Weekly Newsletters, Fall 2008-Spring 2009

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Pink Sari Gang

India's 'pink' vigilante women

By Soutik Biswas
BBC News, Banda


Members of the 'gulabi gang'
The 'pink' gang has staged protests against corrupt officials

They wear pink saris and go after corrupt officials and boorish men with sticks and axes.

The several hundred vigilante women of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state's Banda area proudly call themselves the "gulabi gang" (pink gang), striking fear in the hearts of wrongdoers and earning the grudging respect of officials.

The pink women of Banda shun political parties and NGOs because, in the words of their feisty leader, Sampat Pal Devi, "they are always looking for kickbacks when they offer to fund us".

Two years after they gave themselves a name and an attire, the women in pink have thrashed men who have abandoned or beaten their wives and unearthed corruption in the distribution of grain to the poor.

They have also stormed a police station and attacked a policeman after they took in an untouchable man and refused to register a case.

Poorest

"Nobody comes to our help in these parts. The officials and the police are corrupt and anti-poor. So sometimes we have to take the law in our hands. At other times, we prefer to shame the wrongdoers," says Sampat Pal Devi, between teaching a "gang" member on how to use a lathi (traditional Indian stick) in self defence.

We are a gang for justice
Sampat Pal Devi

Banda is at the heart of the blighted region that is Bundelkhand, one of the poorest parts of one of India's most populous states.

It is among the poorest 200 districts in India which were first targeted for the federal government's massive jobs-for-work programme. Over 20% of its 1.6 million people living in 600 villages are lower castes or untouchables. Drought has parched its already arid, single-crop lands.

Banda road (Pic: Soutik Biswas)
Banda is one of the poorest districts in Uttar Pradesh

To make matters worse, women bear the brunt of poverty and discrimination in Banda's highly caste-ridden, feudalistic and male dominated society. Dowry demands and domestic and sexual violence are common.

Locals say it is not surprising that a women's vigilante group has sprung up in this landscape of poverty, discrimination and chauvinism.

Sampat Pal Devi is a wiry woman, wife of an ice cream vendor, mother of five children, and a former government health worker who set up and leads the "pink gang".

"Mind you," she says, "we are not a gang in the usual sense of the term. We are a gang for justice."

'Uproot the corrupt'

Her seeds of rebellion were sown very early on when in face of her parents' resistance to send her to school, she began writing and drawing on the walls, floors and dust-caked village streets.

She finally ended up going to school, but was married off when she was nine in a region where child marriages are common. At 12, she went to live with her husband and at 13 she had her first child.

Sampat Devi (Pic: Soutik Biswas)
Sampat Pal Devi says nobody helps the poor

To keep the home fires burning, Sampat Devi began to work as a government health worker, but she quit after a while because her job was not satisfying enough.

"I wanted to work for the people, not for myself alone. I was already holding meetings with people, networking with women who were ready to fight for a cause, and was ready with a group of women two years ago," she says.

Sitting outside a home in Attara, Sampat Devi waves her calloused hands, breaks into a rousing song to "uproot the corrupt and be self reliant", and animatedly talks to women - and men - who flock to her with their problems.

A mother brings in her weeping daughter who has been thrown out by her husband demanding 20,000 rupees from her parents.

"He married me for the love of money," sobs Malti.

Sampat Devi tells her "gang" that they will soon march to the girl's house and demand an explanation from the husband. "If they don't take her back and keep her well, we will resort to other measures," she says.

'No handouts'

The pink sorority is not exactly a group of male-bashing feminists - they claim they have returned 11 girls who were thrown out of their homes to their spouses because "women need men to live with".

That is also why men like Jai Prakash Shivhari join the "gulabi" gang and talk with remarkable passion about child marriages, dowry deaths, depleting water resources, farm subsidies and how funds are being stolen in government projects.

"We don't want donations or handouts. We don't want appeasement or affirmative action. Give us work, pay us proper wages and restore our dignity," he says.

The women in the "gulabi gang" echo the same sentiment - but Sampat Devi has a separate agenda for women.

'Gulabi gang' members learning to fight with sticks (Pic: Soutik Biswas)
The women thrashed a policeman in protest against the arrest of a poor man

"Village society in India is loaded against women. It refuses to educate them, marries them off too early, barters them for money. Village women need to study and become independent to sort it out themselves," she says.

Where do the pink women go from here?

They already claim to have done some work in combating crime and corruption in the area. Last year, Sampat Devi contested the state polls as an independent candidate and mustered only 2,800 votes.

"Joining politics is not my chosen way to help people. We will keep up our good work, so the state does not take us for granted," she says.

In the badlands of Uttar Pradesh where nothing seems to work for the poor, this itself is a laudable aim.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

California Supreme Court will hear Prop 8 arguments

LINK to the story and court order

BREAKING: (Press Release) The California Supreme Court today denied requests to stay the enforcement or implementation of Proposition 8, and at the same time agreed to decide several issues arising out of the passage of Proposition 8.

The court’s order, issued in the first three cases that had been filed directly in the state’s highest court challenging the validity of Proposition 8, directed the parties to brief and argue three issues:

(1) Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution?
(2) Does Proposition 8 violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution?
(3) If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?

The court issued its order in three cases filed on behalf of a variety of parties, including same-sex couples who seek to enter into marriage despite the passage of Proposition 8, a same-sex couple who married in California prior to the adoption of Proposition 8, and a number of cities and counties whose officials seek to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Petitioners in each of these cases seek an order directing the relevant state officials to refrain from implementing, enforcing, or applying Proposition 8.

In response to the petitions, the Attorney General filed a preliminary opposition, in which he urged the court to assume jurisdiction over these cases to decide the important legal issues presented, but also argued that the court should not stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of the issues. The proponents of Proposition 8 also responded to the petitions, seeking to intervene as formal parties in the action and also urging the court to accept the cases for decision. The court’s order granted the motion to intervene filed by the proponents of Proposition 8.

In its order, the court established an expedited briefing schedule, under which briefing will be completed in January 2009 and oral argument potentially could be held as early as March 2009.
Six justices — Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Justice Marvin R. Baxter, Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar, Justice Ming W. Chin, Justice Carlos R. Moreno, and Justice Carol A. Corrigan — signed the court’s order, although Justice Moreno indicated that he would grant the requests to stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of these matters.

Justice Joyce L. Kennard would deny these petitions without prejudice to the filing in the Supreme Court of an appropriate action to determine Proposition 8’s effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before Proposition 8’s adoption.

New York City Sexbloggers 2009 Calendar


This amazing sex positive calendar is only $20! Awesome

Thanks, Becky, for the tip!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Newsletter - 11/15/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter November 15, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

This week…

Tuesday, November 18
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA, Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.
Flier: here.

Tuesday, November 18
Islamic Awareness Month: Misconceptions of Jihad
12:00-2:00pm, Speaker’s Platform
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik

Wednesday, November 19
Islamic Awareness Month: Lost History
12:00-2:00pm, USU Ballrooms
Speaker: Michael Morgon
Wednesday, November 19
Fall 2008 Women’s Research Colloquium
Theme for 2008-2009 "Advocates for Action: Women...Equity...Change!"
(Sponsored by The President’s Commission on the Status of Women)
5:00pm-7:30pm (Dinner begins at 5:00pm; Presentations begin at 5:30pm)
The Pointe, Pyramid
Presenters: Deborah Hann, "Maps in Children's Literature: Their Uses, Forms, and Functions" and Dr. Lina Kawar, "What Keeps Jordanian Immigrant Women from Participating in Breast Cancer Screening"
Cost: $20 for faculty, staff, guests, and students.
RSVP by Wednesday, November 12, 2008 to Cynthia Angiuli via email - cangiuli@csulb.edu or by phone - (562) 985-1688
After RSVP, payment may be made in advance or at the door on the evening of the event.
To pay in advance, please: Forward check payable to CSULB Foundation to Cynthia Angiuli, Presidents Office, BH 300. Include name, department and guest list.

Thursday, November 20
Record Swap
12pm-3pm
Bring VHS, DVDs, books, mixtapes, LPs, CDs, etc.!
There will be no selling of items. If you do not bring anything to the swap, please take no more than 2 items.
If you would like to drop off your stuff before the swap, please email F.O.R.C.E. to set up a pick-up: theragzine@gmail.com
Otherwise, just bring your items on the day of the swap!
Flier: here.
Facebook event page: here.

Thursday, November 20
Islamic Awareness Month: Evolution
4:00-6:00pm, USU Ballroom A
Speaker: Mustafa Umar

Thursday, November 20
Transgender Day of Remembrance Film Screening
5:00pm, Multicultural Center
We will be screening Transamerica and discussing transgender issues in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Facebook event page: here.

Friday, November 21
Spain in the Americas & The Americas in Spain
AS110 (Karl Anatol Center)
2pm-5pm Panel, 5pm Reception, 7pm Flamenco
2:00-5pm: Shirley Mangini, CSULB: “Maruja Mallo: International Artist” &
Luis Martín-Cabrera, UCSD: “Towards a Model of Global Justice? ‘El Caso Pinochet’ and the Limits of Human Rights and International Law”
The event is free & open to public. RSVP to cmccarty@csulb.edu or call (562) 985-4318.

Ongoing Events…

“The Art of War: American Posters from WWI and WWII” Art Exhibit
Sep 5 – Jan 26, 2009
Mondays (noon–6pm), Wednesdays–Thursdays (noon–6pm), Fridays (noon–9pm), Saturdays–Sundays (noon–6pm)
Norton Simon Museum (411 W Colorado Blvd), 626.449.6840
When searching for a means of drumming up support for World War I, officials in Washington didn't have to look much further than two-dimensional art. Upon being asked to lend a hand to the war effort, Society of Illustrators President Charles Dana Gibson and his fellow artists began pumping out graphic masterpieces dripping with propaganda. The Art of War: American Posters from World War I and World War II is a timely exhibit culled from the Norton Simon's own collection. Works include Norman Rockwell's picture-perfect portrayal of the American family gathering and James Montgomery Flagg's iconic I Want You for the U.S. Army, which brought us the enduring image of the white-bearded Uncle Sam.

“War as a Way of Life” Art Exhibit
Sep 29 – Dec 19 Mondays–Fridays (11am–5:30pm)
18th Street Arts Center (1639 18th St), 310.453.3711
18th Street wraps up its yearlong, four-part examination of sociopolitical issues with War as a Way of Life. The exhibit includes the work of 16 artists who demonstrate how war, in all its forms — overseas, at home, in our minds — has become an integral part of the way we live. The unveiling of the show coincides with Art Night, a quarterly extravaganza featuring live music, dancing, and, of course, striking visual art. Intriguingly, the gallery doubles as a polling location on November 4. With images of protest and devastation on display, expect a controversial meeting of politics and art.

In November and beyond…

Wednesday, December 3
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
Facebook event page: here.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com

December 4-6
Black Consciousness Conference
December 4: Talent Showcase, 6pm
December 5: Lecture Series I featuring Michaela Angela Davis, 12-9pm
December 6: Lecture Series II featuring Merira Kwesi, 12-9pm
Flier: here.

Immigration Awareness Week

Come on down for some eye-opening experiences.


Tuesday, Nov. 18:
"The Life of an Undocumented University Student"
Room ED1-40
10:30am-12:00noon

Wednesday, Nov. 19:
"Women, Labor, and Migration"
Film: Maquilapolis
Room: MultiCultural Center
12:00pm-2:00pm

Thursday, Nov. 20:
"Immigration, Health, and Well-being"
Room: AS-122 (Near Beach Hut)
7:00pm-8:30pm


Sponsored by-
The Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition
Sociology Department, Psychology Department, La Raza Student Association, WSSA, Center for Community Engagement, F.U.E.L., ASI


for more info, contact: longbeachimmigrantrightscoalition@yahoo.com
or Annette Quintero @ 714-335-5297

Friday, November 14, 2008

CSUN student released on bail in Iran

Esha Momeni was arrested last month while working on a master's thesis about women's rights. She still faces charges of 'acting against national security,' which could bring a lengthy prison term.
By Ramin Mostaghim and Borzou Daragahi
November 11, 2008
Reporting from Tehran and Beirut -- A Cal State Northridge graduate student who was arrested in Iran last month was released on $200,000 bail Monday, her father said.

Esha Momeni, 28, a dual U.S. and Iranian citizen who was visiting Iran to research a master's thesis, may not leave the country and must still stand before a political tribunal to face charges of "acting against national security" and "propagating against the system," said Reza Momeni, her father.

[Image here]

Both are serious charges that can carry lengthy prison sentences.

In a brief telephone interview, Momeni said his daughter had lost about 15 pounds but otherwise appeared to be in good health. He said he had to put up the deed to his family's Tehran apartment as collateral to win his Los Angeles-born daughter's release.

"I hope she will go back to L.A. soon," he said. "But for now, the authorities told us she is forbidden to go out. Tomorrow, we will be in court, and they will tell us what the next step will be."

Esha Momeni moved to Iran with her family at a young age but returned to the United States to study after she divorced in 2005. She traveled to Iran about 10 weeks ago to videotape interviews with women's rights activists as part of a master's project. She was focusing on members of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality, a loosely organized group that advocates better rights for Iranian women.

She was arrested and locked up in a political ward inside Tehran's Evin prison Oct. 15 after what at first appeared to be a routine traffic stop. Instead of issuing a ticket, however, police escorted her to her parents' home, where she was staying, searched the flat and seized her computer before taking her away.

News of the arrest spread abroad. Her classmates at Cal State Northridge launched a website, for-esha.blogspot.com, calling for her release. Italy's ambassador to Iran last week lodged a formal complaint about her detention, Italy's official ANSA news agency reported.

On Friday, her father was quoted by Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying he disapproved of his daughter's activities.

"I had no knowledge about the illegal activities of my daughter," he said. "But now I have realized that her work was illegal."

He also denied reports that he had been barred from seeing her, saying that he and his wife "did not want to visit her" in prison "because of our anger in connection to her activities."

Mostaghim is a special correspondent. Daragahi is a Times staff writer.

daragahi@latimes.com

An intellectual makeover for Iranian women

An intellectual makeover for Iranian women

Nazanin Gohari
Newsha Tavakolian / For The Times
Nazanin Gohari has turned her living room into a library for women, with secondhand books filling up makeshift bookshelves.
In an impoverished Tehran district, a hairdresser-turned-activist helps girls and women help themselves through books, health workshops and civic action.
By Borzou Daragahi
November 14, 2008
Reporting from Tehran -- In her eyes, they are all daughters and sisters. The waifish 18-year-old, already married and a mother, but with a hunger to learn. The pair of shy high school students, nervous at first, but soon browsing eagerly through the bookshelves. The matronly homemaker, unsure and uneducated, but discovering the world beyond the slums of southern Tehran by reading Feodor Dostoevski and Jean-Paul Sartre.

For the women in her neighborhood, Nazanin Gohari has become a savior of minds.

[Image here]

A few years back, the part-time hairdresser-turned-community activist transformed her shabby apartment into a library for women, collecting secondhand books to fill the makeshift shelves in her living room.

First she stocked them with trashy novels, poetry and how-to and self-help titles. But the demand for cookbooks and sewing patterns eventually gave way to requests for college-preparation books and literature. The girls leafing through illustrated children's books bloomed into strong-willed women eager to pursue higher education.

Gohari remembers one girl, a 17-year-old named Sedigheh, who came to her crying, distraught that her parents couldn't afford the study materials for college entrance exams. Scoring high would place the bright teenager on the fast track to a potentially glorious future, maybe even including medical school. Not taking the test would mean a life more ordinary, perhaps married to a man twice her age, tending to babies and home.

For Gohari, helping the teen became a mission, one of many. She scoured the city for the study books, relatively cheap by Western standards but a fortune for Iran's poor.

"She was ashamed because she couldn't afford the books," Gohari said.

The older woman put her hand out to the girl. "I said, 'Study here.' " And then Gohari handed her the books.

A plump, bespectacled woman now in her late 50s, Gohari delights in the women in her impoverished district, recounting the details of their triumphs and ordeals. She sprinkles her sentences with folksy praises of God as she speaks excitedly about her adventures as a grass-roots activist, filling a social and even political vacuum created by Iran's rapid transition from a largely rural nation where people tended to neighbors' needs to today's impersonal urban society where most fend for themselves.

Obscured from public view, Iran's women have quietly navigated restrictions of politics, religion and tradition over the last three decades to bolster their status and advance into positions of power.

Although the conservative clerics who took over the country after the 1979 ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi hoped to ossify women's traditional roles, they set in place dynamics that liberated them. As the clerics launched literacy drives and built hundreds of colleges around the country, Iran's literacy rate rose from less than 50% in the 1970s to as high as 85% today.

Instead of creating a powerful new Islamic generation, they pushed the country into the modern age, raising the ambitions and savvy of young Iranians, half of them women, who began to question society's rules and strictures.

"It's one of the ironies of the revolution that women's sense of self has become much stronger," said Pardis Mahdavi, an Iranian American anthropologist who teaches at Pomona College and wrote the 2008 book "Passionate Uprisings," about the evolution of sex and gender in Iran. "The revolution has given birth to a stronger women's movement."

Gohari, a mother of two and the wife of a civil servant, began embracing community activism in the early 1990s, shortly after the Iran-Iraq war and the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Wartime restrictions loosened and the revolutionary leader's charismatic spell was broken. The country began to focus on practical matters such as rebuilding a ravaged infrastructure and promoting better health. A social worker dispatched to Gohari's neighborhood, the ancient district of Rey, charmed her into attending a breast cancer awareness workshop.

She didn't want to go at first. But from the beginning of the initial session, on breast self-examinations, it was a revelation. One of her best friends had died of breast cancer. "It was eye-opening," she said. "Those 10 minutes changed my life."

The reluctant student became a cheerleader for women's health, encouraging her neighbors, many of them poor recent arrivals from the countryside, to come to workshops on prenatal care, child development, breast cancer awareness, nutrition, sex education and mental health.

"I would offer women discounts on hairdos if they would come to the courses," Gohari said.

She began organizing the women to demand better municipal services, better-lighted streets clear of drug addicts and criminals, and parks where mothers could take their children without fear of being accosted by panhandlers or stumbling over used needles.

Gohari was elected head of a women's council that she and her neighbors created. They began demanding meetings with municipal leaders.

One top official for the Ministry of Electricity resisted. His excuse: He didn't like dealing with women.

[continue reading here...]

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Newsletter - 11/08/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter November 8, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

F.O.R.C.E. does NOT support the passing of Prop 8. We plan to work hard to fight this along with other progressive organizations in California and nationwide. We will post information on our blog as we get it.

This week...

Wednesday, November 12
What is Really Happening in Venezuela?: Chavéz, Bush and the U.S. Media
CBA Rm. 229, 4-7 pm
Free pizza and refreshments.
This forum will include reflections from students who visited Venezuela last summer, short clips from a documentary made by Luis Testa, a recent graduate of the journalism department, and commentaries by Professor Raul Reis and anthropology major Patricia McHugh. Open discussion/debate about media, politics and foreign policy will follow.

Friday, November 14
iCULTURE: An informal discussion on today's social issues
topic: Democracy in America
6:30pm
Mirage Cafe, 538 E. Bixby Ave., LB
Flier here.

Next week…

Tuesday, November 18
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA, Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.

Wednesday, November 19
Fall 2008 Women’s Research Colloquium, Theme for 2008-2009 "Advocates for Action: Women...Equity...Change!"
(Sponsored by The President’s Commission on the Status of Women)
5:00pm-7:30pm (Dinner begins at 5:00pm; Presentations begin at 5:30pm)
The Pointe, Pyramid
Presenters: Deborah Hann, "Maps in Children's Literature: Their Uses, Forms, and Functions" and Dr. Lina Kawar, "What Keeps Jordanian Immigrant Women from Participating in Breast Cancer Screening"
Cost: $20 for faculty, staff, guests, and students.
RSVP by Wednesday, November 12, 2008 to Cynthia Angiuli via email - cangiuli@csulb.edu or by phone - (562) 985-1688
After RSVP, payment may be made in advance or at the door on the evening of the Colloquium.
To pay in advance, please: Forward check payable to CSULB Foundation to Cynthia Angiuli, Presidents Office, BH 300. Include name, department and guest list.

Thursday, November 20
Transgender Day of Remembrance film screening
CSULB Multicultural Center
5:00pm
Facebook event page: here.

Thursday, November 20
Record Swap
12pm-3pm
Bring VHS, DVDs, books, mixtapes, LPs, CDs, etc.!
There will be no selling of items. If you do not bring anything to the swap, please take no more than 2 items.
If you would like to drop off your stuff before the swap, please email F.O.R.C.E. to set up a pick-up: theragzine@gmail.com
Otherwise, just bring your items on the day of the swap!

Ongoing Events…

“The Art of War: American Posters from WWI and WWII” Art Exhibit
Sep 5 – Jan 26, 2009
Mondays (noon–6pm), Wednesdays–Thursdays (noon–6pm), Fridays (noon–9pm), Saturdays–Sundays (noon–6pm)
Norton Simon Museum (411 W Colorado Blvd), 626.449.6840
When searching for a means of drumming up support for World War I, officials in Washington didn't have to look much further than two-dimensional art. Upon being asked to lend a hand to the war effort, Society of Illustrators President Charles Dana Gibson and his fellow artists began pumping out graphic masterpieces dripping with propaganda. The Art of War: American Posters from World War I and World War II is a timely exhibit culled from the Norton Simon's own collection. Works include Norman Rockwell's picture-perfect portrayal of the American family gathering and James Montgomery Flagg's iconic I Want You for the U.S. Army, which brought us the enduring image of the white-bearded Uncle Sam.

“War as a Way of Life” Art Exhibit
Sep 29 – Dec 19 Mondays–Fridays (11am–5:30pm)
18th Street Arts Center (1639 18th St), 310.453.3711
18th Street wraps up its yearlong, four-part examination of sociopolitical issues with War as a Way of Life. The exhibit includes the work of 16 artists who demonstrate how war, in all its forms — overseas, at home, in our minds — has become an integral part of the way we live. The unveiling of the show coincides with Art Night, a quarterly extravaganza featuring live music, dancing, and, of course, striking visual art. Intriguingly, the gallery doubles as a polling location on November 4. With images of protest and devastation on display, expect a controversial meeting of politics and art.

In November and beyond…

Wednesday, December 3
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
Facebook event page: here.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com

Also…

Study abroad in Oaxaca!
ANTH 440/540 (3 units)
January 5-19, 2009
Open to all majors (Faculty permission required)
ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD SCHOOL
OAXACA, MEXICO
Estimated cost: $2,275
Included:
Course tuition, Roundtrip fare LAX -->Oaxaca, Land transportation, Medical insurance, Hotel/2 meals per day, Entry to sites
Not Included:
Passport fee, Some meals, Personal expenses
You will be…
Learning to collect and analyze data, Visiting museums, schools, and historic and cultural sites that shape Oaxacan identity, Interviewing farmers, artists, teachers and students about family and community life, Participating in everyday activities in Oaxaca City and farming and artisan villages
For information and application please contact:
Dr. Jayne Howell, Department of Anthropology: jhowell@csulb.edu
Deadline: Registration and payment of all fees Nov. 15, 2008

Thursday, November 6, 2008

We do NOT support Prop 8!

Prop 8 is a ballot measure on the November 4, 2008 California ballots that has taken away the marriage rights of same-sex couples. It is WRONG.

Last night, we attended a rally in West Hollywood against Proposition 8. The turn-out was amazing! People are really working hard to do something about the violation of basic civil rights that has just been passed. This is a huge issue and FORCE is prepared to help in any way possible. There will be other rallies and protests and events, and we will post them as we find them.

http://www.noonprop8.com

News coverage of the event:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/los-angeles-p-1.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-protestarrest6-2008nov06,0,288808.story

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid64979.asp


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Picnic & Film Screening this Saturday, 11/08/08

FORCE will be carpooling to the AFI Film Festival on Saturday, November 8, for two FREE screenings. We will be meeting on campus at 12:00pm, having a picnic in Griffith Park at 1:00pm, then going to the "Food Fight" screening at 3:15pm. If you can stay longer, we'll also see "The World We Want" at 7:00pm.

BRING A PICNIC LUNCH!

There are many more films that day, but those are the only free ones. The other films are $11.

If interested, please contact us at force4change@yahoo.com


*****
FOOD FIGHT
Free Screenings
(USA, 2008, 83 mins)
HDCAM
Directed By: Chris Taylor
Producers: Chris Taylor, Mark Rossen
Executive Producer: Alan Siegel
Director of Photography: Pete Fuszard
Editor: Miranda Yousef
Music: Scott Harper

* www.foodfightthedoc.com/


Horrible news: there’s been a governmental conspiracy afoot for decades to make America’s food less delicious! In Chris Taylor’s gastronomical documentary, this crime against our taste buds is comprehensively exposed, with the revolutionary stance against it (otherwise known as organic produce) brought into delectable relief. Taylor reaches as far back as World War II to explain our country’s initial tendency toward corporate-owned, mass-produced and flavorless agricultural goods, and examines how this trend has ultimately landed the United States in the unhealthy state it is in today. From there, the documentary takes a mouthwatering turn as it follows the now-legendary chefs who spearheaded the California Cuisine movement. Notables such as Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters, Wolfgang Puck, Jeremiah Tower and Suzanne Goin are interviewed, with their stories of culinary triumph lovingly retold. In a country where The Man seems to have quality control over almost all aspects of our lives, a fight for fresh food is more than just a tummy growl—it’s a subversive move to protect our right to be healthy and happy. FOOD FIGHT fully promotes this idea, and urges its viewers to continue the 50-year battle for deliciousness by buying locally and eating organically. And who could argue? All we have to lose is our heart disease, obesity and wealthy corporate middlemen. Viva la revolution!



*****

THE WORLD WE WANT
Free Screenings
(USA, 2008, 100 mins)
World Premiere
Directed By: Patrick Davidson
Producer: Patrick Davidson
Director of Photography: Curt Miles,Brian Pratt
Editors: Joanne Nucho, Bill Macomber
Music: Paul Hollman
Co Producer: Roberta Davidson

* theworldwewantmovie.com/


Patrick Davidson's empowering documentary follows a group of self-motivated teenagers, from a broad spectrum of countries, who come together to strive for societal betterment. In the film, the final eight teams compete in Project Citizen, an international program in which groups of teens present game plans for community improvement in their home cities. An array of countries are represented—Jordan, Senegal, Columbia, India and beyond—with an even more diverse group of active and intelligent young people each given his or her moment to defend a worthy cause. Perhaps what is most moving about THE WORLD WE WANT is how it captures the non-destructive side of teen spirit. The young men and women are at once normal and exemplary, channeling their rebellious teenage drive into positive action, with hopes of creating a more positive future. Meanwhile, Davidson provides sobering reminders that the world we currently occupy is far from ideal. The team from Jordan investigates into the relentless presence of beatings-as-punishment in primary schools, while the Senegalese team takes a stand against the unsanitary drinking water in the city of Ross Bethio. The members of Project Citizen have seen violence, poverty, and corruption, experienced illness, and even lost loved ones: harsh realities that set them into motion. In a culture that glorifies selfish, privileged and irresponsible teenagers, the youth of THE WORLD WE WANT deserve at least equal time.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Newsletter 11/03/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter November 3, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

Submission date extended for entries for the 2nd Zine
Entries Due: Saturday, November 8.
Theme: international women’s issues!
Flier: here.

This past week…

Monday, October 27
Prop 4 Forum
12:00pm-2:00pm, in room LA3-108
F.O.R.C.E. hosted a forum to discuss both sides of Proposition 4 on the California ballot. The event raised awareness about the importance of voting on this issue.

This week…
Friday, October 31 – November 9
AFI Fest 2008
AFI Fest is a film festival featuring documentary and feature films from around the world. Independent cinema and foreign cinema are well represented.
http://www.afi.com/onscreen/afifest/2008/default.aspx


November 4
VOTE VOTE VOTE!
We have "Vote No on 4 & 8" signs and literature to pass out to voters. Election regulations state that you can hand out literature up to 100 feet away from polling locations. At CSULB's Student Union on Election Day, there will be a voting location. We plan to have some of our members and supporters handing out "No on 4 & 8" literature for voters and generally helping in the voting process.
If you have even 30min-an hour on election day and would like to hold a sign, help voters, or pass out literature with us, PLEASE do so! We will be keeping all of the material in the Women's Resource Center at at the Student Union location. if you are interested, please email me your name and phone number so that we can arrange the time that you can help out!


In November and beyond…


November 18
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA, Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.

Wednesday, December 3
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
Facebook event page: here.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com


Also…

Study abroad in Oaxaca!
ANTH 440/540 (3 units)
January 5-19, 2009
Open to all majors (Faculty permission required)
ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD SCHOOL
OAXACA, MEXICO
Estimated cost: $2,275
Included:
Course tuition, Roundtrip fare LAX -->Oaxaca, Land transportation, Medical insurance, Hotel/2 meals per day, Entry to sites
Not Included:
Passport fee, Some meals, Personal expenses
You will be…
Learning to collect and analyze data, Visiting museums, schools, and historic and cultural sites that shape Oaxacan identity, Interviewing farmers, artists, teachers and students about family and community life, Participating in everyday activities in Oaxaca City and farming and artisan villages
For information and application please contact:
Dr. Jayne Howell, Department of Anthropology: jhowell@csulb.edu
Deadline: Registration and payment of all fees Nov. 15, 2008