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quench zine

• August 21, 2008
• 18:17

  "Homonausic"

   » ‎ quench zine
  I know I'm a little late (ie, several years) in posting this video, but I think it is pretty hilarious and worth a replay. From The Daily Show:
  

  Florida State Representative candidate Ed Heeney has issues with talented, pool playing lesbos stealing all the straight women in Fort Lauderdale.

  
  
• August 18, 2008
• 12:56

  Weird Moments in Horror: the Glorious Girl Army of the Free Women's Republic of Somaliland

   » ‎ quench zine
  I've just been rereading the Monster series of zombie horror novels - Monster Island, Monster Nation, Monster Planet - and I re-encountered one of the most unusual things I've ever found in a horror piece: the Glorious Girl Army of the Free Women's Republic of Somaliland.

  There are several things that make the Glorious Girl Army of the Free Women's Republic of Somaliland unique. First, the book notes that the places with the most per capita gun possession would best survive a zombie holocaust. This means Somalia, which hasn't had a government in 20 years, would essentially shake off zombies like they never rose from the dead while the First World nations just get eaten.

  Second, the plot is put into motion because the leader of the Glorious Girl Army of the Free Women's Republic of Somaliland, "Mama Halima", needs HIV drugs. Third, Mama Halima's group is an Islamic group formed to protect women from rape, murder and mutilation. One woman comments that she'd wade into post-Apocalyptic New York City - home to 10 million cannibalistic corpses - just to help Mama Halima because the eminent shaikhah protected girls from suffering infibulation like she had.

  It's not earthshaking, but I thought that it was unusual for people of colour to surface in horror, never mind non-English-speakers. The main character is a white American male former UN employee whose (half-Kenyan) daughter was taken and protected by Mama Halima and in return has to fetch her HIV meds.

• August 14, 2008
• 8:33

  Olympic Gymnasts and Age

   » ‎ quench zine

  "It's a bike race. A completely arbitrary set of rules that everyone complies with, for no other reason than that some committee says that they should."
  
  - House, Season 2, Episode 6

  
  I've been thinking a lot about the recent controversy over the ages of the Chinese women's gymnastics team. Gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi has alleged that up to half the team is underage and the New York Times published an article at the end of July alleging that previous Chinese state records showed the ages of several gymnasts to be as young as 13 or 14, under the required minimum age of 16. The NBC commentators have brought up the age controversy during coverage of almost every women's gymnasts event.
  
  I think it's interesting to see the way that people are reacting to the accusations, both online and in NBC's coverage. Here's an example of the a blog discussion on the subject. There are also interesting ethical questions, since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has refused to investigate the situation further, even after the publication of the Times article, and questions raised by journalists, because the Chinese government supplied passports where the girls' ages were all above 16.
  
  Personally, I agree with Cameron from House. That's the point of a sport. It's a set of rules that everyone agrees to follow. If some teams don't follow, the sport falls apart, and it's not a sport anymore - it's just cheating. If the girls are all actually 16, fine. If they're not, they are illegally competing in the Olympics.
  
  The real question is, what can be done about it? Bela Karolyi has said that the only solution is to remove the minimum age requirement, allowing all countries to use younger gymnasts, who many think have an advantage due to their small size and lack of fear. But if the goal of the minimum age rule is to protect young gymnasts from injury or exploitation, then do the IOC and others have a responsibility to look into whether these young women are being exploited?
  
  Thoughts?
  
  Also, on a lighter note, what is Michael Phelps listening to on his iPod, and where can I get some of it?
• July 30, 2008
• 8:00

  CNN Tries to Deal with Gender and Olympics... Ends up Being Awkward.

   » ‎ quench zine
  Let's look at "things that are awkward..." again.
  "Olympians tested for gender." Including great lines discussing how some men might have been used in women's games because the countries "really, really, really, really wanted to win." Or just the general sense of awkwardness. Or the suggestion that they should just "look under the hood."
  The best part is that the first half is about gender, and they are MAD awkward. Then the second half is about a guy who shot a lawnmower, and they are so comfortable talking about that. Wtf?
• July 26, 2008
• 4:54

  The National Erection

   » ‎ quench zine
  There can be no doubt that this is one of the most amusing protest actions I've seen in my entire life. It beats even my favourite Code:Pink one where they painted an entire tank bright pink.

  Seriously.

  This was originally posted on Cambridge Common in May, but I reckon I didn't see it.

• July 25, 2008
• 21:18

  Rep. Sally Kern Caught with Gun at State Capitol

   » ‎ quench zine
  Oh my god, seriously, this post almost writes itself.
  

  
  OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma lawmaker who made headlines in March for her comments regarding homosexuals was stopped from bringing a gun into the state Capitol on Wednesday, troopers said.

  
  
  But Rep. "Homosexuals are a bigger threat than terrorists" Kern wants to reassure you that her inappropriate gun-toting "has nothing to do with the homosexual situation." (Good to know that, for once, The Gays aren't to blame!)
  
  Apparently, she was just in such a rush to get inside the Capitol building that she just plumb forgot to take the handgun out of her purse. Whoopsie!
  
  I mean, it could happen to anyone, right?
  
  

  The incident Wednesday is the second time in two months that Kern has been stopped with a weapon at the Capitol. In early June, troopers said, Kern breached security and entered the Capitol with a weapon. [...]
  
  She stressed that in both cases it was merely a matter of forgetting that she had the weapon.

  
  
  Oh. Okay, then. As RAGING HOMO Oscar Wilde once said, "To lose one parent bring a gun into a government building once may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both do it twice looks like carelessness a Thing That Is Awkward."
  
  
  OMG. I hereby pronounce Rep. Kern an official, Hollywood-league, train wreck. All that's left are the nude photos and the rehab.
• 20:04

  QWOC Week (Queer Women of Color)

   » ‎ quench zine
  An update from Queer Women of Color! August 4-10 is QWOC Week: details below.
  ---
  

  QWOC Week - a once very distant dream - is finally happening in Boston! Mark your calendars and put in those day-off requests because we're putting together an incredible lineup of events.

  Visit www.qwocboston.org/Events.html to view the entire schedule, but most importantly, spread the word. We're calling LGBTQ people of color from far and wide to come on down to Beantown and celebrate with us. Going Boston link.

  If you're interested in volunteering, email to volunteerqwocboston.org stating
  your interest (in any specific event, if you choose).

  We have a wonderful group of volunteers working on the events but could use more planning, promoting and admin help.

  You ready, people? It's time to paint the city in purple! Don't you think it would be cool to see it everywhere that week? Yeah, it can't be found as easily as other colors, and not everyone has it in their closet cause it doesn't "go" with everything. But, that's what's been said about LGBTQ people of color, too... Seems fitting.

  Happy Purple Pride everyone!

• July 16, 2008
• 14:45

  ... and now some GOOD news!

   » ‎ quench zine
  I know it's been an inordinately long time since I've posted here, but this is exciting enough that I'll forget about being bashful.
  
  Today, during its debate about the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Senate effectively approved a measure to end the Federal ban on HIV-positive people entering the country. The ban has been in place since 1987, when the late Jesse Helms got it passed during a peak of homophobic AIDS-related hysteria. The ban has always had a disproportionate effect on queer people, since straight foreign nationals married to US citizens can get an HIV-ban waiver based on their marital status.
  
  There's still a few more votes before the whole PEPFAR bill gets approved by both houses, and the Federal government will still be able to restrict entry into the country based on HIV status, but discretion as to whether or not HIV is "of public health significance" will be transferred to the Dept. of Health and Human Services. Right now, HIV is the only medical condition in the Immigration and Nationality Act that makes a foreign national inadmissible to the US. The public health experts at HHS, who have pushed for loosening these restrictions in the past, are far less likely than Jesse Helms to single out HIV (for which transmission is easily preventable) as a reason for inadmissibility.
  
  In other words, a bad and regressive law is being repealed, with practical consequences for foreign nationals with HIV, as well as more general symbolic significance, since a major codification of homophobic discrimination is being thrown away.
  
  Immigration Equality is following this on their blog. Andrew Sullivan surely will be, too.
• July 11, 2008
• 17:57

  Herald outdoes itself with transphobic article

   » ‎ quench zine
  This latest article has to be something record-setting even for the awfulness of the Herald. Warning: it's horrific. Undercover ‘john’ takes on trannies, pimps.

  I'm not smart enough to dissect this article right now, so please... hack the Herald article into tiny pieces, then we'll all mail them to the paper.

  EDIT

  Here's the contact information for the Herald.

  Please contact the Boston Herald and call on them to issue an apology. Tell them that they are failing to meet basic standards of journalistic integrity and that they must remove the defamatory terminology and references from the article.

  Boston Herald Contacts:
  Jessica Van Sack
  City Reporter
  jvansack@bostonherald.com
  (617) 619-6437

  Joe Dwinell
  City Executive Co-Editor
  jdwinell@bostonherald.com
  (617) 619-6177

  Kevin Convey
  Editor in Chief
  kconvey@bostonherald.com
  (617) 619-6403

• 13:26

  The Internets Has the Future

   » ‎ quench zine
  Mildly NSFW (language) "Macdonald's brunch hack". Let the lulz flow forth.

  Thanks, bOING-bOING!