on rape, iraq, the media & hate (alternet-ing)

--- two items on the "feminist controversy about underage women in bars" which is actually very much related to the victim-blaming tendencies we still cling to in this rape culture of ours (lots of links and background info):

- FEMINIST BLOGS RESPOND TO CLUB CULTURE AND RAPE ARTICLE: Tuesday's article on young women, club culture and rape has the feminist blog world hopping mad.
- READERS WRITE: WOMEN AS CLUB COMMODITIES: AlterNet readers sound off about risks young women face in bars and nightclubs, the "she-asked-for-it" mentality, and who, if anyone, is a victim.

my absolute favorite quote:

Number One Cause of Rape: Rapists
I know that's a bold claim, but I'm going to go even further: rapists are not just the leading, but in fact the only cause of rape. I've been turning this over in my mind for a couple of hours now, trying to poke holes in the logic, and I think I've got a solid case.
Of course the patriarchy doesn't see it that way; under patriarchy, women are the ones who somehow cause themselves to get raped. They're always either wearing short skirts or walking down the street or sitting at home or holding their mouths funny or breathing or doing some goddamn thing that makes men rape them.
We're used to hearing that kind of crap from asswipes like the Cat Meat Sheik, but when ostensible feminists slide into victim-blaming it's maddening. According to Liz Funk, the latest cause of rape is young women going out drinking. Ms. Funk completely omits any mention of who commits these rapes; apparently they just occur, like spontaneous combustion, when young women are out at night. A bunch of girls out on the town, having a few drinks, and poof! They're raped!

really, how can victim-blaming still remain so pervasive, in its various guises? it makes no sense, it's devoid of any kind of logic! read under both links above.

--- an utterly AMAZING video commentary from keith olbermann of msnbc:
on bush's proposed new "surge" strategy in iraq (more troups and "sacrifice")

Sacrifice, Mr. Bush? ...Sacrifice your intention, not more American lives. ...you do not own this country. ...First, we sent Americans to their deaths for your lie, Mr. Bush, now we're sending them to their deaths for your ego. ...No, sir, this is not "sacrifice." This has now become "human sacrifice." ...Next week, make us all look wrong. Our meaningless sacrifice in Iraq must stop, and you, sir, must stop it.

[script here]

--- more on iraq:
- A 'SURGE' TO SAVE BUSH'S LEGACY: With 3,000 American soldiers already dead along with possibly a half million or more Iraqis, Bush is determined to escalate the war in the Middle East into a pitched battle for his presidential legacy.
- THE REAL COST OF THE IRAQ WAR: 50,000 U.S. CASUALTIES: Death is not the only measure of loss in Iraq. What about all of the lost limbs, bloodshed and other casualties that aren't being reported?
- 10% OF ACTIVE JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ WERE KILLED IN 2006: After 64 journalists were killed in Iraq in 2006, Reporters Without Borders has described the country as "the world's most dangerous" for the media.

--- hate, the xtian right, etc.:
- KEEP ON HATIN': At the year's end, a look back on the birth of the media's hate era.
- AMERICA'S HOLY WARRIORS: The radical Christian Right is coming dangerously close to its goal of taking over the country's military and law enforcement.

--- [udpate] two other important military-related stories:
- FOR FEMALE SOLDIERS, SEXUAL ASSAULT REMAINS A DANGER: According to the Pentagon, there were 2,374 reported cases of sexual assault against women in uniform over the past year. But as the saga of military police officer Suzanne Swift shows, numbers alone don't tell the whole story.
- AWOL SOLDIERS GET COLD SHOULDER FROM CANADA: Canada's official reception to war-resisting American soldiers resisting the Iraq war has been frosty.