Carnivorum

mydarling:

Yep, just so you’re aware.

(via reagan-was-a-horrible-president)

breakingnews:

Delhi gang-rape victim dies in hospital in Singapore

BBC News: The 23-year-old woman gang-raped on a bus in India’s capital Delhi has died at a Singapore hospital, doctors say.

“The patient passed away peacefully at 4:45am on 29 Dec 2012,” a statement from the hospital said. The patient’s family had been by her side, it added.

The 23-year-old had arrived in Singapore on Thursday after undergoing three operations in a Delhi hospital.

Follow updates on the story at Breaking News.

Photo: A young woman, one hand covered in fake blood, takes part in a protest earlier Friday in Calcutta against the gang rape of a student. (Piyal Adhikary / EPA via NBC News)

thepeoplesrecord:

Women’s incarceration rate soars by 600%+ as they face abuse
December 26, 2012

Allowing male guards to oversee female prisoners is a recipe for trouble, says former political prisoner Laura Whitehorn. Now a frequent lecturer on incarceration policies and social justice, Whitehorn describes a culture in which women are stripped of their power on the most basic level. “Having male guards sends a message that female prisoners have no right to defend their bodies,” she begins. “Putting women under men in authority makes the power imbalance as stark as it can be, and results in long-lasting repercussions post- release.”

Abuse, of course, can take many forms, from the flagrant - outright rape, groping, invasive pat-downs and peeping during showers or while an inmate is on the toilet - to verbal taunts or harassing comments. And while advocates for the incarcerated have long tried to draw attention to these conditions, they’ve made little to no headway. But that may be changing thanks to the promulgation of rules, finalized in June, to stem the overt sexual abuse of prisoners. The nine-years-in-the-making Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is the first law in US history to address the sexual abuse of those in lock-up, and its passage made clear that the sexual abuse of the incarcerated - men and women - is a pervasive problem in prisons throughout the 50 states. But let’s hold off on PREA for a minute and first zero in on the reality of female incarceration more generally.

According to  The Sentencing Project, between 1980 and 2010, the number of incarcerated women ballooned by 646 percent, from 15,118 to 112,797; most were convicted of nonviolent offenses. Add in females who are incarcerated in local jails and the number increases to approximately 205,000. In addition, more than 712,000 women are presently on probation, and another more than 103,000 are on parole.

Prisoners’ rights activists note that, more often than not, these women enter the criminal justice system with long histories of domestic and other abuse. Indeed, a  2007 study by The American Civil Liberties Union found that 92 percent of California’s female prisoners had been abused in some way prior to being taken into custody.

 The Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of South Carolina corroborates this finding and notes that many teenage girls experienced their first arrest shortly after fleeing abusive homes. “What may be remarkable within this sample is the cumulative impact of cumulative victimization over the life span,” CCFS researchers report. “Many of the women suffered multiple traumas. They were victimized in multiple ways - child abuse and neglect, adult relationship violence, sexual violence, not to mention the number of times they experienced each type of victimization.” The Center calls it “poly-victimization” and cites women’s efforts to stop aggression or retaliate against an aggressor as a key reason many are behind bars. The researchers also note that a history of sexual abuse typically leads to other problems, including unplanned pregnancies, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, low self-esteem, depression and addiction - issues that can make incarceration exceptionally difficult.

Whitehorn acknowledges that many of the women she was jailed with, or has come to know since her release, were abused, and says that the daily pat-down searches that take place in federal prison sometimes cause flashbacks for those who’ve been molested; many subsequently become easy prey for exploitative guards and administrators, the result of a learned acquiescence to predatory behavior.

At the same time, she says, sex between staff and inmates happens, and when it occurs, it raises the ante of unequal power even further. “Even when it’s quote ‘consensual,’ for a prisoner to consent to sex with her ‘boss’ is troubling, especially since a refusal can be considered a refusal to obey a direct order,” Whitehorn continues. “The woman can lose her job or be thrown in the hole [an isolation cell] for saying ‘No,’ and even if her job pays pennies, it allows her to buy toothpaste and other necessities.”

Source

(via reagan-was-a-horrible-president)

xvinaharrison:

$$$$$$$

(via iheartginaharrison)

strangeasanjles:

“It’s no secret that miscegenation (interracial marriage) was kind of a big deal in the United States until very recently — as in, it was totally illegal for a non-white person to marry a white person until 1967. That’s why it’s so shocking to learn that, just one year after that supreme court decision the Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” featured the first ever interracial kiss on scripted TV in the US. It was so controversial, even on the set, that they had to shoot it twice — once where William Shatner (Kirk) and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) kissed, and one where they didn’t. But Shatner intentionally ruined the shot where they didn’t kiss, forcing the studio to use the other one.”

“7 Ways Star Trek Changed the World” via Ranker

Star Trek is the best thing that has ever happened to the world.

(via mooncalfe)

nycedc:

Why Broadband Is Good for Business

There are just 10 days left to get in your application for the ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge.

As the submission period comes to a close, we want to emphasize the importance of high-speed broadband and the impact that it can have on businesses in New York City.

Improving the city’s broadband infrastructure

Here’s a short paragraph on why the ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge is important, in the words of venture capitalist Fred Wilson. (If you haven’t read Fred’s full blog post on the ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge, definitely check it out.)

“In addition to getting a lot of local businesses high speed broadband, this contest will also give an indication to the city and local ISPs of where the most important neighborhoods are for broadband buildout. We spend a lot of time with our portfolio companies dealing with infrastructure issues around real estate and broadband and I can tell you that this is big problem in NYC. Companies that want to move to low cost neighborhoods with interesting buildings like Red Hook, Gowanus, Vinegar Hill, the Greenpoint waterfront, Long Island City, and other similar places simply cannot do that due to the lack of good broadband. If the city wants to see these neighborhoods emerge commercially, they will need to deal with the broadband problem. ConnectNYC is a nice way to get going on the problem.”

NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky agrees:

“In recent years, New York City has emerged as a global hub of technology and innovation. The ConnectNYC competition is the next important step in our efforts to build upon this momentum, expanding broadband connectivity across the City and ensuring that our broadband infrastructure meets the needs of our businesses throughout the 21st Century.”

If your business could benefit from faster internet, we urge you to enter the ConnectNYC Fiber Challenge (and spread the word to your friends)! If you haven’t already, take a look at the submission form and start drafting your answers today.

(via nycgov)

inothernews:

A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (Photo: AP via Newsday)