<^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> ........Catt's Claws # 118 ... August 22, 1996......... ........ A Feminist Newsletter by Irene Stuber......... <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> OH GAWD ! I'm stuttering. I throw my hands up. Those Sons of whoremongers! May they all go bankrupt! If any of you EVER buy or drink a bottle of Perrier Water unless you are dying of thirst in the middle of the Libyan desert, you deserve to have your throat rot out. Robyn from Miami sent me a copy of the Sunday Times in which the Perrier Water advertising billboard in Brussels (Belgium) is shown. The line above reads: Wonderbulles which literally translates to "wonder bubbles." Below the wonder bubbles water headline are three naked women shown from the waist up with silicon breasts that defy gravity in the skin mag style - and on each nipple is the bottle cap from Perrier Water ... asif they are fountains for that artificially bubbled water. Perrier, as you may remember, had to recall lots and lots of its water because of benzene traces in it in 1990 and is said to still be in financial difficulties. Perrier is a subsidiary of Nestle, the Swiss food giant ... Yeah, the kids cocoa and chocolate and stuff ... Buy any of that shit to make money for those shitheads and die until they all apologize! "The ads are an abomination and an insult to all women," said Gertrude Wartenberg, the president of the European Women's Lobby, a Brussels-based organization that represents more than 2,500 women's groups across Europe. "They also show the blatant diregard Perrier has for over half its potential customers." Hey, not only Perrier but ALL OF NESTLE's products. I ain't gonna buy no more of that stuff. (Living in the land of Mountain Valley water automatically makes me a non fake-bubbly-water-drinker.) A publicist for the Belgium Perrier company said, "Most people like (the billboards). The womens groups have blown it all out of proportion." Out of proportion? Those silicon breasts are out of proportion and the inferred idea that the caps cover nipples from which flow Perrier water is more than just obscene. Maybe we should start showing the balls and penises of the executives of the company. Surely we can talk some of the prostitutes they hire to do a little photo work. Then women can have something to laugh about too, knowing that men are always blowing their attributes out of proportion ... talk about tiny bubbles (prunes). . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . The 1995 edition of __Sexuality Education in America: A State-by-State Review__ produced by NARAL, the National Abortion Rights Action League, is now available. It reflects how these weirdos in state legislatures who believe less government is best government reverse themselves when it comes to your bedroom. A voluntary donation of $15 is requested (or less if you don't have it). Make checks payable to The NARAL Foundation (tax deductible) and send to NARAL Legal Dept, 1156 15th St NW, Washington DC 20005. For information about your state, phone 202-973-300 for photocopy information. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Checks this out for tons of information - The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally). It's human rights orientated as well as being YOUNG GAY and YOUNG LESBIAN oriented: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ You know puberty is when most gays or lesbians begin to realize that they have different drives than society tells them they should have. Teenage gay boys are particularly in danger from suicide. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Another stalwart statistic for the GREATEST nation in the world: "Out of 19 top industrial nations, the US took 17th place in public spending for education in 1992...and came in last for compensation of teachers." From _The Nation_. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . At the behest of the radical right, Massachusetts Republican Governor Weld who also caved in to the RR regarding the anti-abortion Republican platform, ordered the Massachusetts Department of Education to eliminate the position of a coordinator to make schools SAFE for gay and lesbian kids. The program was fully funded so it was strictly politics by the Republicans to endanger the lives and health of young people who are different than what the homophobics see in their mirrors. For the love of their god, don't teach tolerance and understanding! Governor Weld, a Republican, is currently running for a US Senate seat in Massachusetts, and claims to be tolerant. The elimination of the Program Program Coordinator's position removes a vital source of support for anti-homophobia work in elementary schools. Young gays are the most likely to commit suicide, but does Weld care? Nah. He lockstepped with the neo_American Nazi, aka the Christian Coalition. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Jill Fekete writes: "I just wanted to let you know, if you don't already, that "the Baptists" is inaccurate as there are several different types of Baptists, and they vary *widely* in their beliefs. I'm assuming you are referring to *Southern* Baptists, who don't believe in dancing, drinking, or smoking, much less homosexual's and women's rights. "However, I was raised in an *American* Baptist church, which is very progressive. Women, nationwide, have been ordained for decades now, and our church in CT took out an ad in the local paper, along w/many other Protestant churches (including the Methodists) supporting a woman's right to choose an abortion." No, I didn't realize. I'd been taken to a Baptist church in my teens (attempts at conversion) and they seemed to be against everything - and it was A NORTHERN church. So much for a compass to show us the ways of bigotry. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Judy Lerner writes: "Just a comment about the Olympics. I watched part of the US-Ukraine women's volleyball game on Saturday. The commentators kept making "jokes" about a woman on the Ukrainian team who was the wife of the coach, saying "He can't take her out of the game or he won't get any dinner that night." And then they didn't even show the end of the game!" Yes, the commentators (including that female person they had commenting about swimming who was obviously told to criticize everyone) were a pitiful lot. Dagget on gymnastics was another we have to single out as terrible. And John Tesch? Less said the better. The NBC coverage was terrible in that it didn't show what was important to a lot of women and didn't show enough of some events to give us any insight into them. Catt's Claws got good and damned sick of the "cat fights" the commentators tried to set up for many of the women. AND Those macho men IGNORED the fact that the main prizes for TEAMWORK were won by American woman. There was a lot more to it than the one gymnastic jump. PS - That dumb Son of a Whorehound who made that remark about the volleyball player is so stupid that he doesn't realize that she ain't about to cook for any guy after the work she did that day - and where would she cook anyway? FEMPEEMACHO to whomever chose those men commentators ... obviously picked for their sex appeal, not their sports or broadcasting ability. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . John Horace, 52, was indicted for the rape of a 29-year-old woman who had been in a coma for 10 years. The rapes were evidentally committed repeatedly. The woman, who is in a "vegetable" condition and "coma position", bore a son because her very Catholic family refused an abortion. What do you say to that boy? Your mother was a dead person kept alive by machines and your father was a rapist? There is not way of telling for some time how much the fetus was affected by the drugs, etc., that the comatose woman was given. Horace was also convicted of raping a 48-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis at the nursing home and was slated to be released from prison on that charge when the DNA tests showed him to be the genetic father. All the newspaper accounts wrote "sexually abused" instead of rape. Another men's rights pile of bullshit trying to hide the truth. Rape is RAPE. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Wonder why Gingrich (the deserter of the sick wife who kept him out of Viet Nam) isn't pushing the bill passed by the Senate that would have the FBI track the movement of convicted sex offenders? The SENATE bill would have the FBI set up a central database top track each time a sex offender moves. State and local law enforcement would have access to the national registry and community organizations and private groups also could tap into the database via their local law enforcement. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . The rape of the daughter of well-to-do Japanese parents illustrates the patriarchy's self-serving societal pressures on women (family values???): A 20-year-old woman new to Britain and to English was confronted by six male toughies and she didn't know what to do. She had been taught from infancy to bow down before men. They subjected her to a two-day ordeal of rape and other forms of sexual horror. When the police rescued her she was so innured with the cultural imperative that SHE should be ashamed of what happened that it took two days for her to even begin to tell of her ordeal. Actually a woman's suicide (see Shakespeare's Rape of Lucretia) is the approved way for Japanese women to revenge their rapes even today (and in Muslim countries). . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . It was a kinky idea, he thought, this fantasy of a guy picking up a naked hitchiker (Shades of some fantasy porno flick I saw a few years back where this guy stopped at a bus stop for the naked woman who IMMEDIATELY jumped him for mad passionate sex. One of the funniest things I've ever seen on video. Do guyz really believe such tripe?) Only problem with this Woodbridge, VA., guyz' dream - after he talked his girlfriend into it - was he was so drunk he didn't get back to her before the police. He was charged with DOA. The woman wasn't charged although we can imagine the police laughter and remarks. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Dr. Richard J. Schmidt, 48, a gastroenterologist, was indicted in Lafayette, La., on an attempted murder charge and jailed without bond for injecting his girlfriend with HIV-tainted blood from an AIDS patient on August 4, 1994, under the guise of a vitamin shot. The doctor is claiming she contracted the virus through her work as a nurse and she is just trying to ruin his life. The virus strain, however, matches the AIDS patient. The nurse was breaking off her relationship with Dr. Schmidt when he "allegedly" injected her with the virus. The Lafayette Parish District Attorney Michael Harson said he would charge Schmidt with murder if the woman dies of AIDS ... something that could take many, long horribly miserable years. Another case of a woman breaking up a relationship with the man refusing to accept the rejection and turning to violence. WHY are men's egos so fragile? . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Three Peoria, Illinois boys 9, 11, and 13, lured a 7-year-old neighbor into an apartment and repeatedly raped her - even after an older sister interrupted them and took the girl out of the bathroom where the boys were holding her. The sister had to leave and the boys pulled the child back into the bathroom and resumed their rapings. When the sister returned, she sent the girl home and the girl's parents called police. The boys are being charged - probably out on probation already since the rapes occured about three weeks ago. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Memorandum for the Attorney General of the United States: "I am proud of the progress we have made over the last 3 years in addressing the problem of child support enforcement...(But it hasn't been enough) .... "Therefore, I direct you to take the following important steps to strengthen our child support enforcement efforts. (Some parts snipped) "Third, I direct you to draft legislation to amend the Child Support Recovery Act to establish a felony offense for a person who willfully fails to pay child support for a child in another State where there has been an egregious failure to meet child support obligations. "Fourth, I direct you, as part of your effort to enforce criminal laws, to cooperate with the Department of Health and Human Services to place on their Internet child support page the names of persons who have been indicted under Federal law for willfully failing to pay child support and have fled in an attempt to escape criminal prosecution. "Finally, I direct you to report back to me within 90 days on the actions you have taken to fulfill this directive." Signed William J. Clinton. And the Republicans wonder why there's a gender gap? Maybe because Bill Clinton has shown compassion and caring for the problems of women including the Violence Against Women Act which the Republicans opposed. For the full text see the White House web site. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Oh my GAWD- and we are *really* supposed to respect these guyz? A beautifully sculpted ice statue was the centerpiece of the exclusive Lakewood Country Club in Rockville, Md., for its golf tournament in July, 1996. It was of a large busted naked woman with her legs spread and her knees drawn up to her body ... with vodka spouting from her vagina. Assistant golf pro Maureen Kelly Renkes immediately resigned and a number of women filed complaints. None of the executives of the club nor the "civilian" leadership claimed to know anything about the "vodka" dispenser that had been set up in the men's locker room for their enjoyment. Membership is $25,000 initiation fee. To our knowledge, no one got fired because it was only women (and you KNOW how they are) got upset. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . In Oshawa, Ontario, citizens rose up and protested the release under bond of Michael Kobylanski, 20, charged with the rape and near-fatal beating of a 14-year-old girl. The girl remains in a coma and is in critical but stable condition. Here is another case where the law hasn't caught up with medical science. In the old days, the girl would have died (no intervenous feeding, etc.) and the man would have been tried for murder. Now, the girl can be kept "alive" for years, decades even if the rapist can talk a judge into it, and after serving a few months for assault, the guy is out walking around trying to rape other women while his young victim ages as a vegetable. As with the above case of a man infecting a woman with AIDS, new laws have to be enacted to cover murders when the death of the victims extends over long periods of time. Life in prison without a chance of parole until the victims' death and then the death penalty should be invoked. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Claire Davies, 28, and Mhairi Logan, 23, donned wetsuits, swam up the Clyde River in England and entered the Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine HMS Sceptre through its main hatch and climbed down the ladder into the control room. The women claim they wandered around the control room and the captain's cabin before being stopped by a sailor. They were released from jail just before they were to face breach of the peace charges and may or may not face other charges. The women were protesting the presence of nuclear vessels. All those stalwart, highly trained square jawed military masculists who complain about women not having upper body strength and defeated by a couple of small birds with BRAINS. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . Jeannette and Cecily Provaux-Moorefield, a lesbian couple, are the mothers of triplets. Cecily bore the three babies - two boys and a girl - but the children were formed from Jeannette's eggs. While male gay "authorities" are saying that lesbian parenting is new, no one seems to be asking lesbians who are probably mothers at just a slightly lesser rate than heterosexual women - many of course having married men, had children, and found their true affectional direction later. Because there is no equivalent way for gay men to become parents, gay organizations are not always in favor of lesbian motherhood. Although there's a lot of talk as to the whys of the seemingly larger number of lesbian mothers, the Family Research Council and many lesbians maintain, that there is nothing new to the trend except visibility. Some sleep around until they get pregnant. Other use a sperm bank, mainly to avoid custody battles. The Sperm Bank of California, known as friendly to lesbian clients, estimates that 400 of its 650 customers in 1995 were lesbians. As far as charges that the lesbians will raise homosexuals, one might note that most homosexuals have been raised by heterosexuals. Of course, the sperm banks are also being used by "straight" businesswomen who don't want to be weighed down with husbands but still want children. . . . . . . . ^c^c^ . . . . . . . The correct FDA approved dosage for the morning after abortifacient is: 2 Wyeth's Ovral or 4 tablets of Wyeth's Nordette, Lo/Ovral or Triphasil or Berlex Laboratories Levlen or Tri-Levlen and then take the same, second dosage exactly 12 hours later. Nausea occurs in some cases. Vomiting, which is RARE, will prevent it from working so take an antiemetic (antinausea) medication such as Dramamine with the pills. This method must be used within 24-72 hours of the intercourse. Later than that a more complex method is necessary. The Emergency Contraception (EC or Morning After Pill). Their number is 1-800-584-9911. They are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and will refer you to the nearest place to get EC. EC has a website (http://opr.princeton.edu/ec/ec.html. EC hotline has information about emergency contraception and have a directory of more that 1800 clinicians willing to prescribe emergency contraceptives. ....................... * ........................ 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 up to three times a week. This is NOT an interactive discussion net but an exchange of information. Catt's Claws 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. Copyright 1996, Irene Stuber. PO Box 6185, Hot Springs, AR 71902.<<<< Proofread by kturcott. Our thanks.