From Anita David, artist living in Iraq
Hi,
I hope spring is as beautiful in Chicago as it is here. It's green and the weather is just fine, more than fine. I am fine. This is the best feeling I've had on team since Baghdad. Nothing is settled but I'm not worried.
We completed a non-violence/reconciliation training for 25 people. Worked out very well. We were invited to present the training in their homes in Tikrit, Mosul, Salahadin province, Diala province, Kirkuk. Cannot happen as these are some of the most dangerous places in Iraq. Blank stares and then laughter when we asked about security.
The Fight Stuff by Susan Faludi
Notable in the Indiana and North Carolina primary results and in many recent polls are signs of a change in the gender weather: white men are warming to Hillary Clinton--at least enough to vote for her. Its no small shift. These men have historically been her fiercest antagonists. Their converstion may point less to a new kind of male voter than to a new kind of female vote-getter.
Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction
Dear Broads,
Who knew there was a prise for women's fiction named for us? Except it should be pink instead of orange. An American, three Britons and two Canadians made the shortlist on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, an annual award for works by women published in Britain in the past year. The winner of the prize, worth $59,000, will be announced on June 4th.
Anita David, Artist, in Iraq
Amman's urban sprawl continues into the desert - a rare plot of green here and there - but for the most it's desert and rocks. On the side of the road is a man with a cell phone to his ear and his back to the highway. We stop at a gas station and the gas has a different smell. Driving along again. A man has stopped to pee against a rock out crop. More hills and surprise, surprise, orchards. But where is the water? We hit truck traffic. "Long Vehicle", in English, a sign hangs at the rear of two trucks. Desert and telephone lines.
More on Feminism, or Postfeminism?
In this article, "Students of Virginity," by Randall Patterson, the abstinence movement is repositioned as feminist: "'I am an unconventional feminist,' Fredell says, in the sense that she asserts control by choosing not to have sex--by telling men no, absolutely not...In the Ivy League, abstinence is A. Philosophical, B. Research-based, C. An outgrowth of feminism, D. Sexy and fun, E.