Monday, December 20, 2010

http://daisybrain.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/women-cant-do-that/

Women Can’t Do That

Recently, I visited cnn.com to be greeted by the top, front page, shocking story, “Woman Named Football Coach”! Just to alleviate any confusion, this wasn’t a story about a woman who was given the first name “Football” and the last name “Coach”. No, this was a ground-breaking story of apparently the first woman in history ever to have coached a high school boys football team. They weren’t talking about a pro- football team, or even a college team, but a high school team, which strikes me as something that should have been big news in 1959. But in 2010? Really?
This got me wondering how many other jobs out there are still ripe, in 2010, for a person to be the first woman to have.
The first thing that comes to mind is the almost complete lack of female game show hosts. I’m not saying that Game Show Host is something that anyone with much self respect would aspire to. But, there are certainly a lot of popular female celebrities, so why have so few of them hosted a game show?
President of the United States. OK, that one seems fairly obvious, but think about it: 44 presidents in a country with over 50% women and all have been men. Years ago, I was traveling across the country, when Geraldine Ferraro was running for vice president. I came across a woman in Tennessee who told me that a woman could never be President because she might get her period during an emergency. And there you have it.
UN Secretary General. Not only have all of them been men, but I believe that all people ever nominated to the post have been men.
Late night TV comedic talk show writers are, and have always been, to my knowledge, all men. It’s a very strange club to be all male. Do they think that women can’t write bad talk show jokes? Didn’t Rose Mary prove that women could write satire for TV? Oh yeah, I forgot – she was a fictitious character who’s lines were written by 12 men.
In a list of 208 of the world’s top orchestra conductors, guess how many are women? If you guessed 2, you are right! Fewer than 1% are women. Is there something inherently male about conducting an orchestra?
Let’s think about what we’ve learned here today. There are some jobs in the 21st century that are held almost exclusively by men. The examples I’ve listed are: president, UN secretary general, orchestral conductor, game show host, football coach, and late night talk show writer. What else do all of these jobs have in common? OK, the talk show writer one is a little strange, but the others all involve people in being in charge. Is this a role that,  by and large, both men and women can’t picture women in? I say “both men and women,” because some of these positions are hired by women or groups of women and men.
So, next time you are choosing the next Secretary General of the UN, or the coach of a high school football team, I hope that you question whether your decision is affected by a subconscious belief that men are supposed to run things. When we choose people by gender, we are disqualifying half the population from jobs that they may have something very special to contribute to.

Scrape it, don't grind it.
http://www.fresno.gov/News/PressReleases/2010/SewerBackups.htm
Tips Help Prevent Costly Sewer Back-ups this Holiday Season   11/23/2010

Food scraps, fats and oils washed down the kitchen sink can result in clogged sewer lines and expensive plumbing bills, so the City of Fresno is issuing tips to help residents avoid costly problems this holiday season.
Local property owners are responsible for maintaining the pipes that extend from their home to the City’s main sewer line. In most cases, the underground main line is located at about the mid-point of each residential street. The City is encouraging residents to keep their pipes clean by remembering the following tips for properly disposing of food waste and cooking products:
• Pour fat drippings and kitchen greases into sealable containers and dispose of them in a gray residential garbage cart;
• Avoid putting leftover food down the garbage disposal whenever possible;
• Any waste that can be thrown in the garbage should always be put in the garbage;
• Remember, “Scrape It, Don’t Grind It.”
Even the smallest amount of fat, oil or grease will solidify and stick to sewer pipes, according to staff in the City’s Department of Public Utilities. The residue then catches food and other solids that are washed down sinks and other drains in the home. Over time, the debris builds up and eventually causes a complete blockage of the sewer pipe.
“The holidays pose a particular challenge to keeping our City’s sewer pipes clear,” said Rosa Lau-Staggs from the City of Fresno Wastewater Management Division. “We encourage residents to help keep our system operating smoothly by scraping any remaining food from plates and platters into the trash instead of washing it down the drain.”
More information is available by calling 621-5100.
Click the link and check out the site.  (Clickable links inside) 
http://www.nonviolencelinks.org/
EXCERPT:
Peace Links

REGIONAL PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTERS/GROUPS
Select a country or state
Australia, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa,
United States:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,
District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Australia
Nonviolence Training Project - Australia
Israel
The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research - Tel Aviv, Israel
New Zealand
Peace movement of Aoteoroa/New Zealand
The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation - South Africa
Alabama
Alabama Peace and Justice Coalition - AL, U.S.
North Alabama Peace Network - AL, U.S.
Birmingham Peace Project - Birmingham, AL, U.S.
Montgomery Peace Project - Montgomery, AL, U.S.
Tuscaloosa Peace Project - Tuscaloosa, AL, U.S.
Alliance for Peace and Justice - Auburn, AL, U.S.
Alaska
No Nukes North - Fairbanks, AK, U.S.
Arizona
Flagstaff Activist Network - Flagstaff, AZ, U.S.
Arizona Alliance for Peaceful Justice - Tempe, AZ, U.S.
Tuscon Peace Calendar - Tuscon, AZ, U.S.
Arkansaw Coalition for Peace and Justice - AR, U.S.
Arkansaw Citizens Against War on Iraq - northern AR, U.S.
California
The Davis Peace Coalition - Davis, CA, U.S.
Center for the Advancement of Nonviolence - Los Angeles, CA, U.S.
San Fransisco Bay Area Progressive Directory - CA, U.S.
Directory of about 1000 progressive activist organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area & elsewhere, plus events calendar
Direct Action to Stop the War - San Fransisco Bay Area, CA, U.S.

Click the link for pictures.
http://open.salon.com/blog/judy_mandelbaum/2010/08/02/yes_it_can_happen_there_artists_envision_israeli_fascism
AUGUST 2, 2010 11:54AM

Yes, it can happen there: Artists envision "Israeli fascism"


Avigdor Lieberman as "Dear Leader"
(Turn Right at the End - all other images from
Haaretz and Jerusalem Post)
We’ve all heard the claim before: Israel is a “fascist state,” whether it’s applied to its treatment of the Palestinians or its single-minded determination to maintain its ethnic/religious purity. Such statements, when uttered by foreigners, are designed to sting. After all, what could be more hurtful than to place the eternally imperiled Jewish state (“the only democracy in the Middle East”) on the same level as its historical oppressors? But when the claim comes from an Israeli – let alone from two – it can be downright painful to behold.  
In July, two Israeli art students unveiled art exhibitions painting a gloomy future for their home country – this time in living color. Last April, Yosi Even Kama, a student at the Shenkar College of Engineering & Design in Ramat Gan, was shocked to read a report on Israeli attitudes about dissent. The survey of 500 adult Jewish Israelis, commissioned by the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University, revealed that "more than half of Jewish Israelis think human rights organizations that expose immoral behavior by Israel should not be allowed to operate freely, and think there is too much freedom of expression here.” Moreover, “57.6 percent of the respondents agreed that human rights organizations that expose immoral conduct by Israel should not be allowed to operate freely. Slightly more than half agreed that ‘there is too much freedom of expression’ in Israel. The poll also found that most of the respondents favor punishing Israeli citizens who support sanctioning or boycotting the country, and support punishing journalists who report news that reflects badly on the actions of the defense establishment.”
  
In response, Kama created an art project - recently featured in Haaretz - consisting of four pillars displaying images and political posters that one might expect to see on the streets of Tel Aviv during and after a far-right coup between 2020 and 2023. In the fascist “State of Judea,” freedom of expression is banned, gender equality is eliminated, Jewish religious law reigns supreme, and dissidents are sent either packing or to the gallows. The fascist revolution’s symbol: a black Star of David inside a white circle on a red background.

The State of Judea exhibition
(Jerusalem Post)

   
 "Shutting up the leftists"
"A fertile womb is the future of Judea" 
Many Israelis are outraged by Kama's vision of a totalitarian Israel. “I understand that people call it art,” one critic told journalists, “but in my view, it is targeted to the most primitive feelings of the public. It raises fear and hate toward people who are different from you.” But even Kama agrees that he may have gotten a little carried away: the exhibit includes fake quotes from real rabbis calling for non-observant Jews to be exterminated. He has since apologised for the quotes, but not for the exhibit.
  
A few days later, Sivan Hurvitz of the Holon Institute of Technology exhibited a set of cartoon-like images entitled “Turn Right at the End of the World: The Future of a Country that Gave up on Democracy.” Her pictures depict everyday scenes in a fascist Israeli state. In this near-future dystopia, homosexuality is banned, abortion is criminalized, contraceptives are available only on the black market, dissent is punished by prison, and human rights groups are outlawed. In the introduction to her exhibit, Hurvitz writes:
Recently, it would seem as if Israeli citizens and their political representatives have decided that democracy is not so important -- and is sometimes even an annoyance. Every other day a racist bill is presented to the Knesset, or there is an incident of army or police brutality, or political activists are persecuted. …  I used to think that people who don't live here cannot possibly understand what it's really like. But when I was out of the country, I was surprised to find that these people were not ignorant at all -- in fact, they proved to be very knowledgeable. … There is a huge paradox that lies at the heart of the Israeli state, its designation as “Jewish and democratic.” Which is paramount? Judaism or democracy? Before I am a woman, or Jewish, or Israeli, I am human. And I believe that rights should be based on our humanity, not on whether we are Jewish or not, or how Jewish we are or aren’t.
Call them prescient, alarmist, or simply bad taste - Kama's and Hurvitz's images get under our skin and provide us with a vivid reminder of how thin the membrane between heartless words and cruel actions can be, and that fascism really can happen anywhere, any time, including - but by no means limited to - the State of Israel. 

A young lesbian is forcibly taken to the "Center for
Treatment of Sexual Perversions"


In the new anti-abortion Israel, condoms are exchanged
beneath the table - under the eyes of informants

Passing out human rights leaflets is banned...


...as is "subversive" literature


Greater Israel becomes a reality

Kama sees the politics of division running wild -
"They are NOT our brothers" 


"Let's destroy democracy" 



"Join the rebel forces"
"Killing heretics is a religious obligation" 



orchestra conductors

List of famous conductors

These people are famous as choral, orchestral or operatic conductors:


A


B


C


D


F


G


H


I


J


K


L


M


N


O


P


R


S


T


W


Y

Especially in opera, many composers

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/a-glass-ceiling-for-women-in-the-orchestra-pit-1875075.html


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2242/is_1603_275/ai_55683937/
Women conductors - why so few?

Contemporary Review, August, 1999 by Anna Hodgson

If you are not a despot, sexually voracious, power-obsessed, long-lived and as fit as a marathon runner, don't bother to apply. The job? Conductor of a symphony orchestra. At least that is the myth we are asked to believe and according to Norman Lebrecht in The Maestro Myth the myth that the audiences, the orchestras and the music business have created. In order to bring music to the mass market a god-like intermediary is required.
It is hardly surprising that women conductors have had little success in overcoming this last bastion of male supremacy. In an age where almost any product can be marketed and women soloists, instrumentalists and singers are being promoted with all the hype previously reserved for pop stars, there has been a singular failure to market this particular product.
It's not that there aren't any women conductors of note. In April 1998 Andrea Quinn was appointed Music Director of the Royal Ballet. Anne Manson has recently been appointed the new music director of the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra for the 1999 season, Sian Edwards reigned briefly as Music Director of the English National Opera and Jane Glover and Odaline de la Martinez both have international careers and have conducted at the Proms. But none of the large self-governing British orchestras has a woman in the top job.
According to Janna Hymes-Bianchi, the newly appointed associate conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the problem is not with the audiences or even the orchestras themselves but with the boards and committees who appoint the musical directors. 'In my experience,' she says, 'it is the upper administrations and board members who feel it is risky and possibly dangerous to hire women music directors.'
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