. Lovely thoughts from a chief of state. He must retract and apologize immediately.
MUSHARRAF STICKS FOOT IN MOUTH

Elections are being held in New Zealand on Saturday. Prime Minister Helen Clark is being challenged vigorously by Don Brash.
ELECTIONS IN NEW ZEALAND

Elections are also being held in Germany. Challenger Angela Merkel is pushing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder all the way to the close. She seems like a pretty tough cookie- conservative, a bit like margaret Thatcher.
ELECTIONS IN GERMANY

Meet twenty-four-year-old Sabrina Sagheb, the youngest woman to stand in Afghanistan's parliamentary elections on September 18, 2005. A photographer followed her as she campaigned.
SABRINA SAGHEB

The US has imported another thing to Iraq- softball.
SOFTBALL IN IRAQ

A Report from the CDC says more women β€” particularly those in their late teens and 20s β€” are experimenting with bisexuality or at least feel more comfortable reporting same-sex encounters.
BISEXUAL WOMEN

The FDA and ideologogy. How Plan B keeps getting derailed- new column by Ellen Goodman
ELLEN GOODMAN


Film
Opening today- Proof - starring Gweneyth Paltrow and Hope Davis, Jake Gyllenhall and Anthony Hopkins. Screenplay is by David Auburn based on his Pulitzer Prize winning play and Rebecca Miller. Directed by John Madden who did Shakepeare in Love with Paltrow.
PROOF

The Devil Wears Prada loosely based on Anna Wintour of Vogue starts shooting in NY on Monday with Meryl Streep in the lead. Can't wait sounds delicious.

Miramax just acquired rights to a documentary about a girls high school basketball team that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. The film by Ward Serrill "started as a one-year project about how girls approach sports in a more team-oriented way than boys, wound up chronicling the rise of a remarkable team and the compelling story of now-19-year-old Darnellia Russell, the team's star player." (LA TIMES) I am so there for this one.

TV
If you don't watch Arrested Development when it starts its third season on Mondy at 8pm on Fox I can no longer speak to you. It is the funniest most subversive show on mainstream TV today. Jessica Walter is up for an Emmy this weekend at the whacked out family matriarch, Lucille Bluth.
JESSICA WALTER

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

Please excuse the lack of posts over the last several days- too much work but i am back in gear with so much news.

Roberts Hearing
The hearings began on Monday with the opening statements from all the Senators. I watched a bit of the statements and John Roberts just stared - no blinking, nothing. It looked like he had glued his eyelids open.

9:30 on Tuesday morning, Senator Specter opened the hearings with a direct hit on abortion. When asked about overturning Roe v. Wade Roberts answered: "I do think that it is a jolt to the legal system when you overrule a precedent" but he added "there are situations when that's a price that has to be paid." He is so blowing hot air around.

Roberts did say he believed there was a right to privacy is the consitution and in another instance said "I have a daughter for whom I will insist at every turn she has equal citizenship rights with her brother." Does that bode well for Title IX? i think more hot air.

He declined to answer questions 21 times yesterday.
ROBERTS HEARING
ROBERTS HEARING 2

Women's rights and violence against women especially rape are at the top of the agenda in Pakistan at a two day conference on women's rights that has brought people from all over the country to discuss this topic.
WOMEN IN PAKISTAN

A woman in the Indian state of Chattisgarh has been forced to plough a field harnessed alongside a bull. The move was ordered by village elders who said she had angered the rain god by breaking a taboo on women touching ploughs, thus risking a drought.
WOMAN HARNESSED TO TILL

Conservative leaning young women are challenging the hold progressives namely NOW have over campus based groups. The Network of Enlightened Women, NEW, affiliated with the Independent Women's Forum and other right wing women's groups are striving to be an alternative for conservative minded women on campus. BLAH BLAH BLAH- give me a break. They are just another shill funded by the right wingers.
YOUNG CONSERVATIVE WOMEN

Germaine Greer on aging
GERMAINE GREER

Film
Women took center stage at the Toronto Film Festival. Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Charlize Theron have new films coming out that are creating a lot of buzz. Paltrow stars in Proof (opening Friday in the US) where she plays the daughter of a brilliant mathematician mourning his death. Theron plays the lead character in North Country, a fictionalized version of the first major sexual harrassment suit. The film is directed by Niki Caro who directed the brilliant Whale Rider. Film opens October 21.

Sissy Spacek plays Theron's mother and said the film was like a throwback to a more issue-driven time in Hollywood. β€œIt's like Silkwood and Norma Rae. It's hard to get these films made, so really salute the studio.” (from USA Today)
PALTROW AND THERON STAR IN FILMS

Nancy Drew is finally coming to the big screen. I used to love the TV show when I was a kid- Pamela Sue Martin- I think that's her name was a great Nancy Drew. Emma Roberts, Julia's niece will play the detective.

Shirley Temple black will receive the Screen Actor's Guild Lifetime acheivement award at their annual awards ceremony in January.

TV
Judy Davis will star in a 2006 movie on Lifetime Television based on true events of mother-and-son grifters Sante and Kenneth Kimes. I worship Judy Davis- why doesn't she do more and pick better projects?

Melissa Etheridge, now cancer free, will host and executive produce - Women Rock which will air on Lifetime on october 18.

The new TV season is kicking off this week and one show that I thoroughly enjoyed was Fox's Bones. Based on Kathy Reich's best selling crime dramas, Emily Deschanel stars as Temperance Brennan a forensic athropologist who solves crimes. This show really respected the character's intelligence- who costumes and makeup were very understated and it made the character much more realistic. Her dialogue is witty and the supporting characters were also very interesting. Excited for week 2.

Mags
Jane Fonda at 67 beats out a 23 year old model to be on the cover of Good Housekeeping.
JANE FONDA AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Sports
Sania Mirza, the first Indian woman to reach the 4th round of the US Open is pummelled by Muslim clerics for her attire in competitions believing that she will corrupt young women. How about thinking how much she is empowering young women?
SANIA MIRZA

The WNBA finals begin tonight and my favorite player, Lindsey Whalen of the Connecticut Sun is hurting. She broke a bone in her knee in the last round and doesn't look like she will be playing in the first two games. This will really, really hurt Connecticut. She is the engine that makes the team run. Sacramento was missing their point guard, Ticha Penicheiro in the last round but Kara Lawson and Kristin Haynie were able to step up big time. Both played good minutes during the season and Lawson has a leadership quality to her so that she innately knows when she needs to step up and lead her team.

Jen Derevjanik, the backup point guard for Connecticut, is too defensive minded and doesn't look for her shot so I think it will be a hard road for Connecticut without Whalen.

Theatre
oscar winner Cate Blanchett is the latest actress turned director. She will direct Harold Pinter's A Kind of Alaska next year in Sydney.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
School fees prevent girls around the world from being educated.
SCHOOL FEES

President Musharraf of Pakistan doesn't understand why he's getting criticism over his country's treatment of women. Maybe its because as a rule rapists don't get put in jail and women and still being stoned in the streets? Just a thought.
PAKISTAN AND WOMEN

Tina Turner, Suzanne Farrell and Julie Harris join Robert Redford and Tony Bennett as this year's Kennedy Center honorees.

Books
Barbara Ehrenreich goes undercover again- this time in middle class America. Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream is the follow-up book to the best-seller Nickel and Dimed.
BARBARA EHRENREICH

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

News
Who is John Roberts asks Ellen Goodman?
ELLEN GOODMAN

The Philippines' Congress has formally rejected an opposition attempt to impeach President Gloria Arroyo.
GLORIA ARROYO

Women in Iraq are so screwed by the new constitution- continued
KATHA POLLITT

Film
Stockard Channing is making her directorial debut. The West Wing star is set to start shooting an adaptation of fellow New Yorker Alix Strauss' novel The Joy of Funerals next spring.

TV
Margo Jefferson on the return of the shrew to our TV screens.
MARGO JEFFERSON

I can't help but feel the irony as I watched an episode of The West Wing marathon on TV yesterday. It was the episode from two seasons ago where a Supreme Court justice dies and the Bartlet administration makes the decision to nominate Glenn Close's liberal character as the new Chief Justice and William Fitchner's conservative character as an associate justice after they got the current liberal chief justice to resign.

I remember when I initally saw the episode I was salivating over Close's character- pro choice, pro woman...and it was even more exciting to watch it yesterday again. I felt happy for a brief moment and then remembered that I was watching fiction and not the reality we are living.

Sports
I spent some time watching the US Open this past weekend. One of the sensations of this tournament has been Sania Mirza of India. She is the first Indian woman to play at this level and the first Muslim woman on the tour. At 18, she is confident, wears highly provocative t-shirts with different sayings and quiets her muslim critics when they challenge her about wearing the short tennis outfits. She is the player who has improved the most this year, and if she fixes her second serve will be an excellent player. She is so popular in India that she has to travel with bodyguards.

The WNBA enters into the conference finals this Thursday with last year's champ Seattle Storm on the sidelines. They got trounced by the Houston Comets on their home floor two games in a row, and the final game was a sad and scary blowout. Houston played better and deserved to win.

The commentators keep talking about the MVP candidates as Tamika Catchings (long shot); Lauren Jackson and Sheryl Swoopes (probably, the winner), yet they never mention Lindsey Whalen the point guard of the Connecticut Sun. She has been excellent all through the season, keeps getting better and stronger, yet is still overlooked.

Carrie Graf's contract as coach of the Phoenix Mercury was not renewed as her team narrowly missed the playoof for the second year in a row. I'm sure that they will hire a man to coach this team, leaving only 3 women coaches in the league. Phoenix supposedly talked to Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies. This move would reunite him with this former star player Diana Taurasi, but there is not way tihs is going to happen. Auriemma makes 4.8 million a year at Connecticut and there is no way an WNBA team could pay that.

Monday, September 05, 2005

What We Need to Know Today

Compilation from the week

We are so screwed! President Bush shifted Judge Roberts nomination to Chief Justic after the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist.
JUDGE ROBERTS

Susan Wood, Food and Drug Administration's women's health office resigned Wednesday over the FDA's continued stalling over making emergency contraception available over the counter.
FDA & EC
FDA & EC 2

Ambassador Nancy Soderberg weighs in why women matter in the Iraqi constitution. I can't believe we are still having this conversation.
NANCY SODERBERG

The Lipstick President- Maureen Dowd looks at Geena Davis as a President on ABC and what does this bode for a real woman President?
MAUREEN DOWD

Former CNN anchor, Judy Woodruff will teach at Harvard this fall.
JUDY WOODRUFF

TV
OSCAR winner Charlize Theron will join Arrested Development for six episodes this fall. I love this show. It is hysterical and subversive.

Showtime and Lifetime will simulcast the date rape drama Speak tonight, September 5 at 9pm.
Both Networks To Air Public Service Announcement From RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network)

Movies
After a summer of crappy movies I want to recommend The Constant Gardener based on the John Le Carre novel starring Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes. It's about how big pharmaceutical companies exploit poor people around the world to make money. Great thriller, great cast.

Learn a little about Mary Badham who played Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird in 1961. She's taken some time off between roles and now has
MARY BADHAM

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