<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^>^<^> .....................Catt's Claws # 78 ... November 2, 1995...................... ..................... A Feminist Newsletter by Irene Stuber...................... ................................................................................ To subscribe: email >Catts-Claws@Netcom.com< and in the body of the note type >subscribe Catts-Claws<. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- To the hundreds who sent me birthday greetings, I thank you. It is a rare privilege to be able to reach out to so many in the cause of something I believe in so passionately: equality and justice for all. Thank you for helping me and each other to keep the flame alive. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The tobacco industry is really after Bill Clinton for daring to point out that children shouldn't be smoking. Common Cause says that countless studies show that smoking kills more than 400,000 Americans each year and adds some $68 billion to the nation's yearly health care tab. Lung cancer is now the leading cause of death among women, but to protect their money-making investments and to hell with human life, the tobacco industry has poured $16.7 million in PAC and influence buying into Washington (with none of it going to Clinton, of course.) -- Stopping smoking was about the hardest thing I ever did. But I did it - after 43 years of smoking, I stopped. It's been seven or eight years. The smell of tobacco smoke is no longer a Lorelei to me. I see and smell it for what it is. It stinks and it makes the users stink. It is as addictive as smack - and as harmful to you. It isn't smart. It isn't adult. It is damned dumb. Yesterday was my birthday, a birthday I wouldn't have had unless I had stopped smoking. I suffer severe lung damage. Let me wish everyone else a few extra birthdays: STOP SMOKING, please. To those, including my children, I am so sorry I blew all that stink at you. My only excuse is that we were so brainwashed by the tobacco industry and so hooked by inhaling the very addictive drug nicotine that we were unable to realize what we were doing. We know now - please, stop smoking. The life you save is your own. ....................... * ........................ The women tortured, raped, and abused by the Bosnian Serbs in the former Yugoslavia can sue Bosnian Serb Leader Radovan Karadizic in the United States for crimes against humanity according to a federal appeals court ruling. The court declared that Karadzic could be sued under the Alien Tort Statue. The suit was filed on behalf of thousands of Bosnian Muslim women. Part of the decision: "We do not agree that the law of nations, as understood in the modern era, confines its reach to state action... Allegations that Karadzic personally planned and ordered a campaign of murder, rape, forced impregnation and other forms of torture designed to destroy the religious and ethnic groups of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats clearly state a violation of the international law norm proscribing genocide, regardless of whether Karadzic acted under color of law or as a private individual... The liability of private individuals for committing war crimes has been recognized since World War I and was confirmed at Nuremberg after World War II," the U.S. Appeals court said. President Clinton had urged the court to revive the 200-year-old law which allows foreign citizens to sue foreign officials and citizens for violating the law of nations. ....................... * ........................ How much did you read about Hillary Rodham Clinton's very successful trip Latin America last month? She praised Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro (yep, a woman) as the architect of a new Nicaragua. "We admire greatly the progress that is being made and the example that is being set," Rodham Clinton said. Chamorro was elected president in 1990 after 11 years of leftist Sandinista rule. In Managua's Acahualinca section, 30 women renamed their village bank in Mrs. Clinton's honor. The bank, "Madres Unidas," Spanish for Mothers United, is now called "Madres Unidas Hillary." "I cannot do the things you do. I cannot make good tortillas or sell automotive parts, or make beautiful dresses or mosquito netting," Rodham Clinton told a group of women when they explained how their bank operated and how U.S. backed loans, some for as little as $140 helped them start small businesses, become self-supporting, and raise the standard of living for their families. Does anyone know of any private U.S. group which helps with these third-world loans to women in such places as Ghana, India, and Latin America???? What a Christmas gift it would be if we just sent $5 or $10 to them so they can help our poor sisters who aren't as lucky as we are. The unbelievable grinding poverty of women in much of the world cannot be comprehended by the average American. ....................... * ........................ While Newt Gingrich and friends line their Republican pockets with millions in questionable income, a lone woman crafter who used discarded eagle feathers has been fined $1,200 by a FEDERAL Judge and placed on two years suspended sentence after being the victim of an extensive undercover investigation. Her mistake was sending Hillary Rodham Clinton a "dreamcatcher" which was spotted by agents of the Fish and Wildlife Service as containing - shock - a discarded bald eagle feather. So Peggy Bargon who picks up the eagle feathers from the ground at a South Carolina zoo and got feathers from owls, swans, blue jays, and robins from roadkill or hunters was fined and placed on two years probation. Where do these guys come from ??? ....................... * ........................ A Springfield, Illinois, taxicab company which by city ordinance is ordered to pick up anyone who wants a ride unless drunk or disorderly recently posted a notice on its bulletin board: "Effective immediately: Do not pick up any black males unless you feel it is safe. If you do not feel safe with the way they look Do not pick them up! There have been too many robberies lately, and they have all been by BLACK MALES." The Lincoln cab company fleet of 21 cabs, has been robbed about 10 times in the last month. After objections the sign was replaced by a generic warning not to pick up anyone unless the driver feels that person is safe. "I feel all I'm doing is trying to alert my drivers for their safety because that's what we're being robbed by, is black males," the cab company manager said. We bring this up for one reason and one reason only: IF - IF the crimes were being committed by women, the notice would have been legal if it had stated "don't pick up women" ... By law, notably the standards that govern the U.S. Supreme Court, race receives the HIGHEST judicial scrutiny while sexism is way down the line. A case is wending its way through the courts right now that could - COULD - nullify the need for an Equal Rights Amendment. It is about a woman's right to attend Virginia Military Insitute. The strict constructionists want to limit the scope of the coming decision, but the woman want it broadly interpreted. More on this next week. (And you thought the arguments about VMI and the Citadel were just about women wanting to play soldier without the dangers of being a soldier the way the good 'ole boys have been doing for all this time ... ) ....................... * ........................ Texas jurors who recently voted 40 years without parole to a 16-year- old girl and a 13-year-old girl for murder in separate cases is pondering the penalty for Orlando Hall who is accused of masterminded the brutal beating, kidnapping, rape and burying alive of 16-year-old Lisa Rene. But Hall is only one of five involved in the murder. Three co-defendants pleaded guilty to kidnapping and testified against Hall in exchange for lighter sentences which have not yet been determined. The fifth defendant is scheduled to stand trial in March, 1996. Miss Rene was raped over a two day period and repeatedly beaten with a shovel before she was buried ALIVE in a shallow grave near Pine Bluff, Ark., in revenge against her brother in a drug deal gone wrong that she had nothing to do with. CLAWERS ATTENTION: Please send us information on cases that highlight the unfair treatment women are getting in your community ... Lise had screamed for help on 911 ... Unless we start fighting back, the patriarchal justice system will continue to discriminate in crimes involving women - for example, in many areas beating a dog might be a felony but beating a wife only a misdemeanor. A woman distressed beyond grief because a drunk driver killed her daughter formed Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) which monitors traffic courts in many parts of this country. Isn't it time some women and men started an organization to monitor the criminal justice system's treatment of women? What are our law schools doing along these lines? ....................... * ........................ It keeps getting deeper, and deeper, and deeper ... OJ was set to autograph pictures pertaining to his infamous "Bronco" police escorted drive down the LA freeways (nasty, nasty L.A. cops) as well a photos taken in the courtroom and sell them in a February 24, 1996 football show in Atlantic City before women's groups and concerned citizens started screaming. OJ's latest promoter, Mike Gilbert, is now saying OJ won't do that, only sign books, helmets, jerseys, and footballs, although he admitted OJ signed 1,000 photos of the courtroom scene which might still be made available by mail. First releases on the signing indicated the autographed Bronco escorting pictures would go for $159.95 and the courtroom pix with Johnnie Cochran for $99.95. The show will be held in an Atlantic City municipal property and a letter addressed to the mayor objecting to city buildings being used to promote a wife beater might not be a bad idea. "I hate to see New Jersey making a hero out of someone who's a convicted wife batterer, and I'd hate to see people come," said Bear Atwood, president of the National Organization for Women's New Jersey chapter. "It is shameful that (Simpson) is signing courtroom photos and Bronco photos," said Tammy Bruce, president of the Los Angeles NOW chapter. "Maybe he should also sign autopsy photos." Atlantic City Mayor James Whelan said in a statement that he wants the convention center authority "to turn down this exploitative event." "The unwelcome carnival-sideshow atmosphere this will create in our city, I am appalled that Mr. Simpson would try to make a profit off the murders of his wife and Mr. Goldman," Whelan said. ....................... * ........................ Our hero of the week is 13-year-old Seychelle Van Poole of Plano, TX, who got sick and tired of sightseers driving by her neighbor's burned out home. There were so many gawkers that neighbors called police who had to direct traffic at the site. Seychelle had her own idea. She organized three of her friends and surrounded individual sightseer's car and solicited a "gawking fee," with a sad-faced speech about how bad it was for the family. Seychelle said about 150 people donated from 25 cents to $40 for a total of $610.25 which she then gave to the Frenkil family who lost everything in the blaze. Hey, this kid has a FUTURE ! ....................... * ........................ Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a gross misuse of freedom of the press in a not funny way was recently depicted on the front coverof _Spy_ magazine in jock shorts with men's genitalia of the size most men can only dream of, as if women needed the proverbial testicles to be strong. And now there is a candid photo taken of a seated Hillary Rodham Clinton during her recent trip to Brazil that showed her underpants is being used in a Duloren lingerie ad (two pages wide) being run in the newspapers and magazines there. According to ITN, the text accompanying the photo says, in Portuguese: "Mr. President of the United States of America: Your Excellency can't imagine what Duloren can do." Below, in smaller print, it reads: "A tribute to one of the most important women of the decade." Lisa Caputo, the first lady's press secretary, said, "In the interest of good taste and good sense we have no comment." Word out is that Brazilian feminists are really angry and Deloren lingerie may have a severe backlash in their sales. ....................... * ........................ Women rights activists are taking the offensive against rape by raising money tonight at the first Rock Against Rape benefit concert. Funds raised will be used for sexual assault and domestic violence education campaigns. Elaine Beale, the development coordinator of San Francisco Women Against Rape, said "Nothing is done to prevent rape, just the clean-up job afterwards. It's estimated that only 2 percent of rapists are ever convicted. Prison just doesn't work as a prevention tool." Beale says her groups is sending speakers into schools to educate. "This isn't an issue usually discussed in schools, and we're presenting new information," Beale said. "We try to address the myths about assault." Beale said most young women don't report rape because they think it is perpetrated by strangers, although 85 percent of rapes are committed by men they know. Beale said between 4,000 to 7,000 rapes occur in San Francisco each year -- 10-to-15 percent of which are reported. Last year, the center received 4,760 calls to the 24-hour crisis line. ....................... * ........................ Sent to Catt's Claws from Victoria Sudo Tokyo, Japan. "Have you seen this? I found it while wandering around the web; it is from a site called "Refuse & Resist." "I particularly like (if that's the word) the Goebbels quote, since I raise some pretty smart and lovable tame birds... and believe me, he's got the behavior all wrong! As it happens, females largely determine all activities, perform most of the labor, AND decide when conditions are right for breeding... while the males spend most of their time preening themselves and squabbling with each other! "Thanks for all your work on Catt's Claws and WOA. I was lucky to have found them recently, at a time when your encouraging words and great feminist rants mean more to me than I can express. >From Refuse & Resist!: "The woman has the task of being pretty, and of bringing children into the world. That is not such a crude and old-fashioned idea as it sounds. The female bird cleans herself for her husband, and cares for the eggs. And in exchange, the male bird takes care of bringing home dinner. He also stands watch and fights away all enemies." - Joseph Goebbels If there is one man in history who can be credited with launching the compulsory child bearing movement, it is Adolph Hitler. Hitler's "right to life" accomplishments after coming to power are summarized by one historian: "On May 26, 1933, two pieces of penal legislation...prohibit[ed] the availability of abortion facilities and services. More important was the stricter handling of the old anti-abortion law, resulting in a 65 percent increase in yearly convictions between 1932 and 1938, when their number reached almost 7,000. From 1935 on, doctors and midwives were obliged to notify the regional State Health Office of every miscarriage. Women's names and addresses were then handed over to the police, who investigated the cases suspected of actually being abortions. In 1936 Heinrich Himmler, head of all police forces and the SS, established the Reich's Central Agency for the Struggle Against Homosexuality and Abortion, and in 1943, after three years of preparation by the Ministries of the Interior and of Justice, the law entitled Protection of Marriage, Family, Motherhood called for the death penalty in 'extreme cases'." --------------- Victoria Sudo's note reminds me of Molly Ivins comment that she liked Pat Buchanan's speech at the 1992 Republican Convention better in the original German. ....................... * ........................ Quantity of manure produced by hogs in North Carolina in 1993: Roughly equal to all the sewage produced by the state of New York. ....................... * ........................ Police are searching for a man who dragged a screaming Leah W. Ulbrich, 24, four miles to her death when her arm evidentally caught in the seat belt after she either fell or was pushed out of the car. A police officer spotted the speeding car and noticed it was dragging something but, according to news reports, was unable to keep up. The ITN report wrote the intriguing word "Eventually" in its story: "Eventually, the officer followed a trail of blood, flesh, and hair to the body which was left along a road in neighboring Wethersfield." It has been ruled a homicide and the Hartford, Connecticut police are seeking the driver of the car. ....................... * ........................ Calvin Klein who has a history of flaunting young women in his ads has now earned the wrath of the American Family Association (right wingers) for featuring a well-muscled young man clad only in briefs, his legs spread wide to show off his crotch. Back in 1985 Women Against Pornography were ridiculed for criticizing the designer for displaying "gratuitous female nudity" in a magazine ad showing a model reclining with arched back in briefs and a T-shirt pushed up to reveal one of her nipples. Blade-thin model Kate Moss was shown in provocative poses including being nude with a large dog. And, of course, Brooke Shields, who as a 15-year-old said "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins." But when it comes to guys, especially anything that can make a woman the judge of men's genital endowments the way men are allowed to judge women's bodies, the screams are loud and louder ... the male model is 20. ....................... * ........................ The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?" The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?" The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?" The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?" ....................... * ........................ The URLs to the most current weeks' worth of Catt's Claws set up on the Web by Laurie D. T. Mann, the Feminist Webitor, are: http://worcester.lm.com/lmann/feminist/cattsclaws.html The FTPs for Catt's Claws being archived by William Affleck-Asch, are: ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/u/f/feminist/ (or NCFTP open ftp.eskimo.com cd /u/f/feminist/) The FTPs for Catt's Claws being archived by Dorothy Dean are: FTP.execpc.com ....................... * ........................ Women's rights are young and tender and we must protect them from the plagues of holy hypocrisy and newts. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> Send your ideas, comments, and news to istuber@cswnet.com for inclusion in the Catt's Claws feminist newsletter which will be emailed three times a week: Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. This is NOT an interactive discussion net but an exchange of information and is NOT sponsored by any organization. We are accepting *limited* donations (only what can be spared) to help offset the online costs of posting Catt's Claws. Irene Stuber. PO Box 6185, Hot Springs, AR 71902.<<<<