Bible Verses Cast Scourge On Women's Vile & Disgusting Nature

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Vogue Italia is always topical and often irreverent in politically incorrect ways. Posting just now the veiled Clara McNair lensed by Léa Nielsen for the December issue -- coming minutes after hearing the American Muslim father-in-law of San Bernardino terrorist Tashfeen Malik said that he had never seen her face, or even met her -- I remembered earlier Anne writing. Malik always lived under her burka. 

Anne of Carversville is filled with essays about the demands of religious men that they control women's bodies and public personas. As Paris and California, Egypt and Tunisia, Nigeria and Yemen reel from recent terrorist attacks, it might be time for a Bible lesson, one that I wrote on Feb. 25, 2010 called Bound Tightly By the Good Book & God's Will. 

Religious fundamentalism dominates women worldwide, not only Muslim women. In order to maintain perspective, it's important to quote from Christianity's Holy book.. Recently, two Dutch 'pranksters' have scored a YouTube sensation in which they asked members of the public to respond to verses in the Qur'an. Reality is that the duo was quoting from the Bible. 

I share also a followup article written by Lisa Brown Women's Bodies Suffer Under the Immoral Gazes of Righteous Men, written March 8, 2011. 

The provocative fashion editorial images used here were shot by Herring & Herring and styed by Mykel C. Smith. Models in ‘Bound’ include: Damaris Lewis, Julia Goncharenko, Anais Pouliot and Clara Settje.


Annie Leibovitz Presents Women of Distinction in Non-Babes 2016 Pirelli Calendar

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Annie Leibovitz Presents Women of Distinction in Non-Babes 2016 Pirelli Calendar

The Pirelli Calendar is noted for its annual issue of female bodies eye candy and also sensual beauty. With few exceptions -- Terry Richardson's calendar, for example -- Pirelli takes the high road in photographing women.

Pirelli's 2016 calendar #43 mines new ground in female imagery, tapping female photographer Annie Leibovitz to shoot 13 inspiring women -- artists, athletes, models, philanthropists and bloggers of every age and skin color. The omission of a Latina woman is noteworthy, unless I have my ethnicities mixed up. This is Leibovitz's second Pirelli calendar, as she shot the 2000 edition.

Leibovitz explains her vision behind this year's calendar, saying:

“I started to think about the roles that women play, women who have achieved something. I wanted to make a classic set of portraits. I thought that the women should look strong but natural, and I decided to keep it a very simple exercise of shooting in the studio,” Leibovitz said in a release. “This calendar is so completely different. It is a departure. The idea was not to have any pretense in these pictures and be very straightforward.” Needless to say, those looking for tropically set nude photos are in for a surprise.

Safa Idriss Nour Is Waris Dirie's 'Desert Flower' In the Fight To End FGM In Somalia

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Safa Idriss Nour Is Waris Dirie's 'Desert Flower' In the Fight To End FGM In Somalia

A simple Facebook share last week elicited more likes than any supermodel has achieved on my page. Meet Safa Idriss Nour, a young girl born in a slum in Dijibouti, Somalia.  Perhaps her gorgeous young-girl face soothed a world under fire in Beirut, Nigeria and Paris. Mali had not blown up yet as my FB friends fell under Safa's spell. 
On Friday I decided to look for information about this young girl, and the truth of her life amazed me. 
 A Young Somali Girl Uncut
An estimated 98% of girls and women in Dijibouti have undergone female genital mutilation, a procedure of varying severity in Somali culture. AOC has a long history of writing about FGM, the cutting off a female's clitoris and some of the labia. The procedure -- executed without anaesthetic -- is designed to protect a girl's purity and represents a sign of commitment to a future husband over a desire for sexual pleasure. In the most severe cases of FGM, a girl's labia is sewn together and only reopened after marriage. The probability of a young woman not being desirable as a bride and commanding no bride price for her family is high. 

 

Star Jones Co-Hosts Hillary Clinton Fundraiser in New York on Dec. 10, 2015

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In 2012, women of color -- and especially Black women -- voted at a higher rate than any other group, representing a key constituency that elected President Obama. Black women voted in historically high numbers, voting Democratic and delivering a victory to the nation's first African American president. 
In the 2008 election, many of these women were split between Senators Clinton and Obama. Now they are united in their commitment to Hillary Clinton. 

Clinton and Sanders Camps Enter New Fight In Nomination Battle

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Why Bernie Sanders Is Calling Out Hillary Clinton on Paid Family Leave

It seems that all hell has broken out with the Sanders campaign this week in two major areas: paid family leave and the cost of Bernie's single-payer health care plan. Bernie's proposed middle-class tax increases for both items are being rejected by the Clinton campaign.
Re the paid family leave, both candidates agree on 12 weeks of paid leave. Bernie supports the Gillibrand bill that would increase the payroll tax by .2% or $1.38 a week for the median wage. Clinton believes she has another way to pay for the bill.
The Sanders campaign is calling Hillary out on not supporting Gillibrand, except that not only has the New York Senator endorsed Hillary but she was sitting in the front row in Iowa Sat night AND Hillary acknowledged her. So OBVIOUSLY Gillibrand knows what Hillary has in mind -- and SHE doesn't feel that Hillary has flip-flopped at all.

Is Equal Pay Really About 'Sticking It To The Man'? Variety Talks Jennifer Lawrence & the Demand For Equal Pay In Hollywood

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'Sticking It to the Man' is an interesting title for an article about female actors asking for equal pay -- based on credentials, audience draw and awards -- from male-dominated Hollywood. Thanks to Patricia Arquette using her Oscar speech to lobby for equal pay and then Jennifer Lawrence setting a bonfire with her essay indicting a system that paid her 'American Hustle' co-stars more than her.As a consequence of last year's Sony Hack, Lawrence understands just how underpaid she was. 

Talking about her essay published in Lenny Letter, Lawrence said her 'hunger Games' character Katniss Everdeen inspired her to take action.

Kathy Griffin Endorses Hillary, Talks Hollywood's Gender Pay Gap With Variety

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I’m someone who has been very open about asking for raises and trying to get equal pay. You’re just simply told, “No.” It’s brutal. I guess I became aware of it on my first paid job. When I was on a sitcom in the ’90s, “Suddenly Susan,” I made the second-lowest salary on the cast. Judd Nelson, who I liked, made four times what I made, and he ended up getting fired. And I went on to get two Emmys, a Grammy, three television shows with my name in the title and a New York Times best-seller.
 

Gender Gap Volume Rises As Bernie Bros Tell Progressive Women How To Vote

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Throughout the summer, Sanders and Clinton supporters engaged in a soft glove battle of the sexes with Bernie Sanders'  primarily white male supporters sparring with Hillary supporters of every skin color and white women. The so-called Bernie Bros are focused on Clinton supporters like myself, the so-called spoiled, bourgeoise, white woman. 
We's Not Shouting, But We ARE Digging In
No self-respecting feminist will go to the wall over Bernie's comment about shouting -- although given his role as the shouter-in-chief, his commentary about others is downright amusing. Surely he didn't mean to minimize his opponent in any way. 
That is not the case with the white progressive men Peter Daou and Tom Watson write about over at Hillary Men. The genie is out of the bottle in political gender relations in the Democratic party, with a strong dose of misogyny running wild -- not among Southern Democrats, who barely exist anymore -- but among white male progressives.  
Feminists of a certain age are well aware that many leftist men were frequently sexist as hell. Among Latinos, African Americans, American Indians -- really any group of people except middle-class white women -- a desire for self-determination is embraced by white male progressives as legitimate. Among white women not on welfare or living among the working poor -- women who are typically able to speak and write or run for political office -- a desire for fairness and equity in political representation is considered to be bourgeoise and without a strong political foundation.

Blue Menu Politics: Nancy Pelosi's Sinfully Rich Chocolate Mousse Recipe

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Blue Menu Politics: Nancy Pelosi's Sinfully Rich Chocolate Mousse Recipe

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST

You won't hear this on Chris Matthews Hardball -- you know, Chris is trying to butter up the ladies lately -- but the secret to Nancy Pelosi's iron-clad grip on vote counting and controlling her spirited group of Democratic DC change agents is chocolate ice cream for breakfast.

Pelosi spilled the coffee beans to Food and Wine last year, admitting "I’ve been eating dark chocolate ice cream for breakfast for as long as I can remember. I don’t see it as different from having a cup of coffee. The flavors keep getting darker and darker, which I love. Double Rainbow has one called Ultra Chocolate; you can just imagine how delicious that is. And Three Twins, I like their Bittersweet Chocolate. Sugar cones are my thing.'

NANCY PELOSI'S FAVORITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE RECIPE

Angelina Jolie Fronts WSJ Magazine November 2015 Innovators Issue, Lensed By Peter Lindbergh

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Angelina Jolie Fronts WSJ Magazine November 2015 Innovators Issue, Lensed By Peter Lindbergh

AOC 2007 founding muse Angelina Jolie fronts the November 2015 issue of WSJ Magazine, the Innovators Issue. Angelina is photographed by Peter Lindbergh in classic images styled by Anastasia Barbieri./ Hair by Adriotha Lee; makeup by Toni Garavaglia

Jolie is promoting her new film 'By the Sea' starring herself and husband Brad Pitt. Interviewed by Julia Reed, the actor reflects on the many challenges of making the film about a couple whose marriage is in deep crisis. AOC has followed the film from its beginning.

Pierre de Vallombreuse Photographs Gender Equality In Southeast Asia Indiginous Cultures

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Pierre de Vallombreuse Photographs Gender Equality In Southeast Asia Indiginous Cultures

"Most of the cultures in Southeast Asia are more based on equality than domination," the photographer explained. For this series 'Souveraines', which was commissioned by Arthaud Publishing, de Vallombreuse "selected four remote cultures where women play decisive and central roles in governance and spirituality—the Khasi, a matrilineal and matrilocal society in northeastern India; the Palawan, a non-hierarchical community in the Philippines; the Mosuo ethnic group in China; and the Badjao, a sea-dwelling group that prefers boats to houses."

It should be noted that female sexuality is more more embraced in these societies, as we've written on AOC, and often it is women who choose their sexual partners, if only for the night. These realities dovetail back to our historical understandings of women's lives before the deterioration of women's rights, escalating dramatically after 10,000 BC.

De Vallombreuse says one of the most striking things he observed in these societies included "fluidity, simplicity, and normality" between men and women. "This should be normal everywhere," he said.

Kate Winslet Says Apple Devices Create Negative World For Kids & Families

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Kate Winslet Rules In Alexi Lubomirski Images For Esquire UK November 2015

One of the acclaimed stars of the new movie 'Steve Jobs', British actor Kate Winslet just posted a challenging interview with The Sunday Times, arguing that parents are "losing control" of their children to social media. 

Winslet said that social media has a "huge impact on young women's self-esteem", so much so that it made her "blood boil". 

These are tough-talking, fighting words from the mom of three children, proving that beautiful lingerie and posing in sensual, Alexi Lubomirski images for Esquire UK in no way invalidate conscientious parenting. Read more about Kate's view on technology & kids in AOC Women's News. 

Kate Winslet is a Smart Sensuality woman who knows her own mind. Read more about Kate's keen desire to join the cast of 'Steve Jobs' and interviews about the movie and its core character Steve Jobs. 

Meryl Streep Joined By Sean Penn In Promoting 'India's Daughter for 2016 Best Documentary Oscar

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Meryl Streep Joined By Sean Penn In Promoting 'India's Daughter for 2016 Best Documentary Oscar

Director Leslee Udwin's film 'India's Daughter' has opened in general release here in America. Although the film about gang rape in India continues to be banned in India, Meryl Streep is aggressively promoting it for a best documentary Oscar in 2016. "When I first saw (the film) I couldn't speak afterwards," the actor said recently in New York.

Streep was joined by Freida Pinto, in promoting 'India's Daughter' at the Tribeca Film Festival in March, and the activist actor has attracted a long and growing list of suporters of the film. 
On Tuesday in Los Angeles at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, Sean Penn joined Streep in promoting 'India's Daughter'. 
Comparing Udwin’s film about the gang rape of 23-year-old Jyoti Singh and the Indian and global protests that followed to an MRI, Penn added: “It made me ponder manhood. It reminded me of a trip I took with my children many years ago to Tanzania. I remember saying to our guide how extraordinary it was to see a culture last the way it had been for a thousand years. And the guide said to me: ‘Don’t wish the static upon anyone. It will kill them.’”

Anti-feminist Marion Cotillard Shines In Ben Hassett Images For Madame Figaro

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Anti-feminist Marion Cotillard Shines In Ben Hassett Images For Madame Figaro

Actor Marion Cotillard, one of France's most famous muses since 2008, has been in the hot seat, after denying the existence of sexism in Hollywood and the need for feminism in the world. Cotillard says she believes in women's rights but not confronting men -- as Jennifer Lawrence has done -- where inequality exists. It seems that Cotillard embraces the idea that men should not discriminate against women, but when it happens, the most important goal is to protect harmony between the sexes and not be divisive or create any separation, says the actor.

Katy Perry Roars Into Iowa For Hillary Clinton At Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

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Katy Perry Roars Into Iowa For Hillary Clinton At Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

Hillary Clinton had a stellar weekend and one heck of a week, coming off Vice President Biden announcing that he won't seek the presidency in 2016 and HIllary's grueling 11 hours of testimony before the Republican-dominated committee investigating Benghazi. Read On:

Obama's David Plouffe Endorses Hillary Clinton HIllary Hillary Clinton News


VS Angel Martha Hunt Seduces In Jack Waterlot Images For L'Officiel Malaysia October 2015

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VS Angel Martha Hunt Seduces In Jack Waterlot Images For L'Officiel Malaysia October 2015

Victoria's Secret Angel Martha Hunt, who is also a spokesperson for Free People, adds her western woman brand of sexy sizzle in a country where women have been caned in the last few years for adultery.L'Officiel Malaysia has always intrigued us with their provocations in this deeply Muslim country where activists from a coalition of eight organizations have formed the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality. Earlier this month, the coalition denounced  the government's claim that child brides are rare in the country. 

Citing statistic from United Nations’ reports, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) said there were as many as 15,000 Malaysians who were married off before the age of 19, contrary to the low figures given by the prime minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor at a function in the US yesterday.

Malaysia to Free People

Checking for a status pdate on last week's PETA action against Free People for refusing to stop the sale of angora after brutal videos of harvesting angora from rabbits were revealed, we note that the conflict was settled in the last 24 hours. Writing about the action last week, we didn't even think to look and see if Martha was the model behind the campaign. Woops!

It appears that Free People conceded today.