A group of moms have brought city’s attention to the manner in which Facebook confirms to the otherwise sexist norms in our society when it comes to breastfeeding rights.

Although the protests took place at Facebook office lobby at 335, Madison Avenue, Facebook officials did not feel it necessary to address the gathering, or more importantly, the issue. Emma Kwasnica, the woman who launched this global movement against Facebook believes that the employees of this powerful corporation are “running rougue” and deleting images owing to their personal sensitivity. However the reality is, by turning indifferent to her protests, Facebook has been consistently adhering to the patriarchal standards. And there lies the greater crisis.

The online moral czars have flexibilities otherwise deemed illegal. For instance, in public, a women in New York has the right to breastfeed her baby in any public or private place where she has a right to be. This includes stores, day care centers, doctors’ offices, restaurants, parks, movie theaters and many other places. No one can tell her to leave any of these places because she is breastfeeding, and no one can tell her to breastfeed in a bathroom, a basement or a private room. Likewise, at work, the employer cannot discriminate against a woman for choosing to breastfeed her baby or for pumping milk at work.

Facebook and other social media which self-regulate for the most part, need to be not just politically correct, but more importantly, socially responsible by following women’s rights laws. Or stricter regulations need to be in place for private corporations, irrespective of whether they claim to be freedom loving virtual/social media networks.

Following news reporting by Cassandra Garrison for Metro details the protest, and its impact –

An international movement landed in NYC this morning as a small group of women carried their young children inside the building that houses Facebook’s NYC office, demanding that the social networking giant leave their breastfeeding photos alone.
The “nurse-in” was planned after Vancouver mom Emma Kwasnica launched an online campaign, calling on Facebook to stop deleting images of mothers nursing their children. Kwasnica said Facebook removed her photos numerous times, despite the company’s claim that it does not delete images unless they show an exposed breast that is not being used for feeding.
The group of moms who attended the NYC “nurse-in” insist that even though the photos are acceptable by Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, they are continually removed. They met in the lobby of 335 Madison Avenue, the building where Facebook operates on two floors. The small contingent was first asked to leave but later returned to the lobby where security allowed them to stay. The moms nursed their children and chanted lines like, “Facebook, Facebook, don’t be mean — breastfeeding is not obscene.”
“People view breasts as this sexual thing,” said Wendy Ledesma, an Astoria mom who has a 17-month-old son. “We need to get over that as a society and realize that breastfeeding is normal, natural, beautiful and important.”
No one from Facebook came downstairs to address the moms, but a spokesperson blamed the deleted photos on human error. Each photo that gets flagged as offensive is reviewed by an employee who then decides whether the photo will be deleted and the user’s account frozen.

The fact that possibility of government shutdown is squarely dependent upon the abortion issue is less about budgets, and more about the sexist society we collectively have fostered in this country.

A bunch of conservative men across political and socio-economic spectrum have somehow taken up the mantle of deciding what is appropriate for women when it comes to their most fundamental right – the right over their body.

Were men capable of reproducing, a question over abortion would never have become a public debate. It is only a “white knight” society that would presuppose the men have inbuilt intelligence superiority when it comes to mapping out not only what women are capable of doing, but also what they must be allowed to imagine of doing.

Contrary to popular discourse, abortion issue is not a legal question. Anti-abortion campaign is a social fix that heralds patriarchy, one that renders women as baby-producing machines, and worse, one that looks upon at women as a child-rearing gender. A glorification of motherhood, a sanctity upon women as gendered creatures that are born to reproduce to male whims, and a mandate that demands women to comply to male standards of family roles. Women in effect must turn into dishwashers, washing machines, microwaves, and mothers.

It is not merely unfortunate that the United States is at a crossroads over a most fundamental human right that uniquely belongs to women. It is in many ways, a predictable continuation of a strand of worldwide reactionary movements serving as backlash to feminists everywhere.

And most importantly, the possible government shutdown is a crucial reminder that the most pressing issue in front of the world is the one involving women’s reproductive rights, the ones being controlled thus far by the men. It will only be fruitful a debate if the President and rest of the politicians reach a consensus that it is not about federal budgets. It is about patriarchy. There is no telling how both Republicans and the Democrats contribute to the gender status quo.

If Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. feels the nation is full of cowards when it comes to holding honest discussions about race, the reality is when it comes to women’s reproductive rights and human rights of LGBT, the country is full of stinking shit. And despite what happens at the Capitol Hill today, cleaning up the shit takes more than a bunch of sexist pigs.

In fact, quite the contrary.

World’s largest retailer is about to face the largest class action suit in American history. Status quo of Walmart Stores Inc., thus far maintained through several expensive public relations campaigns and television advertorials, has been challenged by this lawsuit representing interests of more than 1 million women. In a case that will unveil the extent to which corporate America has institutionalized systemic sexism, Walmart and its likes will most likely demand a review, an appeal or shameless dismissal.

Women Challenge Wal-Mart

Indeed, Walmart has no shame. Its official statement is irresponsible and unrealistically far from the ground: “We do not believe the claims….Walmart is an excellent place for women to work and fosters female leadership among our associates and in the larger business world.”

In its defense, Walmart has clearly taken shelter within the ideology of market capitalism pervading the “larger business world” – a genre of trade policies that has resulted in enormous costs to human dignity, labor and unity. Capitalistic “free” market economy in America has consistently been anti-worker, especially, anti-women. Despite countless judicial interventions and feministic endeavors to ensure equality at workplaces, corporate America continues to treat women workers as invisible and their labor unworthy of rewards. As a result, women in 2010 still earn about 79 cents for every dollar men earn. For women of color, it is way less.

As the most prolific representative of global capitalism, Walmart has an extraordinary share in maintaining existing gender inequalities. Walmart has $405 billion in annual sales, 2 million employees, more than 8,400 stores. Between the Waltons (Christy, Jim, Alice, Robson), personal assets of the owners of Walmart run over $80 billion – the richest private wealth accumulation ever in the world.

From time to time, corporations like Walmart (and Sam’s Club which it owns) have hired more women and workers from various minorities groups. But this is usually done in order to enhance profits through cheaper labor standards. Ironically, thus emancipated class – women and other minorities – prove to be the instruments for higher profits of the unregulated corporations.

After hiring cheaper alternatives in the form of women and members of minorities in their native country of operations, corporations like Walmart then globalize their exploitative expansions for even cheaper labor alternatives to maximize profits. So in Mexico, Walmart becomes Walmex, in the UK, it is Asda, in Japan, it becomes Seiyu and in India it is Best Price. Walmart successfully hires cheaper labors also in China, Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Canada, among others.

A crucial way of challenging anti-worker policies of Walmart and its likes, is for the workers to join labor unions. And this is one area where the Walton families have excelled in choking human liberties. Walmart has consistently maintained anti-union stances, exposed employees to health hazards, locked in night-shift workers and paid employees below minimum wage. With the forced absence of workers unions, Walmart has ensured that workers get paid below poverty line minimum wage to maintain families and yet have no right to challenge it in an organized manner. And most famously, Wal-mart has opposed the pro-worker Employee Free Choice Act.

The working class of the world needs for this lawsuit to prevail, not merely to send a signal to a corporation that undervalues its employees, but also to encourage all workers to join in solidarity to radically challenge and upstage profiteering monopolists everywhere.

No legal case in American history has been more cited than The Scottsboro Trial. Nine young African American men, aged 13 and up, were jailed in Scottsboro, Alabama to await trial over an accusation that they had raped two white women on a train in the Spring of 1931.

The nature of racism in this instance was not the novelty – indeed, American society was witness to countless false charges brought against the black people. However, The Scottsboro Trial became a landmark via the manner in which racism for the first time was fiercely and openly challenged in the United States.

When the entire country was refusing to take side of Scottsboro Nine, it was the Communist Party which came to aid the young men. International Labor Defense – a coalition formed by the communists to defend Scottsboro Nine benefitted from the active involvement of a black woman on their national board – a pioneering champion of labor classes in America – Lucy Parsons (1853-1942).

Class, Race and Gender
Parsons’ commitments towards freedom of the young Black Communist Angelo Herndon in Georgia, Tom Mooney in California, and for the Scottsoboro Nine in Alabama were unflinching. Parsons recognized the class system in America as the prime factor in perpetuating racism. She was the foremost American feminist to declare that race, gender and sexuality are not oppressed identities by themselves. It is the economic class that determines the level of oppression people of minorities have to confront. Notwithstanding her social location of being a black and a woman, Parsons declared that a black person in America is exploited not because she/he is black. “It is because he is poor. It is because he is dependent. Because he is poorer as a class than his white wage-slave brother of the North.”

Lucy Parsons was a relentless defender of working class rights. To contain her popularity, the media portrayed her more as the wife of Albert Parsons – a Haymarket martyr, who was murdered by the state of Illinois, while demanding for eight-hour working day on November 11, 1887. While identifying her with Albert’s causes, history textbooks – both liberal and conservative – seldom mention Parsons as the radical torchbearer of American communist movement.

Communistic Commitments
Parsons’ commitment to the cause of international communism often embarrassed the United States administration. FBI confiscated her library comprising over 1,500 books and progressive works soon after her accidental death – thus preventing the country of having access to her radicalism. But those that witnessed Parsons‘ oratory and benefitted from her skills of organizing labor knew of Parsons‘ disdain towards anarchism which she felt was not capable of leading the masses onto revolutions.

Following Bolshevik Revolution in Soviet Union, IWW would witness several of its main organizers joining the Communist Party. Parsons, along with Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Flynn were among the pioneering American communists. Parsons not only had officially joined the Communist Party of the United States, she was also vocally opposed to distractions within revolutionary movements.

Parsons condemned celebrated anarchist Emma Goldman for “addressing large middle-class audiences”. Whereas Lucy Parsons‘ feminism considered women’s oppression as a function of capitalism, Emma Goldman was clearly not in favor of a vanguard party taking up feminist causes. Parsons in her dedication towards working class liberation movements never lost sight of her goal, never compromised on her principled stands on the side of the working poor, and never aspired for mere social acceptance or glory.

Voice of Dissent
Parsons was among the first women to join the founding convention of IWW. She thundered: “We, the women of this country, have no ballot even if we wished to use it. But we have our labor. Wherever wages are to be reduced, the capitalist class uses women to reduce them.”

In The Agitator, dated November 1, 1912 she referred to Haymarket martyrs thus: “Our comrades were not murdered by the state because they had any connection with the bombthrowing, but because they were active in organizing the wage-slaves. The capitalist class didn’t want to find the bombthrower; this class foolishly believed that by putting to death the active spirits of the labor movement of the time, it could frighten the working class back to slavery.”

She had no illusions about capitalistic world order. Parsons called for armed overthrow of the American ruling class. She refused to buy into an argument that the origin of racist violence was in racism. Instead, Parsons viewed racism as a necessary byproduct of capitalism. In 1886, she called for armed resistance to the working class: “You are not absolutely defenseless. For the torch of the incendiary, which has been known with impunity, cannot be wrested from you!”

For Parsons, her personal losses meant nothing; her oppression as a woman meant less. She was dedicated to usher in changes for the entire humanity – changes that would alter the world order in favor of the working poor class.

Even as a founding member of IWW, she was not willing to let the world’s largest labor union function in a romanticized manner. She radicalized the IWW by demanding that women, Mexican migrant workers and even the unemployed become full and equal members.

With her clarity of vision, lifelong devotion towards communist causes, her strict adherence to radical demands for a societal replacement of class structure, Lucy Parsons remains the most shining example of an American woman who turned her disadvantaged social locations of race and gender, to one of formidable strength – raising herself to bring about emancipated working class consciousness.

“To be neutral is to collaborate with whatever is going on, and I as a teacher do not want to be a collaborator with whatever is happening in the world today.” (Howard Zinn)

In the grossly unequal world that we inhabit, it is always tempting to remain apolitical, especially if one is an academician materially benefiting from the status quo system of education. It is only logical to separate classroom instructions from political activisms, since teachers are desired by the system to enhance employability of students within the social framework, not to agitate their conscience to challenge the social order. In a world of established, codified and professional knowledge, it is required on part of historians to promulgate official narrations of national heroes and victorious wars; not overthrow ruling class histories to replace them with versions of the oppressed subjects.

Howard Zinn’s aspirations to become a teacher were also founded with similar convictions. But unlike most people in his times, he was fundamentally a radical thinker. When he heard Woody Guthrie’s song on Ludlow Massacre, he wondered why he never read about it in history books. He questioned the omission of labor struggles in historical manuscripts. When for the first time he joined a mass demonstration at the age of 17 to strengthen the Communist Party of the United States of America on Times Square, he questioned the claimed neutrality of barbaric police and brutal government orders. Unlike most people of our times, he decided he must choose a side, and he chose his side early on. A side of the toiling masses, and mine workers, of protesting students and peaceniks, of marginalized sections and conscientious objectors. A side, which he never left, not even in his death. For the world of the oppressed, Zinn shall always remain alive as the working class professor who dedicated his life in challenging the system of education by getting the world to enter the university and letting the university enter into the world.

Howard Zinn's first participation at a political rally - 1939 in Times Square

University was not to be merely wasted in academic pursuits. As a white professor in Atlanta-based predominantly black Spelman College, Zinn organized students around issues of desegregation and racial justice in manners which led FBI to enlist him. Bringing to national attention the remarkable acts of resistance orchestrated by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he redefined nonviolence: “Non-violence does not mean acceptance, it means resistance. Not waiting, but acting. It is not at all passive; it involves strikes, boycotts, non cooperation, mass demonstration, and sabotage.” Zinn’s involvement in black liberation struggles cost him his job, led to his arrest and raised questions on his acceptance as a historian. His Vietnam coverage as a journalist to uncover the Operation County Fair – the systematic killings of Vietnamese men and torture of women and children – added to his disrepute for the administrations. For the free American society, he had unbridled rage: “We grow up in a controlled society. When one person kills another person, that is murder. When a government kills a hundred thousand persons, is that patriotism?”

Subjective Historian

When he finally authored A People’s History of the United States, it was boycotted by American Historical Review – the foremost American academic history journal. Zinn was accused of taking sides of the indigenous, in his authoritative and foremost assessment of Columbus as an anti-hero. He silenced the objectivists: “There is no such thing as impartial history. The chief problem in historical honesty is not outright lie. It is omission or de-emphasis of important data. The definition of important of course depends on one’s values.” One’s values often metamorphose with changing times. But Howard Zinn’s never did. He remained a radical throughout, his capacity for moral outrage remaining unparalleled.

He wrote, for instance, “There is no objective way to deal with the Ludlow Massacre. There is the subjective (biased, opinionated) decision to omit it from history, based on a value system which doesn’t consider it important enough. That value system may include a fundamental belief in the beneficence of the American industrial system. Or it may just involve a complacency about class struggle and the intrusion of government on the side of corporations. In any case, it is a certain set of values which dictates the ignoring of that event. It is also a subjective decision to tell the story of the Ludlow Massacre in some detail. My decision was based on my belief that it is important for people to know the extent of class conflict in our history, to know something about how hard working people had to struggle to change their conditions, and to understand the role of the government and the mainstream press in the class struggles of our past.”

Discovery of Columbus

If the world was certain about one American knowledge, it was the discovery of the continent. Columbus had discovered America, until Howard Zinn discovered Columbus through the latter’s diaries. Zinn contended that a people cannot be discovered by their class enemies. They can only be brutally murdered, captured and subjugated. With thoroughly fundamental researches, Zinn proceeded to conclude on Columbus and the foundation of America which was hitherto unknown. “What did Columbus want? In the first two weeks of journal entries, there is one word that recurs seventy-five times: GOLD,” the historian revealed. Zinn’s infusion of people’s history in America inspired similar Marxist interpretations of indigenous histories throughout the globe. In popularizing the possibility of telling history from the lens of the oppressed, Zinn virtually legitimized the subject as a progressive weapon.

Pacifism as a Necessity

Zinn did not oppose wars because doing so was in fashion. In fact, his kind of opposition has never been in fashion. He has been a steadfast pacifist who saw no merit in wars. There was no such thing as a good war in our times, he would conclude after using chemical weapons during the Second World War as a fighter pilot. His was an imagination that has not been fully expanded so far, but its merits are experienced daily as the American power continues its “just wars” on the “axis of evil”. Suffice it to say, if history is a great lesson, Zinn’s pacifist stances are certainly among the greatest ones.

Zinn wrote in his Just and Unjust Wars: “What war does, even if it starts with an injustice, is multiply the injustice. If it starts on the basis of violence, it multiplies the violence. If it starts on the basis of defending yourself against brutality, then you end up becoming a brute.”

Disobedience to Law

Zinn (Right) being arrested as a political prisoner

Throughout his academic and journalistic career, Zinn maintained that progress of the society depended not on the premise of abiding the law of the land, or to uphold “national security”, but through demonstration of mass disobedience towards unjust laws. He would enlighten students and readers on how Supreme Court never changed the course of American freedom path. No well-meaning jury ever changed any law for the better. People on the streets have always forced the judiciary system to reform itself. Even to the last days, he wrote how President Obama was incapable of bringing fundamental changes, unless mass participations against his power status quo forces him to radically different directions. Zinn’s capacity to comprehend potentials within the masses as opposed to within the leaders is what distinguished him from many progressive thinkers.

Progressive Storyteller

One remarkable aspect of Howard Zinn was his lack of professionalism. Zinn, despite belonging to the world of academics, was an anti-academician. He never waited for academic peer reviews or approvals by purist committees. He was not a historian with any astute sense of proportion or dignified scholastic languages. He was never one to claim for fame or stick to major publications glorifying inaccessible texts. About his greatest work, A People’s History, he once said, “I wanted to tell the story of the nation’s industrial progress from the standpoint not of Rockefeller and Carnegie and Vanderbilt, but of the people who worked in their mines, their oil fields, who lost their limbs or their lives building the railroads. I wanted to tell the story of wars, not from the standpoint of generals and presidents, not from the standpoints of those military heroes whose statues you see all over this country, but through the eyes of the G.I.’s, or through the eyes of “the enemy.” Yes, why not look at the Mexican War, that great military triumph of the United States, from the viewpoint of the Mexicans?”

If Zinn wrote, he did so in order to reach out to the masses that had no inkling of theoretical underpinnings or paradoxical paradigms. Zinn wrote in order to tell the lesser told stories. He wrote biographies of unknown strugglers of the past. He made accessible the speeches of the striking miners. He edited books that were entirely collections of radical writings. As though an enthusiast, a sucker for historical trivia, Zinn became the greatest medium for radical messages for people of all ages and walks of life.

Reclaiming Marx

Zinn was never afraid of being labeled a Marxist in the world of hypocritical academia, but he wondered if Marx would have been pleased with such an epithet reserved for a genuine activist. Many of his contemporaries immensely borrowed from the works of Marx and Lenin, but steadfastly refused to acknowledge. Zinn brought Marx alive within historical realm, not just through the framework with which he studied history, but also by penning down Marx in Soho. Not just was it a satirical take on the current pseudo-Marxists, it was also a grave reminder on how Marx was possibly the most relevant text in contemporary times.

Class analysis formed the core of every historical research Zinn conducted. He had an impeccable ability to discern illusions. Zinn vehemently opposed the capitalistic propaganda around freedom of speech as a moral injunction to gain respectability in contemporary world order. He turned the question on its head for American freedom: “Freedom of speech is not just a quality. It’s a quantity. It’s not a matter of do you have free speech, like in America we have free speech. Just like, in America we have money. How much do you have? How much freedom of speech do you have? Do you have as much freedom of speech as Exxon?”

Critical questions alone have guided the world to progressive historical interpretations. Employing radical perspectives, Howard Zinn has not only left behind issues that have legacies of progressivism, but also equally powerful tools for future reinventions of the current world. “We the people” are stricken by the grief of his passage, but enriched by his enduring imaginings.

January 1-20: War Capitalism Intensifies: After a week of intense airstrikes, Israel declares more conventional warfare against Palestinians. In clearly what can constitute mammoth war crimes, Israel attacks end the lives of several children. It conducts 50 air strikes per night and kills 1200 Palestinians within less than three weeks of war. In comparison, Israel has 13 deaths. Defense Minister Ehud Barak declares “our military activities will widen and deepen as much as needed”.

January 20: New American President: Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. Obama maintains silence over Israel’s military aggressions against Palestine.

Hillary Clinton

January 22: Bay Promises: US Government agrees to close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp within a year. It has been one of the most infamous centers of human rights violations in the world.

January 29: Obama Signs Equal-Pay Legislation: President Obama signed his first bill into law: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, an equal-pay act. The law expands workers’ rights to sue in pay disputes.

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

February 6: Historic Job Loss in January; Unemployment Rate 7.6% :January 2009 saw 598,000 jobs lost, the highest number since December 1974, which brings the total number of jobs lost to 1.8 million in just three months. The unemployment rate jumped to 7.6%, up from the 7.2% rate in December 2008.

March 4: Racist ICC: The International Criminal Court (ICC) is heavily criticized for its attempts to help the West “recolonize the former colonies”. In an unprecedented and unsubstantiated manner, ICC issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Al-Bashir becomes the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC but he gains strong supports from Arab League, African Union, and Non-Aligned Movement, among others. His indictment is supported by major western NGOs such as Amnesty, Oxfam and Mercy Corp.

March 6: Unemployment Rate Hits 8.1%; 651,000 Jobs Lost in February: Unemployment in the U.S., which has been steadily growing for several months, reaches 8.1% in February 2009. This is the highest rate since 1983, and an additional .5% over January. There were 651,000 reported jobs lost last month, slightly down from 655,000 in January.

March 18: New Mexico Abolishes Death Penalty : New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signs legislation to repeal the death penalty in his state. Lethal injection will be replaced with life in prison without parole. New Mexico is the second state to ban the death penalty since 1976, when the United States Supreme Court reinstated it.

April 1: Sweden Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage: Sweden becomes the fifth European country to legalize same-sex marriage. The law, passed by Parliament, will go into effect May 1. The other countries with the same rights are The Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Spain.

April 2: G-20 Necessities: Financial crisis affecting capitalism is the dominant theme at the second G-20 summit which meets in London.

April 3: Unemployment Rate Reaches 8.5%; 663,00 Jobs Lost in March: The government reports another 663,000 jobs lost in March 2009, bringing the total jobs lost during the current recession to 5.1 million. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also announces that unemployment in the U.S. has reached 8.5%. January’s job loss was 741,000, up from the original estimate of 655,000.

April 3: Iowa Supreme Court Rejects Law Banning Gay Marriage: The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously rejects a state law banning same-sex marriage. Six gay couples had filed a lawsuit against Polk County, Iowa. In 21 days, county recorders will be required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Iowa will be the third state to allow same-sex marriages, after Massachusetts and Connecticut. California recently passed a similar measure, only to have a constitutional amendment disallowing same-sex marriage approved by voters in Nov. 2008. (Apr. 27): Same-sex couples are granted marriage licenses for the first time in Iowa. Despite concerns by local officials about angry protests, the mood proved lowkey in much of the state. By the end of the day, more than 200 couples applied for marriage licenses.

April 3-4: NATO Persists: 60th Anniversary of NATO is celebrated through it 21st Summit. Even after the dissolution of Soviet Union and end of Cold War, NATO continues to maintain its stronghold across its increasing spheres of influence. Former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is appointed as the new Secretary General.

April 7: Vermont Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage: Vermont becomes the fourth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, just days after Iowa becomes the third. The legislature votes to override Governor Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry, nine years after the state became the first in the nation to allow civil unions. Vermont is the first state legislature to legalize the practice; the other three U.S. states’ approval of same-sex marriage came from the courts. Vermont will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in September.

April 13: Obama Loosens Restrictions on Travel to Cuba: President Obama announces that Cuban-Americans will no longer be restricted from visiting and sending money home to family. American companies will also be able to provide telephone services to Cuba. The original embargo will remain in effect until Congress votes otherwise.

Carol Ann Duffy

May 1: First Female Poet Laureate Appointed in UK: For the first time in 341 years, a woman is appointed as poet laureate of the United Kingdom. Carol Ann Duffy, 53, will take over the post from current poet laureate Andrew Motion. Though the position was traditionally appointed for life, Motion accepted a 10-year term in 1999.

May 6: Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage: Gov. John Baldacci of Maine signs a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, despite his earlier position against the law. The governor cites a desire to uphold constitutional rights as his reason for signing the bill. The law will not go into effect until this summer, but opponents vow to petition and overturn the law. Baldacci supports the people’s right to decide.

May 8: U.S. Loses 539,000 Jobs in April; Unemployment Reaches 8.9%: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 539,000 jobs were lost in April 2009, and unemployment hit 8.9%. Though both numbers are dreadfully high, they are slightly better than expected, leading experts to believe that the recession is nearing its end.

May 11: Iran Releases Jailed American Journalist: Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American journalist arrested in Iran in January, is released from prison. She was arrested on charges of spying for Washington and initially sentenced to eight years in prison, but her sentence was reduced to a two-year suspended sentence. She is allowed to leave Iran immediately, if she desires.

May 18: LTTE Surrenders: LTTE surrenders after more than 25 years of liberation struggles within Sri Lankan Civil War.

May 23: Korean head commits suicide: Blogosphere’s first achievement, former President of South Korea Roh Moo-hyun who had pledged support to US for military interventions in Iraq, commits suicide following investigation for alleged bribery during his presidential term.

May 25: N Korea defies UN: UN Security Council is not pleased at North Korea’s second successful nuclear test in the province of North Hamgyong.

May 26: Obama Nominates Sotomayor as Supreme Court Judge: President Obama announces his nomination of New York federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Justice David Souter announced last month his intention to retire at the end of the current session, leaving a opening in the Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

May 26: California Court Upholds Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: The California Supreme Court upholds the ban on same-sex marriage, solidifying the vote made by California residents last November. The 18,000 same-sex couples who were married before the ban went to effect are still legally married, however. The state still allows civil unions.

May 31: Renowned Abortion Doctor Killed in Church: George Tiller, a doctor famous for being one of of a few physicians in the U.S. who performs late-term abortions, is killed while in his Kansas church. He is shot while handing out bulletins in the church foyer. A suspect is arrested soon after the shooting and will be charged with murder, say police.

June 1: General Motors Files for Bankruptcy, Plans to Close 14 Plants: General Motors files for bankruptcy and announces it will close 14 plants in the United States. G.M. celebrated its 100th anniversary last year and is still the largest automaker in the U.S.

June 3: New Hampshire Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill: New Hampshire governor John Lynch signs legislation allowing same-sex marriage. It will go into effect in January 2010. The law stipulates that religious organizations and their employees will not be required to participate in the ceremonies. New Hampshire is the sixth state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage.

June 4: U.S. Unemployment Reaches 9.4%: The U.S. government reports that the country’s unemployment rate is 9.4%—the highest it’s been in 26 years. Job losses slowed down in June 2009, but the number of people actively seeking employment rose. Since December 2007, six million jobs have disappeared in the United States and 14.5 million Americans are unemployed.

June 13: Iran favors Ahmadinejad: Reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi loses to Ahamadinejad in Iranian elections. Massive protests are organized to challenge the results.

June 17: U.S. Extending Benefits to Same-Sex Partners of Employees: President Obama will sign a referendum allowing the same-sex partners of federal employees to receive benefits. They will not be allowed full health coverage, however. This is Obama’s first major initiative in his campaign promise to improve gay rights.

June 18: Supreme Court Ruling: Inmates Don’t Have Rights to DNA Tests: The Supreme Court rules in a 5–4 decision that prisoners have no right to a DNA test to prove their innocence long after they are convicted of a crime. The Court claims that most states already have laws in effect concerning DNA testing, so a federal law is unnecessary.

June 29: Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison: Bernard Madoff, the perpetrator of a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, is sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum sentence. The judge will decide how the victims of the investment fraud will be repaid in approximately three months.

July 1: EU Change: Sweden assumes the presidency of the European Union.

July 2: Unemployment Rate Reaches 9.5%; 467,000 Jobs Lost in June: The Labor Department reports an unemployment increases from 9.4% in May to 9.5% in June 2009. There are 467,000 jobs lost in June, topping estimates by 100,000.

July 2: Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban: New Delhi’s highest court overturns the ban on homosexuality in India. Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861. Court justices declare the old law to be a violation of human rights and equality outlined in India’s Constitution.

July 3: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin Announces Resignation: Sarah Palin, the first-term Republican governor of Alaska and former vice-presidential candidate, announces her resignation. The move shocks politicians from both parties. Palin cites a desire to spend more time with her family and a lack of interest in running for reelection in 2010. She will relinquish control to Lt. Gov, Sean Parnell on July 26.

July 8-10: G8: The 35th G8 summit is held in L’Aquila, Italy.

July 13: Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings Begin for Sotomayor: Congressional hearings for the confirmation of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, begin. Support and dissent for her nomination follow party lines. Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice and the third woman to hold that position.

August 3: Bolivia creates history: Bolivia becomes the first South American country to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves.

August 4: N. Korea Pardons Imprisoned American Journalists: The government of North Korea pardons two imprisoned American journalists after former President Bill Clinton visits the country and its president, Kim Jong-il. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested in March and sentenced in June to 12 years in prison for “illegal entry” into the country. Clinton agreed in late July to travel to North Korea on a humanitarian mission to save the two women.

August 5: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Inaugurated as President of Iran: Controversial president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad begins his second term amid a crisis in Iran sparked by the June election that was widely condemned as rigged in Ahmadinejad’s favor. The vote set off protests that resulted in mass arrests of opposition figures, journalists, and lawyers.

Sonia Sotomayor

August 25: Projected 10-Year Deficit at $9 Trillion: The Obama administration’s Office of Management and Budget projects that the budget deficit in 10 years will be $9 trillion, $2 trillion more than the last estimated projection, made in February. According to President Obama, the difference lies in the severity of the recession, which is deeper than initially expected.

August 25: Obama Nominates Bernanke for Second Term: President Obama nominates Ben Bernanke, Republican chairman of the Federal Reserve, for his second term. Bernanke was a member of President George W. Bush’s administration, hired in 2006.

September 8: Federal Ruling: New York Discriminated Against Mentally Ill: New York violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by using more than two dozen adult homes to shelter 4,300 mentally ill patients instead of smaller apartments and buildings. The ruling, by Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, called the homes “segregated settings” that kept patients from interacting with other people in the community.

September 25: G-20 to replace G-8: Continued financial crisis leads G-20 leaders to question the relevance of G-8. At the Pittsburgh summit, it is declared that G-20 should replace G-8 in handling of future crisis.

September 30: Bank of America CEO Resigns: Kenneth D. Lewis, chief executive of Bank of America, resigns after 30 years. Lewis’s retirement is shadowed by controversy concerning his recent takeover at Merrill Lynch.

October 2: Economy Shed 263,000 Jobs in September; Unemployment Reaches 9.8%: Though financial experts maintain that the recession is recovering, the economy shed 263,000 jobs in September. Unemployment increased from 9.7% to 9.8%. However, the rate at which the economy is worsening has lightened significantly over the year.

Herta Muller

October 14: U.S. Math Show No Improvement Since No Child Left Behind: Results of the nation’s most important math test for students show that achievement has not improved in the eight years since President Bush passed the No Child Left Behind law, which required 100% of students to show proficiency in math and reading by 2014. Student gains are actually slower since the program began; 39% of fourth graders and 34% of eighth graders test at proficiency this year.

October 19: No More Federal Prosecution for Medical Marijuana: The federal government announces it will no longer prosecute those who use or sell marijuana for medical reasons, if they are complying with state law. There are 14 states that currently allow medical marijuana to some extent.

October 24: Obama Declares H1N1 Flu a National Emergency: President Obama declares the outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, also called swine flu, a national emergency. This step will allow hospitals and local governments execute disaster preparation plans and set up alternative treatment locations if they should face a rapid influx of patients sick with the disease.

October 26: India Challenged by Peoples: Maoist struggles gain wider support in India. Arundhati Roy says Indian democracy is in a state of emergency while government is at war with Naxals to aid MNCs. Writers and activists stand against Operation Green Hunt.

October 30: Obama Announces End of Policy Banning HIV-Positive Patients From Entering U.S.: President Obama announces that he is ending the policy banning patients who are HIV postive from entering the United States. He calls the law outdated and misguided, “rooted in fear rather than fact.”

November 3: Maine Voters Overturn Same-Sex Marriage Law: Maine voters overturn a law allowing same-sex marriage, which had been instated by the governor of the state in May 2009. Maine is the 31st state to block same-sex marriage through a public referendum. All of the five states that currently allow same-sex marriage instituted the law via legislative action and court rulings.

November 6: Unemployment Rate Reaches 10.2% : Unemployment reaches the highest rate in 26 years, hitting 10.2% in October. While many economists claim the recession is ending, and the G.D.P. grew in the third quarter for the first time in a year, the number of jobless in the U.S. continues to rise. A broader measure of unemployment, which includes unemployed, underemployed, and discourage workers, stands at 17.5%. This number is tracked by the Labor Department.

December 2: New York Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage Bill: The New York Senate rejects a bill that would allow same-sex marriages to be licensed in the state; the vote is a decisive 38-to-24, though the majority of the senate are members of the Democratic Party, which by and large supports gay marriage. Governor David Patterson and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg were among key politicians in support of the bill’s passage.

December 10: Blackwater Agents Played Integral Role in CIA Raids: Blackwater, the private military firm that trains security personnel, routinely participated with CIA agents in secret raids against possible insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also transported detainees, though both the CIA and Blackwater previously maintained that the guards only provided security during these events, demonstrating the close relationship between the two agencies.

December 24: Senate Passes Health-Care Reform Bill: After months of drafts, debate, and revisions, the U.S. Senate passes a health-care reform bill with a partisan vote of 60–39. The bill guarantees access to health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, and formulates a plan for reducing health-care costs. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in November, with a vote of 220–215; only one Republican voted for the Democrat-created bill. The two versions of the bill must be reconciled before any law can be passed, however.

Contrary to mainstream media depictions, David Letterman did not have any affairs with his staff members. And contrary to liberal media apprehensions, the world does not need to be bothered about whether the incidents took place before or after his marriage. Letterman’s apologies to his wife on air are ridiculously unnecessary, and his failure to step down from his job after admission of guilt is soaked in implicit privileges.

What Letterman has done is sheer abuse of his economic power and gender privilege. His unabashed claim that any disclosure of the details would embarrass his women employees he had sex with, evidences blatant sexism. Its a great irony of our times that women continue to not only put up with sexual advances at workplaces, but also are expected to maintain silence in fear of their career prospects. And here is a liberal intellectual who advances this regressive theory in an effort to “protect” his victims.

If Letterman feels his acts with the female employees are not unethical, the same must hold true for the women too. Hence, he needs to announce the names of the staffers, and the judiciary system must ensure that nothing harms the women simply because they had a relationship with Letterman. If Letterman’s job is not being taken away despite his being the perpetrator, there is no reason why the women’s will be.

If, however, Letterman feels he has violated ethics and possibly laws, by acting unworthy of his stature by means of either sexually exploiting the employees or by indulging in “consensual” sex with employees with full knowledge of their otherwise social commitments, then Letterman should have already resigned long time back, and having failed to do so, he must set an example now.

However, as it turns out, the world came to know about Letterman’s abuse of power only following the blackmailing tactics, indicating Letterman had something to hide, and this something was clearly unethical.

Letterman’s statement is wrong at so many levels: “The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. Now, my response to that is, yes I have. I have had sex with women who work on this show. And would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would, perhaps it would. Especially for the women. But that’s a decision for them to make–if they want to come public and talk about the relationships, if I want to go public and talk about the relationships.”

First, Letterman’s dismissal of the employees as just “women” without names who “work for” him on the show clearly smacks of disrespect. Secondly, to assume that the onus must lie with the women to protect their character from being tarnished is the age-old excuse under which men have sexually exploited women all along. Letterman’s reasonings might be proper considering his tradition of making disparaging remarks about women (Sarah Palin and her daughter were verbally humiliated by Letterman solely based on their gender), but they are no grounds for escaping critical scrutiny. Thirdly, the race and gender blindness of powerful men have always assumed that it is entirely possible for the women victims to become public and talk about their relationships with the perpetrators, and that, in doing so, they just might be believed. Letterman assumes he and his victims are on the equal level, without taking into consideration the disparate social locations they belong to, the unequal power relationships they share, the economic class barriers among them and the gender equations prevailing in today’s sexist world.

Whether Letterman invites legal troubles or not is unimportant. At the crux of the issue are his responses and responsibilities as a media personality who has been accorded viewership. An abuse of power coupled with racial privileges cost Don Imus his job. Letterman’s is an instance of abuse of power coupled with gender privileges. Sexual harassment at workplaces are so rampant and complex in their stratifications that it is implicitly required for the employers and employees not to engage in sexual relationships. This is necessary not because it may or may not cost the employer a reputation or the lack of it, but because, more often than not, the women employees will be victimized to suffer as silent subjects without alternative recourses. The women employees usually have lesser choices to explore avenues when they are confronted with hostile or demanding employer. Not only as being men, but also as being economically superior, the male employers need to enforce codes of conduct where the assumed disadvantages of female employees are not violated by anyone at the office, least of all, by the bosses themselves.

Letterman has violated the workplace ethics by involving in sexual relationships – not just with one woman, but with several, while being an employer. He has also displayed disgusting attitudes towards women in understanding their limits and potential. And his making references to his “affairs” in jocular fashion only adds to his already established sexist image.

When legality follows, Letterman may face charges, or like another privileged creative professional brought to recent limelight, Polanski, may gather enough media support for his case so as to have himself pictured as the victim. But for now, American media do not need Letterman’s jokes and judgments, considering his sense of “creepy” is beyond reproach, and judge he must never again. Privileges produce consensus. Letterman is the brightest instance who abused his privileges.

It’s a deceitful media circulation which suggests that the American judiciary is going after Roman Polanski. The truth is it never has. Polanski is a filthy criminal who had raped a child and yet was allowed to let go by the American justice system for over three decades. And this time, he is merely a bone which Switzerland threw at the United States over its UBS catastrophe. As for Polanski, who has visited Zurich several times and never been arrested before, its going to be few wordplays around extradition treaties that will ensure his freedom while, corporate media, hollywood biggies, and opportunist feminists rally in his support.

Roman Polanski is not merely mentally sick, physically brutal, and powerfully abusive, but he is also a rapist of a minor without a sense of repentance. Had he any iota of regrets, he would have surrendered to the legal system on his own, not continued to evade arrests, and make movies, no matter how many awards they win. It is in the content of character, not in the counts of awards, that a person is to be judged. His affairs with his leading ladies should not have bothered us, but his brutal rape of a minor is not an act worthy of kind reviews, let alone of a solidarity march.

But precisely, drawing from his old boys networks, from the euro-centric privileges, from the elite film industries, from the corporate media friends, and from the liberal feminists, Polanski has succeeded in generating unprecedented solidarity today. His support base glorious and powerful beyond any recent recollections. And in it, lies the greatest irony of our times: the justice system in capitalistic societies.

Each country’s administration that let Polanski work on its land is guilty of abetting this criminal. Mainstream media’s claim that European countries are harboring him while American judicial system is seeking him is utterly misleading. Polanski was to be sentenced not only for rape of a minor, but also on charges of sodomy with drugs. During the 70’s when police dogs were being unleashed upon innocent black workers on the streets, when educated youths were being mercilessly shot at for their demands for racial equality, and poor people were being arrested for jaywalking in rich neighborhoods, Polanski was allowed to go shoot in foreign lands even after he pleaded guilty to the rape charges (in order to avoid harsher sentences associated with sodomy with drugs, he just preferred being sentenced as a rapist and as an European-American, get a bail for the rest of his celebrity life).

For more than three decades (32 years, to be precise), this man was not arrested by the American judiciary. He did not even have to abscond, or flee, as the media reports suggest. He remained in public limelight, continued making movies in Britain, France and Poland. The Oscar jury even shamelessly awarded him with the highest prizes. He could easily have been arrested within three weeks of his departure from the United States. Three decades made him mere immortal.

Disproportionately high number of poor people in America are imprisoned for crimes that are not remotely as heinous as Polanski’s. There is scarcely any demand for their unconditional release. And yet, the American elites have all the hearts for this scum of a man – a filmmaker powerful enough to evade law for such long periods. The man who could not have the courage to surrender before due processes of law, but always had the audacity to attend award ceremonies. Now that he is finally being held in Zurich, all kinds of extradition laws are being reviewed to have him released. What is even more interesting are his lawyers’ claims to their Zurich counterparts that they have evidence to suggest the California police were not very keen on his arrest. Following that, the efficient police department of Los Angeles immediately responds by saying they have been looking for Polanski for over thirty years now, and his arrest has nothing to do with diplomatic faux pas over UBS scandal!

How would have been an ordinary man treated while in position of Polanski is an easy guess. California court would not have taken so long to find a rapist, especially one who is visibly present everywhere, giving out interviews, and receiving awards. In place of an European like Polanski, what would have happened to an African-American celebrity had he been convicted of raping a minor, not to talk of drug possession charges accompanying it. It is worth noting that Michael Jackson was acquitted of all charges by the court, and yet he was damned as a pedophile by the media even after his death. No Hollywood elites signed petitions to attack the press or to convince President Obama that Jackson was a true American hero who deserved a tribute. But here is a man already confessed to have raped a child after drugging her and the media are all quoting his famous friends about his deeply troubled personal life!

Not just United States, even United Kingdom could have taken an action on Polanski. It could have easily handed over the criminal to California. But that did not take place. And the French, the self-proclaimed civilized, those that taught the Algerians how to behave as decent law-abiding citizens, of course preferred to twist their own laws when it came to treat a self-confessed rapist. French judicial system, instead of imprisoning a convicted and at-large criminal, decided to play word games of extradition treaties and harbored a pedophile rapist into emerging as a filmmaker of some repute. Not just that, this abominable piece of trash was even heralded as the pride of France, as one of the greatest of its sons! How does a rapist cease becoming one after crossing geographical borders is beyond amazement of human intellect of this century.

The Hollywood, the corporate media as well as renowned feminists have all come together to support Polanski and to demand his immediate release. Such hollow and reactionary are our current progressive movements that the world of films – that imaginative, creative society of free thinking professionals, has lost every sense of self-respect in their unquestioned support lent to a child predator.

Whoopi Goldberg claims she “does not believe, it was a rape-rape”. In her feminist sit-com show, “The View”, she thinks, “he’s sorry. I think he knows it was wrong. I don’t think he’s a danger to society.” Instead of using the opportunity to appeal to women of Hollywood and television industry to come out about the sexual exploitations women have continuously faced in film societies, resulting in phrases such as “casting couch”, and worse, rapes and humiliations by the veteran directors, producers and actors, Ms Goldberg decided to defend a child rapist and assumed he must be feeling sorry!

Debra Winger is also feeling sorry, apparently because according to her, the whole art world is going to suffer in the arrest of Polanski! Even as she knows, Polanski might at the most get a probation, or in the least likelihood, the highest of 16 months in prison. Which world will suffer for one year detention of a convicted rapist can only be left to Winger’s imagination.

Now comes, Peg Yorkin, the renowned feminist and chair of Feminist Majority Foundation, which she co-founded with Eleanor Smeal. Yorkin not only does clearly absolve Polanski, she even reverses the foundations of progressive feminism with her statements to LA Times: “My personal thoughts are let the guy go. It’s bad a person was raped. But that was so many years ago. The guy has been through so much in his life. It’s crazy to arrest him now. Let it go. The government could spend its money on other things.”

Its sad, but a true reflection of comfortable feminists throwing around millions of dollars in charitable causes meant to address issues concerning women, but in reality, sympathize with the perpetrator as a victim. Yorkin parrots, what the mainstream media does: Polanski has been through a lot in his personal life. But they do not ponder over for a bit as to how does that anyway relate to the specific criminal act? When no one objected to his winning awards despite his personal life, why would the law not apply to Polanski because of it? The logic of Yorkin, Winger and Goldberg, our contemporary women champions of feminism are victimized by the same sexist structural overarching they are trying to contest.

Not to mention of the powerful males in Hollywood who are busy drafting petitions in support of the rapist claiming that “filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision.” Someone needs to tell them that France is already in Europe, so that mention is redundant, and secondly, “around the world” has no empirical basis. The whole world is not as perverted and manipulative as these signatories: Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Michael Mann, Mike Nichols, Woody Allen, Neil Jordan, Harvey Weinstein, Pedro Almodóvar and Ethan Coen.

The final defense is in the assumption that raping of minors was commonplace in those days and Polanski being a man of his times, his arrest is an unfortunate exception. Such arguments lack validity since in those days, so many black men were being routinely arrested on entirely false charges of rapes. It is true that Hollywood was perhaps the place for the Anglo-American playboys. Woody Allen immediately comes to mind – a privileged liberal who exploited his adopted children and married his stepdaughter, without his image being tarnished in any manner.

What is more distressing is that this trend of relegating the invisibly exploited women by the powerful filmmakers of Hollywood to irrelevance continues to this day. The fact that over a hundred legendary filmmakers come together to suppress the significance of combating sexual exploitation in the world’s wealthiest film industries, speaks of their own contributions in silencing the victims to this day. Be their films be declared hollow, their messages sexist, and their positions unworthy.

By Saswat Pattanayak

As job losses increasingly become a norm, so does domestic violence. For the men who lose jobs what results is frustrations targeted at family; for women, it is dual oppression – at workplace and at home.

Bad economy is simply not bad for the country, it is sad for the family members who struggle to make ends meet in an increasingly controlled state of affairs in the country – a nation left at the mercy of private capital monopolists whose latest alibis for discriminations revolve around economic depression.

With the governments at both state and federal level washing their hands off from the responsibilities by sending funds across to the very same private concerns that are at the root cause of the greatest financial debacle of recent times, people have been rendered hapless, and clueless. Their anger unable to find an organized outlet (what with lack of employee unions or emancipated communities) is more than ever being misdirected towards the people they must support: their family. And as is the unwritten rule in households in a country increasingly sexist in conduct, the women are bound to bear the most grunt.

Women form the majority of employees who lose jobs routinely, and as a result, they also fall victim to their male counterparts at work, and home. The increasing number of domestic violence cases is alarming, to say the least. Speaking to KCTV 5, Candie Daniels, director of the Rose Brooks Center, said, “Women seeking (domestic violence) services has just skyrocketed in the last three months compared to this time last year.” If ten years ago the average cases of DV charges in Kansas City was 5,000 it is more than 10,000 now.

Similarly, in Rhode Island, the situation is worsening. Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence is facing economic hardships even as the felony cases have been increasing steadily. From their 2006 data, there has been an increase of 89 percent in recent years. In 2007 there were 169 felony domestic violence cases, in 2008 the number became 208. Annually, the combined total victims of domestic violence with criminal and restraining order cases hover around 7,700.

In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the situation is quite similar. Christine Anne Domestic Abuse Services has witnessed the average length of stay for survivors in the shelter grow from 26 days in 2008 to 35 days in 2009. In the first quarter of this year, the agency has provided 259 clients with 1,515 hours of help compared to 235 clients with 1,254 hours in the first quarter of 2008. Within last year alone (since April 2008), 1,443 possible acts of domestic violence were reported. Police responded only to 448 of those. District Attorney’s office filed charges in 666 of these case. Yet another alarming trend in just one of the many cities.

Such trends can be easily duplicated everywhere in the country. And yet, the administration is virtually silent over the issue. Instead of treating domestic violence on women as a criminal issue deeply rooted with socio-economic problems afflicting the country, what we have been hearing over the years is a chorus of sympathetic waves towards the victims. Instead of conducting bloody wars with an aim to prevent future imaginative assaults on the power structure of America, the administration will do well to look inwards and notice the war within where the male powerfuls are continuously defeating the female initiatives. At work, and at home.

The recent reports on the health of the United States are startling. The country with highest level of capitalism in the world has equally shocking lack of concern for its citizens. Is it merely coincidental or consequential?

I am selectively quoting from reports as compiled by Rankings compiled from a study by United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention. Data for the study were provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Center for Education Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Environmental Protection Agency, American Medical Association, Dartmouth Atlas Project and Trust for America’s Health.

Lack of Health Insurance (percent without health insurance):
Texas- 50%
Florida- 48%
Louisiana- 47%
Mississippi- 46%
Nevada- 43%
Oklahoma- 42%
Georgia – 41%
Arkansas- 40%

Prevalence of Obesity (percent of population):
Mississippi- 50%
Louisiana – 47%
Tennessee – 47%
Arkansas- 45%
South Carolina – 44%
Oklahoma – 43%
Georgia – 40%
Texas – 39%

Immunization Coverage (percent of children ages 19 to 35 months):
Florida- 10%
South Carolina- 17%
Georgia- 19%
Tennessee- 22%
Oklahoma- 25%

Primary Care Physicians (number per 100,000 population):
Tennessee- 17
Louisiana- 20
Florida- 33
South Carolina- 34
Georgia- 38