CBS Sunday Morning had the story of Henrietta Lacks, as told by Rebecca Skloot.  Once thing not mentioned during the interview, is Ms. Skloot or the publisher going to compensate the family from some of the profits?

CBS has not put the show video online and who knows, maybe they won't.  http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/sunday/main3445.shtml

The book and research into this poor, unrecognized woman is truly amazing.  As she was dying of cervical cancer in 1951, doctors took some of her cancerous cells to study.  No permission ever given, which was the norm back in those days.  Besides, she was just a grand daughter of slaves who would end up in an unmarked grave.

I follow the The Women's Museum on Twitter and suggest others keep up with these good people of Texas.

The museum is located in Dallas http://www.thewomensmuseum.org

VISION
The vision that guided the creation of The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future is based on the belief that a fully democratic civil society must represent and involve both men and women, and that the voices, vision and contributions of women must be part of the fabric of history and shape of the future.

I suggest at least going to read the wall of words http://www.thewomensmuseum.org/womens_museum/exhibits/EXB_ve_exhibit2.asp

Then there is a spot on my list to visit the next time I get to DC.  The National Museum of Women in the Arts.

http://www.nmwa.org/

There has to be at least one skunk at the picnic so while all the joyous shouts go out about how far women have come and how things are getting better, I raise my virtual tail and spray some reality.

This week, our State Department honored ten women with its International Women of Courage Award. All were worthy recipients, and we should applaud them, their work, and the fact they were honored. I just wish our State Department had named eleven women this year.

There is another woman that should have been honored, because she speaks out on a subject that the world’s media pretty much ignores. For that matter, our leaders also pretend it isn’t happening; they like to push the myth that the world’s people are joined at the hip because of our common humanity. (Don’t ya’ know, Iraq has democratic elections, and everything is grand over there.)

Still, it’s hard to stomach the story being ignored, because it encompasses ethnic and religious hatred; pedophilia; female abuse and torture. Oh, maybe that's the rub, they are only girls after all. What’s a little girl or a woman for that matter, when you are trying to push a new world order based on a lie?

The video of the ceremony won't stream so above is Shadi Sadr's Speech.

Secretary Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted the annual International Women of Courage Awards at the Department of State, which was broadcasted live this afternoon.

Long Live Granny D

DUBLIN, N.H. -- Former U.S. Senate candidate and longtime political activist Doris "Granny D" Haddock has died. She was 100.

Gov. John Lynch spokesman Colin Manning confirmed Tuesday night that Haddock died.

Haddock gained national recognition when, at age 89, she walked across the country to call attention to the issue of campaign finance reform. The trip started in 1999 and ended in 2000.

She was the Democratic nominee for Senate in 2004, when she lost to incumbent Republican Sen. Judd Gregg.
http://www.wmur.com/news/22792574/detail.html

NH - I didn't know Doris Haddock, but like many Dem activists in NH, I held signs with her more than once.  She was always there for any good old protest in front of our Statehouse and that's how most of us will remember her. 

Her walk across country and her never give up spirit helped, in a big way, to change this state from a Republican stronghold to a fairly middle of the road place.

Thank you Granny D.  Thanks for being here.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

This is a follow-up to BJ's earlier post.  The video was on CBS News this evening.

I sometimes know I have.  I almost said i think I have, but there does come a point when every blogger hits the old block.  Or in our case, maybe run out of energy.

Me.  I find it more and more difficult to fight city hall.  I also realize that my up front honesty periodically loses members here.  You see, I have never ever been a toe the line kind of guy.  My boss pulls his hair out because I'm the one who refuses to say yes, when he is wrong.

As a full fledged working member of the Democratic party, way back in 2007, I held onto my non-standard beliefs and let them be known to total shock.  They would cringe when I'd say "I'm a liberal but not a progressive".  Explain that and this father of two adopted angels would give my views on abortion.  Of course the "feminists" in the room would then lay into me with the mantra of you either support, 100%, a women's right to choose or you ain't a feminist.  I wonder what that has to do with women's equality in the workplace and society but instead change the subject to something more fun, like gay rights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day

Thank you to all the women in my life.

"Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet block. In many regions, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner."

The International Red Cross has  focus on women today http://www.icrc.org/eng

A British teenager’s emotional, singing tribute to her dying mom has gone viral on YouTube. Sarah Phillips, 16, recorded the song "Autumn" into her cell phone a few hours before her mother’s death from cervical cancer at the age of 48. The Newser website tells the rest of the story like this:

A friend later put music to it and Sarah found photos and film clips to make a video. A handsome Debbie Phillips is seen smiling, hugging her daughter and husband, balding from chemotherapy and traveling on family holidays.

 

"Now it's quiet and I can't hear you sing, 'My little fish, don't cry. My little fish, don't cry,'" Sarah sings. She told the Telegraph she decided to record the song before her mom died because she would have been too upset to sing it at her mom's funeral. "I had this song in mind as something really appropriate because there's a line that says: 'You still live on in my father's eyes,'" said Sarah. Her mom, "was upset by what she would miss – weddings, having grandchildren. She would have been an amazing grandmother," she added.

I do love the Oscars and like many, I get a kick out of the red carpet.

James Cameron and his lovely wife

H/T: Twandx

"This is not a time when women should be patient. We are in a war and we need to fight it with all our ability and ever weapon possible. WOMEN PILOTS, in this particular case, are a weapon waiting to be used." - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1942 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There is a great story in women’s history that is enmeshed in America’s WWII saga, a story filled with women heroes, who did their duty and risked their lives. Nearly 70 years have passed since America fought in World War II, and unfortunately this story and its heroes have never received the full recognition they deserve. This grave oversight will be corrected this coming Wednesday, March 10, when the story (that was kicked to the curb for way too long) will be the focus of a Congressional Gold Medal Celebration. This Wednesday, the women pilots who made up the WASP will finally get the recognition they deserve.

History

American women had already made their mark as pilots before World War II. Women like Amelia Earhart, Jacqueline Cochran, Nancy Harkness Love, and Bessie Coleman were experienced women pilots and aviation record-holders. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that two women pilots, Jackie Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love, shared the idea that women pilots should be used by the military. Each woman separately proposed the idea way back in 1940.

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ‘ulterior motive’ … She knew what the Nazi’s plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

Rest of the story here.  deadenders.wordpress.com/

 “Our strength lies in our intensive attacks and our barbarity...After all, who today remembers the genocide of the Armenians?”  -Adolph Hitler, persuading others that The Holocaust would be tolerated-                

 This Week 

The Congressional Foreign Relations Committee, by a vote of 23-22, approved a resolution condemning the 1915 slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as “genocide”. The resolution was passed despite a last-minute Obama administration effort to derail it, which has put a chill on America’s relations with Turkey.

As a result of that vote, Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Washington, a move it pulled when a 2007 committee passed a similar resolution. It worked for Turkey in 2007 and the resolution did not pass. So, indications are that the current resolution has an uncertain future in Congress, despite the fact that it is a Democratic Congress and Obama promised as a Presidential candidate that he would support such a resolution.

Lately, more and more Americans are questioning. We're questioning our legal system, our banking institutions, our elected representatives, and because we are not getting honest answers we find ourselves not knowing what to believe. We don't even know who to believe. But when real life experiences are shared by someone, who has little to gain and much to lose as a result of what he says, we at least better pay attention.

Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of the jailed Hamas terrorist leader, Sheikh Hassan Yousef. As a young man, he assisted his father in his political activities, but his experiences led him to question what he witnessed. He eventually secretly converted to Christianity and for a decade operated as an undercover agent for Israel. Mosab Yousef reveals this information and much more in his new book, Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices.

Celebrate International Women’s Day at the Department of State

In honor of the Secretary’s 2010 International Women of Courage

You are cordially invited to attend an Open Forum with the honorees

Hosted by:

Ambassador-at-Large Melanne Verveer
Office of Global Women’s Issues

March 8, 2010

Session I: 10:00-11:30AM

Featuring honorees from: Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, Iran, Republic of Korea, and Zimbabwe

Session II: 2:00-3:30 PM

Featuring honorees from: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Syria

Location: Loy Henderson Room
Department of State
23rd Street Entrance

Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American abolitionist and author. She and her husband (Calvin) vehemently opposed slavery, supported the Underground Railroad, and housed fugitive slaves in their home. When Congress passed its 1851 Fugitive Slave Law, which prohibited assistance to runaway slaves, Stowe presented her objections to the law on paper. In June of 1851, the 40-year-old mother of seven saw her first installment of "Uncle Tom’s Cabin"  appear in National Era, an antislavery journal.

Stowe's first novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), fully developed the characters and storyline of earlier installments and clearly depicted the unbearable existence of human beings under the yoke of slavery. Some people believe it is America's first protest novel. It was eventually turned into a play, and the theme of both the novel and play is said to have influenced millions here and in Britain. Uncle Tom’s Cabin made the issues surrounding slavery tangible to those in the Northern States and ignited anti-slavery forces. In America's South, it was widely detested and branded as a lie.       

For some reason, our media types have pushed the meme that women in this country never really worked until WWII, when American men left in droves to fight and American women manned the factories that kept our war effort alive at home. The history of early American female settlers (who tended the fields, fed their families, died in childbirth, and sometimes raised families alone) was ignored. As was this fact, women filled many factory jobs early in the Twentieth Century, toiled on family farms, and worked back-breaking jobs to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.

 It’s important that Americans never forget that part of our history. The female gender has paid its price to earn its place in the American workplace; nothing was given to us. Women even played an active role in the unionization of American workers. The price of our inclusion was high, and some women lost their lives in the process.

I saw the note a few weeks back asking for posts for Women's History Month and had been wracking my brain. (an update- I had not read BJin AMerica's comment until just now and so had not realized this info was already out there- my apologies.)There are just SOOO many! How do you narrow it down to just one? So, here is what I posted on my home blog- hope it is enjoyed!

I popped around looking for info on Women's History Month and found that this-

About This Year's Theme

Writing Women Back into History

The overarching theme is “Writing Women Back into History.” In celebration of their 30th anniversary, the National Women’s History Project will be highlighting themes and honorees from previous years. Each of these past themes recognizes a different aspect of women’s achievements, from ecology to art, and from sports to politics.

Writing women back into history- well about time somebody noticed we got written out! (Personally I always thought Eve got screwed- even then the man could not take responsibility for his own actions! And so he lied!) The home page has some good links as well.

As most of you know, my mom has had some serious health issues since August. She had her gallbladder out a couple of weeks ago, recovered in a nursing home for two weeks, and is now very happy to be home. She hated the food in the nursing home so she really enjoyed the Chinese food we brought her tonight.

We talked about the HC summit, Obama, the HC bill, and the takeover of the DNC by the far left. Since my mom has been in very poor health and in and out of hospitals and nursing homes for nearly 7 months, there's a lot she's unaware of but she did see the summit. Her take on things is the opposite of mine but her bias is based on a fundamental lack of knowledge. She thinks the Washington Post is the same as it was prior to 1999 and that the Democratic party is still the bastion of Kennedy-era liberals. She doesn't know what a progressive is. She doesn't understand why the HC bill is bad or that the majority of the country is against it. Tonight, my wife and I did our best to bring her up to speed.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/barack-obama-still-smoking-well-youd-be-to

Thank you once again Mediaite

by Drew Grant | 11:49 am, February 28th, 2010

The White House released the official report of Barack Obama’s medical exam this morning, giving the president his first clean bill of health since he went into office. So what did we learn from our look inside the body of our leader today?

• He might be a cyborg. Who has 20/20 vision at age 48?

• He has no past surgical history. None. Whatsoever. Again, cyborg.

• His efforts to quit smoking continue with “a self-use” “nicotine replacement therapy.” Our cultural discouragement on smokers might actually hurt Obama’s ratings more than the fact that he may be a terminator from the future with no history of eyesight problems or any surgery.

Al Gore, bless him, has an Opinion Piece in the Times today.  I believe Al.  I trust Al.  I listen to Al.

We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change