the adulterer's revivalist ballroom.

guardiancomment:

• A Tibetan exile has today set himself on fire during a protest against the upcoming visit of Chinese president Hu Jintao to New Delhi. Dozens of similar acts of self-immolations have been taking place in the last few months.

From a recent piece written by Pankaj Mishra:

Self-immolation is a radical form of protest for Tibetan monks, a violation of Buddhism’s basic tenets of respect for all sentient lives. “Desperation” was the response from Kyabje Kirti Rinpoche, the 70-year-old exiled abbot of Kirti monastery, when I asked him last month to explain the recent spate of self-immolations. He described the repressive measures of local Chinese authorities: indiscriminate arrests; checkpoints on the roads; police camps inside monasteries; and the ideological re-education campaign in which the 2,500 monks at Kirti, confined to their cells, are forced to repeat such statements as “I oppose the Dalai clique” and “I love the Communist party”.

• Also read our piece by Ed Douglas: How China is fuelling the fires of Tibetan resistance

• More on today’s protest on India Ink, the New York Times’ blog about India

Photograph: Reuters

justthetipoffeminism:

SURI IS SEXIST  i mean, REALLY

Unfortunately, while Suri can tell you where to buy Viagra, where to find a hooker, where the closest dentist it, or the nearest hardware store, it cannot help you if you’re looking for: birth control, the morning after pill, abortion clinics, women’s health centers, sexual abuse centers or rape centers. If you tell Suri “I was raped” it responds “Really!” If you tell suri “I was hit by a car” it tell you where the nearest hospitals are. 

It’s so frustrating to see yet another example of our society neglecting female experiences and needs as legitimate ones. Send Apple feedback letting them know how you feel. The form is here.  Below is a message (written by Zoe Leverant) that you may or may not chose to use: 

“Siri won’t provide information about abortion or abortion clinics, only crisis pregnancy centers. She will refer a user to where to buy Viagra, but not birth control or Plan B. When told “I was raped” she replies “Really!” and doesn’t recognize rape or domestic violence as something that should redirect to a hospital, shelter, or legal resources. 

Since Siri is capable of directing users to medical facilities based on other stated needs and injuries like priapism, why can’t she direct users to a facility that dispenses a medication (birth control) used by 99% of American women or that provides a procedure (abortion) that 1 in 3 American women undergo? Why is her response to rape a dismissive, snarky joke? This is too intentional to be a simple oversight. Future updates must include corrections to this unacceptable problem. “

I don’t think this has anything to do with sexism. 

at any rate, the only thing in there that is tailored specifically to women is the birth control, and birth control is a controlled substance that can be given to you at a health clinic, planned parenthood, or by your GP. 

Siri should probably be telling you “Go to see your general physician” 
I am also pretty sure that a Crisis Pregnancy Center will be more than helpful answering questions about abortion.  It’s true that Siri is a program attached to a group of names, and they must uphold their personal reputations and abortion is a ridiculously taboo topic, so for the sake of being discrete they implemented that response.

and about the rape. Rape does not only happen to women.  If you want to make it a women’s issue specifically then you are alienating every man out there who has been taken advantage of— not to mention they are already at a disadvantage.  you think people won’t believe you when you tell them you were raped? Try telling someone when you’re a 20-something attractive young man in college, or a middle-aged married man, or god forbid a minority male. 

please. 

nationalpost:

UN reports ‘extraordinary progress’ in global fight against AIDS
The international community has made extraordinary progress in the past decade in the fight against AIDS, but a funding crisis is putting those gains at risk, the United Nations health agencies said.

A World Health Organization-led report said the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS and now infects about 34 million people around the world has proven a “formidable challenge” for scientists and public health experts.

“But the tide is turning,” it added. “The tools to achieve an AIDS-free generation are in our hands.”

discoverynews:

Stalin’s Daughter Dies in Wisconsin

Born Svetlana Stalina on Feb. 28, 1926, she led an epic and complex life that ended in obscurity and poverty after decades of wandering….Known as “the little princess” of the Kremlin, she was a child celebrity in the Soviet Union, where thousands of babies were named Svetlana in her honor.

saboma:

American Censorship Day November 12th