We’re designing a new look for Feministe that will take shape over the next couple of weeks, including updating to the latest version of Wordpress and updating the general design, and hopefully bringing back some of your favorite elements like sidebar comments.
However.
Because Feministe has been having server issues — and we’re trying desperately to find a new, affordable host — some advertising elements will have to be expanded. Additionally, we have to perform the updates in real time.
The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials… The personal travel records are meant to be stored for as long as 15 years…
The government has collected information on travelers for well over a decade, but this story indicates that the breadth of information, and the targets the government watches, has been expanded under the Department of Homeland Security.
The details were learned when a group of activists requested copies of official records on their own travel. Those records included a description of a book on marijuana that one of them carried and small flashlights bearing the symbol of a marijuana leaf…
Officials yesterday defended the retention of highly personal data on travelers not involved in or linked to any violations of the law. But civil liberties advocates have alleged that the type of information preserved by the department raises alarms about the government’s ability to intrude into the lives of ordinary people. The millions of travelers whose records are kept by the government are generally unaware of what their records say, and the government has not created an effective mechanism for reviewing the data and correcting any errors, activists said.
Damn, this is paranoia-making. Last summer when I went to BlogHer, I brought along copies of “Thank You For Smoking” and “Reefer Madness,” one a satire of the tobacco industry and the other a muckraking expose on the government’s role in simultaneously sustaining and oppressing the black market economy. Chef and I are about to embark on a very cool vacation next weekend, and if it wasn’t enough with concerning myself over what constitutes a gel-based substances, the travel capabilities of one’s vibrator, and whether or not the grommets in my belt will set off the metal detector and subject me to a strip search, I also have to worry about what kind of magazines I’m carrying. For all I know, my previous intellectual enterprises make me a candidate for NORML. And a terrorist!
Should I find a brick of heroin to take with me on my honeymoon?
San Diego’s Republican mayor, Jerry Sanders, was expected to veto legislation in support of gay marriage this week. Yesterday he had a change of heart (WARNING: GRAB A HANKY):
Definitely the feel-good story of the weekend, and illustrative of why openness and visibility are important for minority communities seeking political justice. To borrow a phrase from somebody out there, this is how progress happens; something that was once unthinkable becomes inevitable. Damn, isn’t it good?
A university news release announced the study’s findings by stating that, “despite marketing claims, parents who want to give their infants a boost in learning language probably should limit the amount of time they expose their children to DVD’s and videos such as ‘Baby Einstein’ and ‘Brainy Baby.’”
The release also quoted Frederick Zimmerman, the study’s leader and an associate professor of health services, as saying that “the most important fact to come from this study is there is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVD’s and videos and there is some suggestion of harm.”
The two primary reasons that the researchers cite for the negative influence of the videos on infant development are thus:
1) Because the videos are supposed to promote cognitive and language development, parents whose children already have poor language acquisition skills may be turning to the videos for help instead of turning to professionals.
2) Parents who believe videos can promote the development of language and cognitive skills in baby may be less likely themselves to take a proactive approach with their children’s linguistic development.
It’s Lauren, here for the weekend at Jill’s behest. Although I started this here blog a few years back, I’m most regularly found at Faux Real and occasionally blogging about politics at the mega-parenting site Offsprung with co-blogger Amanda Marcotte.
I can’t believe I signed on to blog on weekends for the rest of September considering I have a few things on my plate, but I will do my best to offer some uncrappy writing, and in turn, make demands of the Feministe community.
To start, I need an animated gif of this cat sneezing.
I’m aware we’re having issues with accessing comments and permalinks. We’re working on it and should have things working correctly in a bit.
UPDATE: Comments should be fixed for the time being under the default permalinks setting. Evertyhing, including the usual permalink URLs, will be back to normal after our host is finished updating the necessary services.
Hi all. Lauren here trying to administer the website. We are trying to move the site to a dedicated server, especially now that our host (with whom we’ve been customers for, oh five years?) decides to shut us down. But the good news: We’re now running the latest version of Wordpress.
Please be patient while I run a few tests on the blog to see if we’re really in business.
1) Hue and Cry - Labour of Love
2) Ferraby Lionheart - Before We’re Dead (New Orleans Song)
3) Man Man - Banana Ghost
4) Har Mar Superstar - Let’s Get This Party Kickin’
5) Deadbolt - A Hit Gone Wrong
6) The Pogues - A Pair of Brown Eyes
7) Bunky - Chuy
8) Das EFX - They Want EFX
9) Def Leppard - Let’s Get Rocked
10) Daniel Johnston - Good Morning You (Have you seen the documentary on Johnston yet? You should.)
As for the AWESOME 80’s. I was a little lost when The Darkness came out a few years ago, popular for parodying the excesses of 80’s glam metal, because why would anyone settle for satire when the real thing is just as ridiculous? Presenting Savatage with “Hall of the Mountain King.” Fantastical.
The best part? When the guy at the end finds a SAVATAGE CASSETTE TAPE on top of the BOX OF TREASURE. Brilliant!
For whatever reason I’ve taken it upon myself to watch the entirety of “The Sopranos” this month, and tonight my goal is to finish up Season Five. Yes, I know what’s coming. My beloved Adriana is getting wacked, and even though Carmella was finally getting some she’s getting back together with fucking Tony. Damn. I have tons more to say about the series but I’m saving it until the whole thing finishes up on June 11th.
In the meantime, a little story and a littler complaint:
The subject of my tube-watching goal came up at Chef’s workplace the other night, and Chef reports that some of his coworkers were shocked. A feminist?! Watching The Sopranos?! And the kicker, She loves gangster movies??!
Why, yes. Yes, I do.
Which leads me to question what the hell people think feminists do, exactly, in their free time. Chant the lyrics to Meredith Brooks songs while dancing pantless over a runway of mirrors? By moonlight? Trade baby-cookin’ recipes, and then argue over why we always find ourselves in the kitchen? Discuss about Very Serious Things approved by Gloria Steinem, our glorious leader, with pen and paper in hand, brows knitted in Very Serious Concern? Get together (angrily) and glitter paint anti-man protest placards?
Feministe Is Shopping For a Sweatsuit Alternative
from Lauren @ Feministe 21 Dec 2007 8:30 pm