create a world where women can walk ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, EVERYWHERE

Clockwise from left: Marina, Lysa, Becky and George(not pictured Mike from NARAL Pro Choice)

Saturday morning April 19, 2008, I volunteered to “table an event” NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts with Marina and Mike, who is are Interns at NARAL Pro Choice, and volunteers Lysa and Becky. We were part of the Project Think Different: What is Change? in the Boston Common which featured hundreds of people, live bands playing lively music, dancing/signing exhibitions, along with many guests speakers.

NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts mission was to make themselves more visible to the public, we collected signatures for the Health Education Bill
which would provide comprehensive and age appropriate health education for children and young adults in grades K-12; helped to sign up more volunteers and provide more information including Chocolate Madness 25 NARAL’s 25 th anniversary of the “all you can eat” annual chocolate feast. For more information on NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts and their wonderful programs for women’s reproductive rights please use this link. NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts

On Thursday and Friday evenings, at the Museum of Fine Arts I had a chance to meet a very gifted film producer Jennifer Fox who made this film, “Flying: Confessions of a Free Women.” This autobiographical film depicts the life of Jennifer herself as she travels all over the world, meeting her many girlfriends in many different countries and “passing the camera,” which is a small video camera she holds and films the conversions of her adult life.

Film Producer and star Jennifer Fox

Jennifer has lived a great life, she has the two boyfriends, one who is a married man and we never see his face. The other man in her life, Patrick, she is not sure about where her romance will go. She tries to answer the questions, “What does it mean to be a free woman in today’s society?”

The major highlights of her 5 1/2 hour film, which is shown in two days, are the conversations with her women friends. The actual film took over five years to make and numerous hours of editing to produce this wonderful masterpiece. They discuss all the intimate details of sexually, pleasure, adultery, rape, violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and pregnancy and miscarriages. It’s raw, awesome and amazing because the people in the film is not real actors, she travels from country to country and the camera is always rolling.

It’s a beautiful film and after seeing Chapters 1-3 and Chapters 4-6, Jennifer Fox came out to the audience and “passed the camera” and answered questions. She is very down-to-earth and you could see her passion for making this film, I loved it and bought a copy which she signed the back of the insert inside. The movie is set for release on May 1, 2008. Every women (and man) should see this film, it’s that good)

Her interactive web site is something to see at FlyingConfessions.com

“Bra Ball”

I have seen the Eve Ensler play, “The Vagina Monologues” three times now, including one where my dear friend who recently graduated fromm college, was cast in the play on BU campus.

Crowds of Women and men at the “Super Dome of Love”

I remember Amanda our Code Pink Boston Organizer at a recent meeting asking if people wanted to go to New Orleans, LA to see this celebration of women who want to stop rape and sexual abuse forever. Marina’s theatre troop at the very end of the play invited people to go to New Orleans ato see this play being preformed by “big name” actresses so I decided to go and see this once-in-life time event.

>>Ali Larter

I stayed in a Hotel very close to the “Super Dome of Love,” and was awe-inspired by all the love and caring atmosphere of the “rock concert” of 30,000 plus women (and men) supporting the awareness of rape and sexual abuse all over the world. The numbers were alarming and the descriptions of the monologues being perfomed by Jane Fonda ^{who I saw 20 ft. being driven away in a small golf cart waving at everyone} Rosario Dawson, Shriley Knight, Amber Tamblyn, Monique Wilson and Jennifer Beals ^{The L Word} and Doris Roberts. Faith Hill brought the house down along with Eve Ensler with their singing and dancing on stage. I laughed, was sad and felt empowered after it was over and proud to be part of all of this.

Dr. Denis Mukwege, Domocratic Republic of Congo, receiving the first annual Dr. Denis Mukwege Award at V-10

The event raised over $ 700,000 for public support, 125 speakers, 40 “big name” stars and over 800 volunteers. including over 30,000 attendees.

More information can be found on V-10

”...Thirty years is enough… by Feministing.com Editor: Vanessa Valenti

The Guttmacher Institute and Kaiser Family Foundation released a report yesterday on Medicaid’s role in family planning services in the U.S.; In short, it’s the largest source of public funding for family planning services in the country, serving millions of low-income women in contraceptive services…”

“But sadly, there is a downside. In 1976, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, legislation that excludes abortion from government-funded health care programs….But abortion isn’t included unless she is a victim of rape, incest or her life is in danger…”

”...In other words, low-income women are forced to sacrifice rent or money for food to obtain an abortion, or are forced to continue the pregnancy and stay trapped in poverty…”

...The National Network of Abortion Funds leads a national campaign with a number of other advocacy groups which aims to repeal the Hyde Amendment. Their goal is to get 20,000 signatures delivered to Congress by January 2008. So go sign the petition to help give all women the access to choose…”

Full article written by by Vanessa Valenti posted on 30 Years is Enough

No Smiling Matter: There Really Is Lead in Some Lipstick

Ref.Information for Companies about the Compact for Safe Cosmetics:Janet Nudelman, National Campaign Coordinator
Breast Cancer Fund Email:janet@breastcancerfund.org

Toys made in China aren’t the only products laced with dangerous heavy metals: lipsticks manufactured in the United States and used daily by millions of American women also contain surprisingly high levels of lead, according to new product tests just released by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

The lead tests were conducted by an independent laboratory in September on lipsticks bought in Boston, Hartford, Conn., San Francisco and Minneapolis. More than half of the 33 brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm).

One-third of the tested lipsticks exceeded the FDA guideline for lead in candy, 0.1 ppm, established to reduce lead exposure among children. Even though lipstick products, like candy, are directly ingested and absorbed into the body, the FDA has not set a limit for lead in lipstick. It’s part of a disturbing pattern of lax safety standards in the $50 billion personal care products industry.

Among the leading brands found to contain lead were:
• L’Oreal Colour Riche “True Red” – 0.65 ppm
• L’Oreal Colour Riche “Classic Wine” – 0.58 ppm
• Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor “Maximum Red” – 0.56 ppm
• Christian Dior Addict “Positive Red” – 0.21 ppm

Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language and behavioral problems such as lowered IQ, reduced school performance and increased aggression. It has also been linked to infertility and miscarriage. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure because lead easily crosses the placenta and can interfere with fetal brain development.

One-third of the lipsticks tested had no detectable amount of lead, so lead-free lipstick is possible. And, the amounts of lead in the lipsticks tested didn’t correlate with the price of the product, so we know that manufacturing lipstick without lead doesn’t break the bank.

Stand up and shout: Lipstick shouldn’t contain lead! Get started by sending a letter to L’Oreal, whose Colour Riche “True Red” and “Classic Wine” lipsticks were found to have the highest levels of lead in our sample.

Take action

Click here for full report and more infromation on Lead testing in Lipstick.

we should require that they do so.

Lipsticks with less than 0.02 parts per million (ppm)lead
Brand Product Name/Shade Lead Parent Company State Purchased/Date
Avon Ultra Color Rich Cherry Jubilee <0.02 Avon MA* 08/27/07
Body Shop Lip Colour Garnet <0.02 LʹOreal MA 08/27/07
Body Shop Lip Colour Garnet <0.02 LʹOreal CA 08/23/07
Clinique Long Last Lipstick Merlot <0.02 Estee Lauder MA 08/27/07
Dior Replenishing Lipcolor Red Premiere <0.02 LVMH MA 08/27/07
Estee Lauder Maraschino <0.02 Estee Lauder MN 08/26/07
MAC Matte Lipstick Viva Glam 1 <0.02 Estee Lauder MA 08/27/07
Revlon Superlustrous Love That Red <0.02 Revlon CT 08/27/07
Revlon Superlustrous Bed of Roses <0.02 Revlon CA 08/23/07
Revlon Colorstay Lipcolor Red Velvet <0.02 Revlon CA 08/23/07
Tarte Inside Out Vitamin Lipstick <0.02 Tarte MA 08/27/07
Wet N Wild Mega Colors Cherry Blossom <0.02 Markwins CA 08/23/07
Wet N Wild Mega Colors Cherry Blossom <0.02 Markwins CT 08/27/07

Lipsticks with detectable levels of lead but less than 0.1 ppm lead (the FDA‐recommended limit for candy)

MAC Matte Lipstick Viva Glam 0.03 Estee Lauder MN 08/26/07
Revlon Love That Red 0.03 Revlon MN 08/26/07
Cover Girl Queen Collection Ruby Remix 0.03 P & G CT 08/27/07
Clinique Long Last Paprika 0.03 Estee Lauder CA 08/23/07
Dior Replenishing Lipcolor Red Premiere 0.04 LVMH MN 08/26/07
Body Shop Garnet 0.06 LʹOreal MN 08/26/07
Wet N Wild Cherry Frost 0.06 Markwins MN 08/26/07
Clinique Angel Red 0.09 Estee Lauder MN 08/26/07
Burtʹs Bees Lip Shimmer Merlot 0.09 Burtʹs Bees MA 08/29/07

Lipsticks with lead levels higher than 0.1 ppm

• Purchased from Web consultant based in Boston 10

Start October 11, 2007 5:30 PM

End October 11, 2007 7:30 PM

Location Cactus Club 939 Boylston Street Boston, MA (across street from Hereford)
Map/directions
Phone: 617_236_0200
MBTA
located one block away from Hynes Convention Center T Stop on Green Line.

Cinco de Mayo maybe long gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get together for mingling and margaritas!

We will be announcing exciting new programming, introducing new members to the organization, giving existing members a chance to meet new people, and giving everyone a chance to develop through volunteering.

If you’ve never attended an WOTR event, you can expect an environment designed to welcome newcomers where many motivated women come to connect.

Your advanced registration is greatly appreciated.

”...A federal judge has suspended regulations that are intended to make it more difficult to operate abortion clinics. Also in today’s Cheers and Jeers column the Myanmar regime has increased its military presence around opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi…”

Missouri Clinics Win Ruling; Myanmar Cracks Down
By Seltzer and Soguel
WeNews correspondents
Sarah Seltzer is a New York-based freelance writer and the editorial intern at Women’s eNews. Dominique Soguel is Women’s eNews Arabic site editor.
Womens Enews Full articles
(WOMENSENEWS)

Cheers
”...A federal judge in Missouri suspended regulations that make it more difficult for clinics and doctors who perform more than five abortions a month to operate. The rules dubbed TRAP laws by opponents require extensive upgrades to facilities that provide surgical or medical abortion services and govern everything from hallway width to landscaping. Future rulings in the Missouri case could have national implications…”

”...The European Court of Human Rights upheld court-ordered compensation for a Polish woman who went blind after she was denied a legal abortion, the Irish Times reported Sept. 25. Poland bans nearly all abortion but does allow them if a woman’s health is at risk…”

”...Latin American and Caribbean advocacy groups are rallying behind a regional campaign to decriminalize abortion, which celebrates its 17th anniversary on Sept. 28. The region has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, according to Human Rights Watch. Up to 31 percent of pregnancies end in abortion, and botched procedures account for 13 percent of maternal deaths, according to the Latin American Health and Woman Center in Mexico…”
Womens Enews

More News to Cheer This Week:

”...The U.S. Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Act by a vote of 60 to 39 on Sept. 27. The bill expands federal hate crimes legislation to include gender, sexual orientation and disability…”
Womens Enews

Rap musician Master P apologized in front of a congressional panel on Tuesday for the misogynist lyrics that have laced his platinum-selling albums. “I want to apologize to all the women out there. I was honestly wrong,” he said, adding that being a father adjusted his attitude…”
Womens Enews

”...Marin Alsop took the baton Sept. 27 for her first concert as the music director and principal conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, making her the first female leader of a preeminent U.S. symphony…”
Womens Enews

”...Cervarix, the HPV vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline, was approved for sale in the European Union Sept. 24. The vaccine…and prevents cervical cancer caused by two strains of human papillomavirus…”
Womens Enews

Jeers
”...Myanmar’s military regime has cracked down on peaceful protesters and tightened security around the house of opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi in Rangoon. Suu Kyi heads the National League of Democracy, which won elections in 1990…”

”...Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, is one of 12 women to win the prize and the only laureate male or female currently imprisoned…”

”...On Sept. 27, the BBC reported that she greeted marching monks in front of her house and prayed with them, her first public appearance in four years…”

”...Our sister laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and so many other women and men have risked their safety to return to the streets day after day, year after year, to demand the most basic rights and freedoms,” ... “For 17 years now Suu Kyi has paid the price, imprisoned in her home, while the regime pads its pockets and brutalizes its people.”
Womens Enews

”...Swazi police found approximately 80 fetuses in a stream at Logoba, a shanty town community south of Manzini. “A means must be found to give women control, or at least a say, in sexual reproduction, so they do not have to resort to drastic and dangerous measures…”

”...Financial news service Bloomberg is being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of three female executives. The women claim they were demoted and discriminated against after returning from maternity leaves…The company’s former CEO, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, has been sued by female employees in the past…the New York Daily News reported Sept. 28…”
Womens Enews

“Nudity is being tested as a new campaign strategy in Poland. Candidates of the Seven Women’s Party posed naked on their campaign poster for the Oct. 21 parliamentary election, causing a stir. Their slogan? “Everything for the future . . . and nothing to hide.”

Sarah Seltzer is a New York-based freelance writer and the editorial intern at Women’s eNews. Dominique Soguel is Women’s eNews Arabic site editor.

Women’s eNews welcomes your comments. E-mail us at editors@womensenews.org.

For more information:
Where My Ladies At? Forum on Women and Rap Lyrics

Nobel Women’s Initiative

Burmese Women Expose Rapes by Military Regime

Women’s eNews is a nonprofit independent news service covering issues of concern to women and their allies. An incubator program of the International Institute for Community Solutions, Fund for the City of New York, Women’s eNews is supported by our readers; reprints and licensing fees; and foundations. Who Funds Us

We receive financial support from our readers, private donors, events, commercial publications that republish our material and from the following foundations. * The Carnegie Corporation of New York * The Charles Lawrence Keith & Clara S. Miller Foundation * The Ford Foundation * The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation * The Barbara Lee Family Foundation * Mary Kay Inc. * The Ms. Foundation * The Open Society Institute * The Rockefeller Family Fund * The Sister Fund * The Starry Night Fund of Tides Foundation * The United Nations Foundation * The Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention * Working Assets. The donations from readers are critical to our success. They are an important measure that we are serving our audience—the yardstick that our foundation supporters will measure us by. Donate now

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On Friday evening, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting two of the most talented, upcoming cartoonists, Mikhaela Reid and Masheka Wood at a public showing of their artwork at the Center of New Words:Where Women’s Words Matter located in Cambridge, MA.

The event marked the presention of both cartoonists and their new books, Attack of the 50 ft. Mikhaela and Masheka Wood’s Deep Doodle

Mikhaela’s “Attack of the 50 ft. Mikhaela”

They set up a computer film projector and showed their artwork on the screen and mostly talked about how the ideas of both books came about and the lives of cartoonists. The candid spirit of the audience members made it a very pleasant evening and it was exciting to actually hear two cartoonists talk about their books.

”...Mikhaela’s cartoons have appeared in Metro Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Phoenix, In These Times, Ms., and Funny Times. Reid was featured in the 2006 exhibit “She Draws Comics: A Century of Women Cartoonists…”

”...The 2007 Glyph Awards Nominees have just been announced… and fellow Cartoonist With Attitude Masheka Wood has been nominated for the Rising Star Award…”

I love the spectacular artwork inside both books and if you get a chance stop by both their web sites and see for yourself or better yet order both books, you won’t be disappointed. When I was there I had no idea that both Mikhaela and Masheka became recently married together. Their future plans are the possibility to animate their cartoons. That would something to see. Kudos!

Masheka’s “Deep Doodle”

Calamity Press

Friday Evening September 14, 2007 at the Red Sky located on North Street in the heart of Faneuil Hall, Boston, MA was the location for a special chance for women to meet one another and discuss future plans of the WOTR I had another opportunity to sit down, drink and meet many of these amazing women. I estimated the group of empowered women at twenty-five and the positive energy flow in the room was absolutely phenomenal.

I had the opportunity to sit down, drink and talk to many of these women who come from different backgrounds and careers and discuss feminism, equality for women and career goals. Board Members and include: Natasha, Lyn, Erika, Satoko, Tara, Jennifer and Sara-Marie. Also at tonight’s Happy Hour were members Donna, Amy, Asha, Sua, Shiveh, Christine, Lai, Dlycia, AMy, Stephanie, Gail, Amy, Elaina, Aleja, and Tamara. (I apologize if I have missed anyone tonight.)

Women on the Rise is a group of talented group of women whose sole purpose is to develop an friendly environment to enhance the lives of women and develop the leaders of tomorrow. They hope to achieve these goals through workshops such as public speaking, financial planning, career change, networking, providing networking opportunities, wine tasting events such as Divas Un Corked that allow women to redefine the boardroom experience. WOTR wants your ideas for events and seminars to “challenge the many obstacles face in life.”

In the future, WOTR hopes to connect with other groups including Code Pink Boston and NARAL Pro Choice Massachusetts

Additional Photos of this event can be found here

This afternoon I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with a about a dozen of the amazing, beautifully spirited and intelligent women for an Informational “Brunch” at Dillon’s located on Boylston Street in the Boston area. I was amazed at how friendly everyone was and how passionate with enthusiasm all the members including the Women on the Rise (WOTR Board: Natasha, Lyn, Erika, Satoko, and Lauren, Tara, Sara, Deeda (and, please I apologize anyone I might have missed.) The food was excellent and the conversation even better.

Originally the group was scheduled to walk the streets of Boston promoting their mission along with Walk Boston. Because of the hot weather which included guest speakers, was postponed for another time.

Their mission:

Connect Younger Women

Who and what women know are crucial to their success in life and at work. Women on the Rise encourage women to connect with other women early in their careers. By mobilizing a broad collection of resources and strengthening their mutual connections, younger women can be better equipped to pave new avenues in leadership and initiate change.

Build Leaders

Women on the Rise support women as leaders in their communities by fostering the exchange of ideas between younger and more experienced women.

Affect Change

By allowing women to share their own knowledge while learning from one another, young women can band together to challenge obstacles in life, work, policy, and beyond in positive and productive ways.

Women on the Rise is a new professional women’s group looking to partner with other women’s organizations, they are looking for volunteers in directing people in membership, work on maintaining their ongoing database, managing outreach to other organization, someone to manage their programs and policies and events. Erika mentioned to me that they would like to get involved with Code Pink Boston and work on a future event. In the meantime, anyone who would like to join WOTR can do so and suggest a possible future event they could sponsor would be most appreciated.

More details to follow…