In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Slavery] Today is Juneteeth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the US. If you aren't familiar with the history of Juneteeth, this is an excellent primer. And here is a great piece about the widespread lack of awareness of Juneteeth, even in its 149th year, and about what it means to the people who celebrate it. "Historically, Juneteenth is freedom in and of itself. It's the true ending of slavery. It's an awakening," says Samuel Pugh of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. "But as far as it today, it's family. It's friendship. It's relationships. It's the relationships that we have with the community."

[CN: War] The Guardian has the latest developments on Iraq here, including information on President Obama's scheduled address later today.

After reading my piece Women Have Always Been Doing Things, Shaker Jay sent the link to this page of the Gallica project, "an initiative to digitize the resources of French libraries and archives," where they have posted old images of women footballers, alongside text (translated by Jay): "Football, woman style — While the Men's World Cup is taking place in Brazil, let's not forget that football is also women's business! The proof in pictures comes with these snapshots from the 1920s of teams Femina Sport, En Avant, Academia or the Reims Sportives...." Awesome.

Senator Al Franken wants to put Citizens United in the dumpster of bad ideas. THAT IS A GOOD IDEA! Sign the petition here.

[CN: Assisted death] Gallup finds that there is strong support among US respondents for legalizing doctor-assisted euthanasia for terminally ill patients. Currently, only four states have "death with dignity" measures. I would very much like to have access to this if and when I need it.

[CN: Fat bias] In other Gallup polling news, Gallup has found that "obesity is linked to long-term unemployment in the US." And here is their attempt at an explanation: "While these results offer evidence of a strong relationship between unemployment and obesity-related health concerns, the causal direction is not clear. Unemployment may cause some people to engage in behaviors that lead to health problems, while pre-existing health conditions may make it harder for others to find and keep work. For many individuals, both dynamics may be at work, perpetuating a negative cycle of declining job prospects and worsening health." Ha ha it's neat how "employers are biased against fat people because of negative stereotypes conflating fat with laziness, sloppiness, and moral failing" isn't even a consideration, despite the fact it's the most obvious fucking answer, as multiple studies have demonstrated fat bias in the hiring process.

[CN: Misogyny] A few years ago, I wrote about (and here) a giant Marilyn Monroe statue in Chicago, which became an inadvertent monument to how women are treated. Today, I saw these pictures of a nearly identical giant Marilyn Monroe statue in China, which has been unceremoniously tossed in a garbage dump. NBC reported this under the headline: "Dumped! Giant Marilyn Monroe Thrown Out with the Trash." Yeah.

And finally! Tom Hardy loves watching cooking shows to unwind. Oh, Tom Hardy. And he leaves them on for the dogs when he's out, because: "They've got to feel that someone's in the house." Oh, Tom Hardy.