Madonna Calls Out Gay Men's Misogyny In Out Magazine April 2015 Interview

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Madonna Calls Out Gay Men’s Misogyny In Out Magazine April 2015 Interview

Madonna’s comments echo those of 2015 Academy Awards best supporting actress Patricia Arquette, who was criticised loudly for suggesting that multiple groups — including the LGBT community — must stand for women. The debate became one about intersectionality, political correctness,  and white women high-wage earners and not Arquette’s sound argument that all women are entitled to expect support for women’s rights after so many have stood for LGBT rights.

Victoria's Secret Angels Flock Loses Doutzen Kroes, Lindsay Ellingson & Karlie Kloss

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Two more Victoria’s Secret Angels have left the flock. Karlie Kloss made the biggest news last Friday, leaving the world’s largest lingerie brand to pursue a degree at New York University while maintaining her modeling career and business interests.

Doutzen Kroes

Now we learn that Doutzen Kroes also left the Victoria’s Secret gaggle of Angels in late December to pursue a ‘lucrative business opportunity in Europe. Like with Kloss, Ed Razek, Chief Marketing Officer of VS, stressed that there was no conflict. Doutzen Kroes now has two children with husband Sunnery James: their son Phyllon and new daughter Myllena. Razek wrote on his Instagram account:

Doutzen had a lucrative opportunity in Europe and it would have conflicted with her VS obligations. So, at her agencies request, we released her from contract. There was no conflict. No animosity. None of the nonsense I’ve read on Instagram. She had a great business opportunity, and I wanted to be fair to someone I adore and respect. That’s all. I honestly believe Doutzen is one of the most stunningly beautiful people in the world. And I always will. I have told her that many times. Now you know.

Lindsay Ellingson

The third Victoria’s Secret Angel to depart the brand is Lindsay Ellingson, who is launching a cosmetics line called Wander Beauty that will debut on the QVC television channel in April 2015. Ellingson’s business partner Divya Gugnani graduated from the Harvard business school and used to work at QVC. Gugnani is the co-founder of Send the Trend, a NY based startup that was acquired by QVC in 2012.

Previously: Karlie Kloss

Eye | A Digital Tizzy Erupts Over Emma Watson & Prince Harry Rumors | Karlie Kloss Hangs Up Her Victoria’s Secret Wings

Victoria’s Secret has confirmed the loss of Karlie Kloss with glowing words about the model.

‘Karlie and I met several months ago to discuss the many things she hoped to do in her life and career. As we talked, it became clear she would not have the time to fulfill her myriad commitments. Reluctantly, we agreed she would leave the brand at the end of her contract. Karlie is one of a kind, a very close friend, someone I truly admire and love. She is, without question, one of the best models ever. But she is an even better person. Her future is unlimited, and I am excited to see all the good she will do. Karlie Kloss will always be an Angel to me,’ Ed Razek, senior creative executive for Victoria’s Secret, said in confirming the Friday night rumor.

Eye | Behati Prinsloo In 'Seminole Spirit' By Russell James Opens Feb 17 At NYC Stephan Weiss Gallery

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Behati Prinsloo In ‘Seminole Spirit’ By Russell James Opens Feb 17 At NYC Stephan Weiss Gallery

Apart from the photos of Prinsloo, the exhibit will also present a film featuring spoken word from the spiritual leader of the Seminole Tribe, a fine art photography exhibition from Bobby Henry that includes portraits of tribe members, and the tribe’s cultural sites and landscapes.

“Seminole Spirit is totally different than any type of normal shoot. This isn’t a project about fashion or trends, it is an art project with a really powerful story behind it,” Prinsloo says. “We were all so humbled to be in collaboration with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. […] This was definitely a project of passion for all of us with no shot count or designer label needed.”

Adds James, “I hope to engage people to look at this and understand this culture as not something that is gathering dust in the closet, but to realize that tribes and indigenous people are using culture to their great advantage, to maintain their identity.”

Anne adds:

Describing her experience with the Seminole people, Behati Prinsloo says: “We painted my body gold as we tried to capture an idea we had of what ‘Seminole Spirit’ is . . I felt like a savage swamp mermaid on Seminole land, crazy.”

In describing herself as a mermaid, Behati channels the key theme of female goddess history, establishing herself in the sisterhood of Mami Wati’s born in Africa before travelling the globe — often on the slave ships as a source of comfort and solace in brutal conditions.

AOC is dancing as fast as we can on this one, because ‘Seminole Spirit’ goes to the very essence of our identity and purpose. Lots more is coming. ~ Anne

Eye 2-2-15 | Mami Wata Resurgence As Global Goddess | 55,000 Years-Old Female Skull Provides Critical Link In Human Evolution & Migration Out of Africa

Perhaps Angelina Jolie Is Just Too Caught Up In Life To Eat

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Perhaps Angelina Jolie Is Just Too Caught Up In Life To Eat

Once again people are talking about Angelina Jolie’s ‘alarmingly thin’ body, revealed in her arrival in London for a very special day in Jolie’s life. Angelina joined former British Foreign Secretary and now Leader of the House of Commons William Hague at the London School of Economics to announce the opening of the London Center For Women, Peace & Security.

No one doubts Angelina Jolie’s pursuit of perfection in all that she does, and near-perfection seems to come naturally for her. Stories abound that the actor/director forgets to eat. This February 2014 Tom Brokaw interview of Angelina and ‘Unbroken’ subject Louie Zamperini feels beautifull natural and unscripted.

Also, this brief 3 minutes with National Geographic also gives us major insights into Angelina Jolie’s personality and capacity for empathy AND ACTION!!  Read on.

Ethan Czahor's Women R 'Sluts' Comments Not A Fireable Offence For Jeb Bush, As Race Comments Bring Him Down

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Ethan Czahor’s Women R ‘Sluts’ Comments Not A Fireable Offence For Jeb Bush, As Race Comments Bring Him Down

Sorry Ethan Czahor. Yale women fight being called sluts, too. Wise up and get some fact-based political religion on this topic. ~ Anne

Queen Rania Pleas For Arab Action Against ISIS

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Queen Rania calls for unity against terrorism GulfNews.com

Jordan’s Queen Rania delivered the comments above and many more, via satellite to the Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, February 2009. Queen Rania was originally scheduled to attend the conference but has remained in Jordan as her husband King Abdullah moves to lead Jordan’s attacks on ISIS over the death of Jordanian pilot Captain Muath Al Kasaesbeh.

Discussions on the future role of governments in this summit could not have come at a more pressing time, said Queen Rania. “We need to act. We are in a race against time to adopt policies and address the priorities which confront us today — most importantly to eliminate the ideology of hate and terrorism.”

She emphasised the need to change education policies in the Arab world to ensure quality education that instils true values of religion, patriotism, coexistence and hard work in the new generations.

To capitalise on the full potential of countries in the Arab world, new policies that foster talent and innovation should be adopted to guarantee enough job opportunities for youth to enter the labour market, said Queen Rania.

Policies should ensure the fair participation of all members of society, women and men, from all ethnic and religious groups, she said.

Many Americans were surprised to learn that the UAE had grounded its military strikes against ISIL/ISIS after the capture of Jordan’s pilot Captain Muath Al Kasaesbeh, unsatisfied with America’s sufficient rescue support systems in the region. The US military rejects the idea that changes were made in response to the UAE action — arguing that rescue support plans were being reshuffled anyway.

The UAE squadron of war planes is striking ISIS targets from Jordan, where they will remain. We currently can’t confirm if Mariam al-Mansouri, who previously led the United Arab Emirates fighter jets attacking ISIL/ISIS is in the new squadron.

Related: Eye | Victoria Beckham Has Passion For UN Ambassador Role |Women & Heart Disease | Apologies To UAE Pilot Major Mariam al-Mansouri

Related: RedTracker: Queen Rania Is Comforter & Activist | Hebun Sinya Killed in Kobani

Anne’s Homes in the Heart of Terrorism

90 West Street New York - The Little Building That Never Bowed To Terrorists Sensual Rebel

I moved to 90 West Street from Jersey City in 2005, wanting to live close to the rebirth of the World Trade Center Area. The events of September 11 had affected me deeply, standing at a municipal building in Jersey City watching the Towers fell. Three of the terrorists lived a few blocks from me, although my beautiful loft was an oasis of its own and I didn’t interact a lot with my community.

My heart was very heavy on September 11, 2001 as I gasped at what was happening. Many people cheered when the World Trade Center towers fell.  They weren’t terrorists — at least I doubt it — but the moment was one of understanding just how complex life had become in America. This complexity has only become more difficult in America and globally in the last decade and a half.

Angelina Jolie Strikes Twice Today

AOC founding muse Angelina Jolie is pictured above at the June 2014 London summit devoted to sexual violence — primarily against women — in war. Angelina embraced Congo campaigner Neema Namadamu, whose own daughter was attacked by a group of men close to home.

Jolie co-hosted the ‘End Sexual Violence in Conflict’ summit in London with former British Foreign Secretary William Hague, her passionate partner in getting G8 nations to formally adopt a policy of treating rape as a war crime.

London Centre on Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics

Jolie, a special envoy of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, announced today the creation of a new center that will educate students about the participation of women in “conflict-related processes” and “on enhancing accountability and ending impunity for rape and sexual violence in war,” according to a press release from the London School of Economics.

The Centre is a collaboration among LSE, Mr Hague, Ms Jolie, and the UK Government. Angelina said:

“ I am excited at the thought of all the students in years to come who will study in this new Centre. There is no stable future for a world in which crimes committed against women go unpunished. We need the next generation of educated youth with inquisitive minds and fresh energy, who are willing not only to sit in the classroom but to go out into the field and the courtrooms and to make a decisive difference.”

Brangelina Baby #7

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RedTracker: Queen Rania Is Comforter & Activist | Hebun Sinya Killed In Kobani

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RedTracker: Queen Rania Is Comforter & Activist |  Hebun Sinya Killed In Kobani

In one of the most poignant images of Jordan’s Queen Rania that I’ve seen, Jordan’s First Lady comforts the devastated Anwar Tarawneh, widow of Moaz al-Kasasbeh, the captive pilot burned alive by ISIS.  The couple were married for only five months, when her husband ejected from his fighter jet in a raid on ISIS. 

Reports are that Tarawneh learned of her husband’s death in a Facebook post saying ‘Rest in peace, Muath (Moaz)’, a story she relayed to Queen Rania at her home near the southern town of Karak.

On a related note, AOC has consistently covered the brave Kurdish women fighting ISIS in Kobani (Kobane). We are saddened to report that Hebun Sinya, a prominent leader in the YPJ — the women-only offshoot of the Kurdish YPG group and about one-third of the forces fighting in Kobane — was killed in the final fight to push ISIS out of Kobani (Kobane).

Hebun Sinya, also known as Hebun Dêrik, was a prominent figure within the YPJ - the woman-only offshoot of the Kurdish YPG group that has represented about one-third of the fighting force that has retaken control of Kobani

Eye | Mami Wata Resurgence As Global Goddess | 55,000 Years-Old Female Skull Provides Critical Link In Human Evolution & Migration Out of Africa

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Carmelita Mendes Is Beauty Goddess By Mari Queiroz For Amuse Magazine AOC GlamTribale

A Female Skull Closes Migration Link Out of Africa and Into The Levant

Female Skull In Israel’s Manot Cave Links Humans & Neanderthals 55,000 Years Ago AOC GlamTribale

In a series of coincidences that are peppered throughout my life, scientists have threaded another needle in the highly-probable story that human life originated in the region of Lake Turkana bordering Kenya and Ethiopia before migrating into a region known today as The Levant.

In a very real sense, today’s religious wars are going on in the very region that is the cradle of human civilization. My own relationship with The Levant area is most focused on studying the evolution of the goddesses and the rise of monotheism.

Kenya, Lake Turkana and the Omo Valley people of Ethiopia are a much stronger connection — one revealed through my inexplicable connections with the young photographer Dan Eldon. Here is a sampling of our journey.

Mami Wata Moves Into Anne of Carversville

Aphrodite Joins Mami Wata For A Swim in Human Consciousness AOC Sensual Rebel Nov. 2009

Men have always been ambivalent about mermaids, the mythological aquatic creature with a female human head and torso but the tail of a fish. In many ancient cultures, mermaids were regarded as semi-divine aspects of the Goddess.

Carl Jung’s theory of the feminine unconscious describes this oceanic-subterranean womb of creation as an unfathomable place of ancient wisdom but also fear.

The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria, ca. 1000 BC. The goddess Atargatis, mother of Assyrian queen Semiramis, loved a mortal shepherd and unintentionally killed him.

Distraught and ashamed, Atargatis jumped into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine beauty. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid—human above the waist, fish below—though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as a fish with a human head and legs, similar to the Babylonian Ea. The Greeks recognized Atargatis under the name Derketo.

Prior to 546 BC, the Milesian philosopher Anaximander proposed that mankind had sprung from an aquatic species of animal. The scientist and highly-regarded critical thinker thought that humans, with their extended infancy, could not have survived otherwise.

Mami Wata Resurgence In South Africa

Steve Marais Celebrates African & Global Goddess Mami Wata As Mermaid In Gaschette Magazine AOC Salon

More reading:

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Female Skull In Israel's Manot Cave Links Humans & Neanderthals 55,000 Years Ago

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Female Skull In Israel's Manot Cave Links Humans & Neanderthals 55,000 Years Ago AOC Muse

Israeli researchers published a critical article this week, arguing that a 55,000 years-old, female skull found in the Manot Cave of Israel’s Western Galilee is a crucial link in understanding the evolution of the human species.  Scientists believe that the skull offers definitive proof that anatomically modern humans coexisted with Neanderthals in the same geographical area.

It’s widely accepted science that human origins date back about 200,000 years to Africa. However, there has not been agreement about which migration model of early Homo sapiens led to the population of our planet, accompanied by the extinction of Neanderthals.

The morphology of the skull indicates that it is that of a modern human of African origin, bearing characteristics of early European Upper Palaeolithic populations. This suggests that the Levantine populations were ancestral to earlier European populations,” said Prof. (Israel) Hershkovitz (of Tel Aviv University).  “This study also provides important clues regarding the likely inbreeding between anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals.”

The Manot Cave, where the skull was unearthed, was discovered accidentally in 2008 when a bulldozer struck the cave roof, revealing a time capsule tens of thousands of years old. “This is a goldmine,” said Prof. Hershkovitz. “Most other caves are ‘disturbed caves,’ but this is untouched, frozen in time — truly an amazing find. Among other artefacts found there, the skull, which we dated to 55,000 years ago using uranium thorium methods, was astonishing. It provides insight into the beginnings of the dispersal of modern humans all over the world.”

South African Photographer Koto Bolofo Intrigues Me With Numéro #160 'Atelier D'Artiste'

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Aneta Pajak In Atelier D’Artiste By Koto Bolofo For Numéro #160 February 2015

Visual cues run wild in these images: is Aneta exploring a gender-neutral, artistic studio or is she in the fashion-predictable studio of a male artist? Is she the prototypical muse of the male mind? What is the significance of a large — presumably male — hand at her throat and in her face? How has this male artistic vision — and the powerful art world institutions behind it — defined Aneta and millions — no billions — of female identities worldwide and for the last 3000 years?

There are no answers in ‘Atelier D’Artiste’, a Numéro #160 February 2015 fashion editorial that may be nothing more than a celebration of the male mind and fashion’s support for traditional gender-based power relationships. This isn’t how these images strike me, however.

Do I share a vibe with photographer Koto Bolofo? Rest assured that I will answer that question for myself and AOC readers. ~ Anne