The Agonist - Global

A Lesser Species - Part 11

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:21:38 -0800

The Prostitute

To write about the prostitute is akin to engaging in a discussion about the psychological condition of a split personality. Except, in this case, the split is not in one person but rather, in the sexual nature of an entire gender as expressed by the different expectations of a wife and a prostitute. This unnatural duality is a measure of how female sexuality has been ripped apart, distorted and used to subjugate and denigrate women with the prostitute being the lesser of a lesser species. The principal function of the prostitute woman is to sexually please the male any time and in any shape or form without reciprocity; that is the raison d'être of her existence. Her soul and spirituality have been extracted from her sexual nature that is often equated with vileness. In other words, her sexuality is dead; she is a mere vesicle, a cavity, a hole for the male to masturbate into.

Conversely, the sexuality of a woman who is molded to become a wife is stunted and is insecure in its expression as it is required to follow society’s strict rules as to when and how it can manifest itself – at times therefore, her sexual nature is also forced to be dead. This creates great confusion, feelings of guilt, and extreme frustration within the female as her sex drive is constant and strong and is not attached to a dimmer switch that can adjust it and turn it on or off. Both culturally induced aspects of the sexual female have been used to divide women into good and bad and to pit them against each other - all in the name of paternity. Rather than giving equal responsibility to both genders to ensure paternity, patriarchy selfishly chose, through the use of brute force, to make women the sole gatekeepers. Thus, it created the prostitute.

Part 1 can be read here

Ukraine says Russia halts all gas to Europe

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:25:08 -0800

David Jolly & Andrew E. Kramer | Paris | Jan 7

IHT - All gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine were shut down Wednesday as the pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine escalated.

The Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz on Wednesday accused Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, of halting all transshipments at 7:44 a.m.

But in Berlin, Aleksandr Medvedev, Gazprom's deputy chief executive, told journalists that it was Naftogaz, the Ukrainian company, that had closed a fourth pipeline.

"Unfortunately, the situation is continuing to deteriorate," Reuters quoted Medvedev as saying. "Yesterday night, Ukraine completely shut down all export pipelines to Europe via Ukraine."

The shutdown left Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Romania with no Russian gas supplies amid a bitter cold snap. European Union countries have access to some other sources of gas — including Russian gas from other pipelines, and gas produced in Britain, Norway and the Netherlands — but the loss of the Ukrainian pipeline puts the EU under pressure to push for a solution.

Tolerating prostitution is tolerating abuse and torture of women and children.

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:53:49 -0800

One of The Agonist's regular posters has the subject line above as her tag line.

New Zealand, as you may know, has a year or three ago legalised prostitution.

Nay sayers predicted a flood of Bad Things ranging from getting swamped by foreign prostitutes, moral collapse, disease, etc, etc.

No such thing happened, nothing changed, no increase in girls on the street, no influx, nothing except that now the girls had police protection.

Not perfect protection mind you, it is obviously a hazardous profession.

I invite you to search the Google for the murder of "mallory manning" sometimes spelled "mellory manning".

Obama's Justice nominees signal end of Bush terror tactics

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:19:28 -0800

Greg Gordon | Washington | January 5

McClatchy - In filling four senior Justice Department positions Monday, President-elect Barack Obama signaled that he intends to roll back Bush administration counterterrorism policies authorizing harsh interrogation techniques, warrantless spying and indefinite detentions of terrorism suspects.

The most startling shift was Obama's pick of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen to take charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, the unit that's churned out the legal opinions that provided a foundation for expanding President George W. Bush's national security powers.

Venezuela Ends U.S. Heating Aid

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:15:15 -0800

Steven Mufson | Jan 6

WaPo - With sagging oil prices putting pressure on its own budget, the government of Venezuela has ended its three-year-old, $100 million program providing home heating-oil assistance for poor Americans in 23 states.

The Venezuelan aid, given through the state-owned oil company's Citgo Petroleum subsidiary, had helped provide heating oil to about 200,000 low-income people, including many in Maryland, Virginia and the District.

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Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:24:07 -0800

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A tale of two books

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:40:20 -0800

The pictures of vanity and part two of the same article the oxford project.

New Norway law bans buying of sex

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:05:13 -0800

Jan 1

BBC - A new law has come into force in Norway making the purchase of sex illegal.

Norwegian citizens caught paying for prostitutes at home or abroad could face a hefty fine or a six-month prison sentence, authorities say.

The prison sentence could be extended to three years in cases of child prostitution.

The Norwegian authorities say they want to stamp out sex tourism and street prostitution by targeting clients rather than prostitutes. more here

Russia sharply reduces gas supplies to Ukraine

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:57:44 -0800

Dmitry Zhdannikov & Sabina Zawadzki/ Reuters | Jan 1

The Independent - Russia sharply reduced gas supplies to neighbouring Ukraine today after a row over unpaid bills and prices, raising the spectre of supply disruptions to the European Union.

European Union states are anxious to avoid a repeat of a January 2006 row when Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine causing a brief fall in gas supplies to some European customers.

Moscow and Kiev say they will honour their contracts to supply gas to European customers, who analysts say have enough reserves to manage without Russian supplies for days, but not weeks.

Russian state controlled gas giant, Gazprom, ordered its pumping station on one of the pipeline routes to Ukraine to halt gas supplies on Thursday, Russian state television reported.

In a live broadcast from the pumping station near Russia's border with Ukraine, Vesti-24 television station said Gazprom headquarters in Moscow had ordered the cut-off, and the volume of gas flowing to Ukraine was four times below the normal level. related post here

2009 beyond earth, beyond the solar system, verily to the ends of the universe

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:35:46 -0800

_{Photograph via Seedmagazine courtesy of the IYA2009 as part of the global "From Earth to the Universe" exhibit.}
The International Year of Astronomy is a global celebration commemorating Galileo's first telescopic explorations of night sky and Kepler's publishing of Astronomia Nova. More than 135 countries will be participating in 2009, hosting events that seek to reconnect people around the world with the unique sense of discovery felt by Galileo and Kepler four centuries ago.

click here to enlarge pic

Best Complaint Letter Evah

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:18:43 -0800

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

more after the jump :D

Ukrainian Premier Yulia Timoshenko travels to Moscow in gas dispute

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:56:49 -0800

Moscow | Dec 31

DPA - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will fly to Moscow on Wednesday in last-gasp talks to avoid gas cuts to Ukraine ahead of a midnight deadline set by Gazprom for the settlement of a 2-billion-dollar debt.

'The embassy confirms that Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is coming to Moscow on Wednesday for the final stage of the negotiations over Gazprom issues,' Interfax news agency quoted Ukraine's embassy in Moscow as saying.

She will be accompanied by Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuri Prodan, the agency said.

Timoshenko's visit was announced after a possible breakthrough came in the standoff late Tuesday, raising hopes of avoiding the gas cuts and smoothing the flow of supplies to Europe.

Gazprom, once mighty, is reeling

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:38:35 -0800

Andrew E. Kramer | Moscow | Dec 30

IHT/NYT - A year ago, Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly, aspired to be the largest corporation in the world. Buoyed by high oil prices and political backing from the Kremlin, it had already achieved third place judging by market capitalization, behind Exxon Mobil and General Electric.

Today, Gazprom is deep in debt and negotiating a government bailout. Its market cap, the total value of all the company's shares, has fallen 76 percent since the beginning of the year. Instead of becoming the world's largest company, it has tumbled to 35th place. And while bailouts are increasingly common, none of Gazprom's big private sector competitors in the West is looking for one.

That Russia's largest state-run energy company needs a bailout so soon after oil hit record highs last summer is a telling postscript to a turbulent period. Once the emblem of the pride and the menace of a resurgent Russia, Gazprom has become a symbol of this oil state's rapid economic decline.

Backyard reactors? Firms shrink the nukes.

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:27:29 -0800

Mark Clayton | Dec 30

CSM -

Hundreds of miles from the nearest power plant, the roughly 700 residents of Galena, Alaska, depend on costly generator-supplied electricity for their homes.

But now, they want to go nuclear.

No, not a traditional hulking nuclear power plant. That would be far too big. Instead, town leaders have signed up for what some call a “pocket nuke” or “nuclear battery” that produces just 10 megawatts – about 1 percent of the energy an average nuclear plant generates.

Japanese manufacturer Toshiba has told the town it will install its new “4S” (Super-safe, small, and simple) reactor free of charge by 2012.

The unit, which would be buried about 100 feet underground, would only have to be refueled every 30 years or so. A turbine station would sit above the reactor, turning heat from the reactor into electricity.

Interest in pocket nuclear plants is growing among developing countries and island nations, advocates say. Like solar and wind power, a pocket nuke is a modular, carbon-free power source. Unlike those other energy sources, it would generate power 24/7 and at a fraction of the cost of a diesel generator, they say.

At least two other companies – Hyperion Power Generation of Sante Fe, N.M., and NuScale Power of Corvallis, Ore. – are also planning mini nuclear power plants. Hyperion says its $25 million “hot tub”-size reactor could be transported by ship, rail, or truck.

Community Gardens Contribute to Food Security

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:44:10 -0800

Stephanie Nieuwoudt | Cape Town | Dec 29

IPS - A few years ago 66-year-old grandmother Regina Fhiceka and her family of five ate vegetables only once a week. They would survive on maize and bread the rest of the time -- the cheapest food available in the poor township of Philippi, just 15 minutes from the affluent business district of Cape Town.

But then Fhiceka got to hear about a municipal project where people were encouraged to get together to establish community gardens.

"I knew a few of the other women in the community who had started their own backyard gardens where we were growing small amounts of vegetables. We asked the local social worker to help us obtain a bigger piece of land. We filled out the necessary application documents and the local department of agriculture made a piece of municipal land available to us."

Fhiceka and five other women were given land on the outskirts of Philippi where 150,000 people live in squalid conditions. After a few months, Fhiceka’s group had an abundance of vegetables, including tomatoes, cabbage, carrots and beans, and they started selling the surplus.

"I had no choice. I had to start farming because I had no money to buy vegetables from the shops. I also realized that if we farmed as a group, we would have more than enough food to eat and that we could generate an income from selling the rest."