Mar 31
Camera traps set up in Utah’s Great Basin Desert have captured unprecedented behavior showing a badger burying an entire cow by itself. Incredibly, the buried carcass was able to sustain the badger for months.
Mar 31
Ever wonder why your photos never turn out as amazing those posted by your favorite Instagrammer? There’s probably a lot of post-processing happening in Photoshop you don’t see. But instead of poking at sliders for an hour, computer scientists want to make it incredibly easy for even amateur photographers to achieve…
Mar 31
If lawmakers have their way, police in one US state could soon be using drones as lethal weapons against the citizens they’re supposed to protect. On Thursday, Connecticut’s judiciary committee approved a new drone regulation bill that, if passed, would make it the first state in the union to let cops use deadly…
Mar 31
'They Don't Care About Any Poor People': Little Miss Flint Talks About Her City's Water Crisis
Posted in: Today's Chili
Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny is Little Miss Flint. She is 9 years old and lives in Flint, MI. She told me that in her free time she likes to “go on Twitter or just play with my toys or just lay down in bed, read, and play with my dollhouse, and color and draw and cheer.” She hasn’t been able to drink the water from the…
Mar 31
Out Profiles 4 Queer Women To Examine Power Of Storytelling In Era Of Trump
Posted in: Today's ChiliFour queer women got candid about their personal experiences in a shifting America for Out magazine’s “Storytellers” edition.
Actress Ellen Page, author Janet Mock, “Transparent” creator Jill Soloway and Huffington Post editor-in-chief Lydia Polgreen are featured on four unique covers of the May issue. Inside, each of the women speak at length about their coming out journeys, and the lingering challenges of identifying as queer in 2017.
“If you’re a woman, a person of color, or queer, you always have to step around white, hetero patriarchy to be accepted,” Soloway, 51, said. “What happens when you’re always attempting to get access to the culture makers and not actually giving birth to the culture? What does that do to our sense of self? That’s what it felt like for me as an 8-year-old girl in the classroom looking at all the presidents, being like, ‘Man, man, man.’ It’s similar for people of color: ‘White, white, white.’ It’s such a shattering feeling for a child. There is no story to explain why you’re ‘less than.’ You just are.”
Mock echoed those sentiments, recalling the concerns she had about the impact that identifying as transgender would have on her career. “I was scared that if I came out, I would only ever be able to tell trans stories. And a part of that is kind of true because we don’t allow marginalized folk—whether they’re queer or LGBT, or folk of color—to tell any stories other than their personal ones,” Mock said. Moving forward, she would like more conservative Americans would be exposed to her inclusive message. “I can guarantee you that my book is not going to be on the front bookshelves at the Barnes & Noble in the South, in these rural places,” she said. “They’re going to choose not to carry my book because they’re going to say this black trans girl’s book is not going to resonate with our audience—[who won’t] even have the chance to walk across the shelf and see it. Yes, the material exists, the story exists, the show exists, but certain people will never have access to it.”
Page, 30, recalled on her decision to open up about her sexuality publicly for the first time at a Human Rights Campaign event in 2014. “In subtle ways and not-so-subtle ways what you’re told: You can’t come out. I was wearing dresses and heels and all these things that I’m not comfortable in,” she said. “How absurd to think that, Oh, you’re not gay because you’re wearing dresses and heels. But that’s what it comes down to. I look back now and I almost feel shame for having that fear.” As for her 2015 confrontation with then-presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, she noted, “I wanted to just try to engage and even have a bit of a conversation or bring some connection to it. But, yeah, I just feel like there’s a dismissiveness and an unwillingness to actually answer the question.”
Polgreen, meanwhile, shared how her experience as an outsider is shaping her vision for The Huffington Post. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the emergence of a president backed by a white-power ideology came after two terms of an African-American president,” Polgreen, who succeeded HuffPost founder Arianna Huffington in December 2016, said. “I’d love HuffPost to be the place where the real conversation is happening about who gets to define what it is to be an American, and what the real America is. My goal is to be the place where the real America is.”
Head here to read more from Out magazine’s “Storytellers” issue.
For the latest in LGBTQ news, check out the Queer Voices newsletter.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Mar 31
If you find yourself out and about this afternoon and decide you’re in the mood for some classic video game action, Google Maps has you covered. In anticipation of April Fools Day, Google has dropped its very own version of Ms. Pac-Man into Google Maps, allowing you to play the famous arcade title using real-world maps as the playing field. … Continue reading
Mar 31
The United States on Friday sanctioned 11 North Koreans and one North Korean company for their links to the country’s weapons programs, banks and commodities trade, the U.S. Treasury said.
It said the people were working as agents of North Korea’s government in Russia, China, Vietnam and Cuba to provide financial support or help procure weapons for previously sanctioned companies.
“Today’s sanctions are aimed at disrupting the networks and methods that the Government of North Korea employs to fund its unlawful nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “I urge our partners and allies to take similar measures to cut off its funding.”
Friday’s actions by the administration of President Donald Trump do not represent a major ramp-up in North Korea sanctions and were issued under authorities established by former presidents George W. Bush, a Republican, and Barack Obama, a Democrat.
Two North Koreans based in China and one North Korean based in Cuba were blacklisted for ties to Korea Ryonbong General Corporation, a previously sanctioned company that “specializes in acquisition for North Korean defense industries and support to Pyongyang’s military-related sales,” the statement said.
Another worked for a North Korean trading company in Dalian, China, the U.S. Treasury said.
It said six North Koreans based in Vietnam, China and Russia were sanctioned for their ties to North Korean banks.
One person on the sanctioned list worked as a North Korean government official who was trying to establish a cargo shipping route between North Korea and Vietnam, Treasury said.
The U.S. measures on Friday block any property those on the sanctions list may have in the United States and bar Americans from dealing with them.
The Trump administration is considering sweeping sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system in order to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threat, as well as increased pressure on Chinese banks and firms that do business with North Korea. The administration is conducting a broad review of North Korea policy, expected to be completed in coming weeks.
(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; editing by Grant McCool)
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Mar 31
Cancel all of your plans: Netflix is dropping some dope movies and shows this April.
Throughout the month, the streaming service will release binge-worthy titles featuring black characters. And we can’t wait. From the classic “Cool Runnings” to the premiere season of “Dear White People,” these features will keep you entertained all month long.
April 1
”Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin’”
“Boy Bye”
April 4
“Chewing Gum” (Season 2)
April 7
“The Get Down” (Part 2)
April 11
April 14
April 25
April 28
“Dear White People” (Season 1)
You know where to find us all month long.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Mar 31
Netflix’s first big animated movie will be R-rated ‘America: The Motion Picture’
Posted in: Today's Chili
Netflix has some episodic animated hits, such as BoJack Horseman, and now it is preparing to offer its first major animated movie: America: The Motion Picture. This animation will be rated ‘R’ and will feature Channing Tatum as the voice behind George Washington, the movie’s lead role. The movie is said to feature a ‘revisionist history’ storyline. Not much is … Continue reading
Mar 31
The Internet is on fire after an in-depth Washington Post profile of Vice President Mike Pence’s wife, Karen Pence. The article revealed that Pence explained, in 2002, that unless he is with his wife, he won’t eat alone with a woman or attend an event where alcohol is served, a spin on what evangelicals call the “Billy Graham Rule.” Twitter threads and think pieces have abounded. “Mike Pence’s ‘Billy Graham Rule’ has Internet yelling sexism,” blared a USAToday headline that could have read, but didn’t, “Mike Pence’s ‘Billy Graham Rule’ is sexist.”
What a luxury it is for a man to decide he can’t, and doesn’t have to, be unchaperoned in the presence of a woman who might be an evil temptress out to destroy him. And what a serious problem for women.
This quiet informal rule isn’t only a matter of Pence’s private life, but of his professional life and public policy. It is, if still true, ridiculous and a good illustration of the absurdity women have to put up with regularly. As Mother Jones’ Clara Jeffrey tweeted, “Would Pence dine with Theresa May? Angela Merkel? What, if he were to become POTUS, with female VP candidates?” Someone then asked her, “What sort of bosses have you had that required you to dine with them alone?” to which she replied, “I am the boss.”
In May 2015, Sarah Mimms wrote a lengthy Atlantic piece titled, Why Some Male Members of Congress Won’t Be Alone with Female Staffers. The starting point for her article was an anonymous survey of female staffers conducted by National Journal. Women aides described the many ways in which men who adhere to the Graham Rule left them out of meetings and professionally relevant recreational activities. The “never alone with a woman” rule makes it difficult for these women to do their jobs, become part of their workplace cultures and compete effectively for promotions.
One woman worked for a man for twelve years during which time he “never took a closed door meeting with me.” His refusal to meet with her “made sensitive and strategic discussions extremely difficult.” Male coworkers witnessed knowledgeable senior women being barred from key meetings. “I’d say, ‘she has more experience, this isn’t my area,’” reported one staffer. “They’d still say, ‘we need you to staff him tonight.’” Women who came forward in the survey would not share their names or the names of their employers for fear of retribution.
The Graham rule is based on two ideas, both of which reflect deeply impoverished views of human nature, debase men and impose real restrictions on girls and women.
One is that men are little better than animals who cannot control themselves and, so, can’t, ultimately, be held accountable. I have often heard men like Pence openly describe not hiring capable women because they might find them attractive, distracting and, from a marital perspective, disruptive. This equation was central to a 2013 Iowa Supreme Court case in which the all-male court reaffirmed the firing of a woman because she was too pretty and her employer viewed her as an “irresistible attraction.” In 2010, a woman sued Citibank for firing her for being “distracting” to the men in her office. The same ideas are the stuff that dress code enforcements that penalize girls and women for having the audacity to live in their bodies are made of. Men can and do control themselves. Predicating life on the idea that men can’t control themselves is a pillar of sexist discrimination.
Which brings us to the second idea, that in this world view women are understood in terms of their functionality to men, not ends in themselves but as means to children or sex. Either women are fulfilling a reproductive mandate or they are sex objects and temptresses. These assumptions might be among the most unifying shared by Pence and Donald Trump whose attitudes about women’s instrumentality appear to be the same. Pence is a man who calls his wife “mother” and Trump is one who sees all women through the filter of his sexual pleasure and violability, including, shamelessly, his own daughter. If you ever wondered what a walking/talking Madonna/Whore complex looks like you’d be hard pressed to find a better example than the dynamic duo currently in the White House
The fact that so many are eager to practice, tolerate or defend the acceptability of Pence’s “private” decision is a reminder of much deeper and less obvious issues that are rarely addressed as sexist. Gender essentialists are not just uncomfortable with women in the workplace, but actually hostile to them, particularly women in leadership roles. They can talk a good game and trot out sparkly loophole women, but they are measurably disinclined to create or enforce policies that help women achieve equality in the workplace. (For a good corky read: “Marriage Structure and Resistance to the Gender Revolution in the Workplace).
While conservatives like nothing more but to explain that women in the United States have achieved equality and should that we should consider ourselves lucky, the reality is that the United States, particularly under this administration, is a powerful reminder of how far women have yet to go.
There is no separating the fact that we are the most religious country in the industrialized world from the fact that we also have the worst record of institutionalized support for women working outside of the home. We are the only country among peer countries to have no mandated family friendly workplace policies, and the only one in which the percentage of women entering the workplace has been steadily declining for years. The entire economy is grounded in maintaining powerful fraternal orders reliant on women’s unpaid and low wage care and domestic work.
Today, women are still primarily responsible for children, do an average of two hours more unpaid work a week and make up three quarters of minimum wage workers. Thirty-nine percent of working mothers are sole providers for their families, compared to 43 percent of men, who are twice as likely to be making more than $50K and more than six times as likely to be making six-figure incomes. The top jobs in America for women today remain the same as half a century ago. They are jobs in which women support other people – administrative assistant, teacher, nurse – overwhelmingly men making more money and enjoying higher status. And the higher up you go in any organization in the country, the fewer women you will find because they remain, in culture and norms, fraternities. Fraternity is one of the most powerful obstacles to freedom and equality that women, including in the US, face today.
The idea that a man cannot be alone with a woman he is not married to is the essence of maintaining fraternity in the professional and political worlds. Despite women’s monumental gains in the workplace, and the notion that patriarchy is dead, women are the richer sex, and the end of men is nigh, women are stuck at 17 percent of leadership and management positions — in politics, entertainment, media, religion or corporate management. This is true even though we know that companies and countries with more equitable gender balanced management are, time and time again, demonstrably more productive and economically secure. Some people find it hard to come to terms with sexism, even as it’s grinding them into a fine powder.
Pence and his wife will do what they need to in order to safeguard their marriages, but let’ s not pretend that what they do is a strictly private matter. Pence’s marital arrangement is central to his proudly being part of the most white, most heterosexual, and most male administration of the past 40 years. It’s dishonest and destructive to suggest that the quality and pervasiveness of a politician’s practice of faith should be off limits or restricted to a tidy “culture war” box. The evanescent effects on the workplace of self-described religious beliefs like these make any statements about women’s equality moot in tangible, practical terms. Attitudes like his will keep women out of important roles in the White House and beyond.
We should be openly and publicly discussing the social, economic and political impacts and costs of Pence’s private religious beliefs on women’s political and social equality. God or not, call it what it is: sexism, plain and simple.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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