Coming February 6, 2024 . . .
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
Coming February 6, 2024 . . . MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
By Tracy McVeigh, guardian.co.uk, 7 July 2012
Campaigners have attacked a "war on women" being waged by religious organisations before an international summit on family planning to be held in London this week.
[....] This weekend Melinda French Gates, the wife of the Microsoft founder and one of the world's richest women, tried to deflect controversy around the summit. In an interview to be broadcast on CNN on Sunday, she said giving women better access to contraception had become her lifetime's work.
Gates, who is a practising Catholic, has been targeted by religious groups, which have described her mission as a "blatant attack on morality" and an elitist effort at population control.
In response Gates said the lack of family planning available to 210 million women was "a crime". She added: "We made birth control and contraceptives way too political in the US. I think if people understood that 200 million women want this around the world they would start to say, 'OK that makes sense.'" [....]
Comments
Gates' comment sounds naive, especially being Catholic - of course people will deny contraception makes sense, just like they'll deny the earth goes around the sun. That's how it became political in the US. Even as contraception lowers the need for abortion, many people aren't actually after that goal - they just think sex is immoral and have a bizarre anti-planning attitude of anything around sex.
But glad she's sponsoring this. I'd guess at least half of the women receiving contraception will go on to have kids - but when they can afford them, take care of them, fit them into a healthy lifestyle. Certainly not at 12 years old. The Guardian had a related article about contraception in Nepal - a somewhat backward state that exclaims "but we're not Afghanistan"- they are able to discuss their issues and push forward real effective contraception programs. I don't know what all the hurdles in Africa are, though I'd guess improving injectable contraception to once per 6 months will help a lot.
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 07/08/2012 - 6:12pm
I like that she's continuing with Margaret Sanger's vision and I like that she's doing it as a practicsing Catholic. It's a twofer--you get an up yours to the old farts at the Vatican with this one. She's following the real faith: human dignity for every baptized Eve as well as Adam. I'm a lapsed for many reasons and have no plans to go back, but I still think Humanae Vitae is a terrible and faulty aberration in their thinking no different than the persecution of Galileo that they will regret (ie, the "infallible" didn't think twice about approving use of antibiotics which likewise could be said to artificially intervene with "God's will," likewise they have never approved baptism and last rights over toilets for early miscarriages of fertilized eggs but made up some shit about limbo to cover up the problem!) That it's coming from her might even get them thinking, ya never know. While they have a habit of treating lowly nuns and others of poverty and low station in this manner: "sit down, shut up and listen ," for a millenia and a half, they have also shown mysterious attraction to hear out the thoughts and passions of wealthy and accomplished devout members (despite Christ's teachings about camels and eyes of needles.)
by artappraiser on Sun, 07/08/2012 - 10:36pm
by artappraiser on Thu, 07/12/2012 - 10:12am