From the Internet Defense League:
“It was epic. While member sites broadcasted their support, we blasted our “cat signal” into the sky in cities around the world (on Batman’s opening night!)

Though the launch of a grassroots campaign to protect the Internet is worth celebrating, there’s nothing like an IRL event to feel the power of the Internet community. We had such a great time at the Internet Defense League launch parties that we thought we’d share a few highlights.”

You can still join this great group here. There’s now cool swag for donations including a mini cat signal.

Via The Philip DeFranco Show:
Will you still medal in the morning?
“Home to more than 10,000 athletes at the Summer Games and 2,700 at the Winter, the Olympic Village is one of the world’s most exclusive clubs. To join, prospective members need only have spectacular talent and — we long assumed — a chaste devotion to the most intense competition of their lives. But the image of a celibate Games began to flicker in ‘92 when it was reported that the Games’ organizers had ordered in prophylactics like pizza. Then, at the 2000 Sydney Games, 70,000 condoms wasn’t enough, prompting a second order of 20,000 and a new standing order of 100,000 condoms per Olympics.

(snip)

The challenge athletes face is what to do with their urges and when. “If you don’t have discipline, the village can be a huge distraction,” Solo admits. Some swear off sex until their events are done; others make it part of their pre-event routine. American shot-putter and silver and bronze medalist John Godina thought he’d seen it all in Atlanta: late-night hookups, friends disappearing for days at a time. But he hadn’t seen anything like the dorm room in Sydney he shared with a javelin thrower, which had instantly become a revolving door of women without backstories. “It’s like Vegas,” Godina explains. “You learn not to ask a lot of questions.” ”

There’s no real news to this story. It’s all just fun, juicy gossip about Olympians having sex. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

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From Common Dreams:
Pussy Riot Prosecutor Calls for 3-Year Jail Term: ‘Feminism Is a Mortal Sin’
“Russian prosecutors on Tuesday called for a three year jail term for three members of punk band Pussy Riot. Prosecutors accused the band members of insulting Russian Orthodoxy and posing a danger to society, after performing one of their songs in a Moscow cathedral. The defendants, however, argue that their song titled, “Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Out”, was not an act of religious hatred, but an act of political protest.

(snip)

“All the defendants talked about being feminists and said that is allowed in the Russian Orthodox church,” said Yelena Pavlova, a lawyer for several of the nine victims who said they were insulted by Pussy Riot’s performance. “This does not correspond with reality. Feminism is a mortal sin,” she said.”

I’m glad to see this story getting so much press. Three years in prison for singing a political song in a church? Damn. Let’s hope they’re found not guilty. As a proud feminist I find it offensive to call feminism a “mortal sin”. What an idiot.

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From Laughing Squid:
Half-Drag, Men’s Faces Half Made up as Their Female Alter Egos
“Half-Drag is a wonderful ongoing series by New York City-based photographer Leland Bobbé where men’s faces are half made up as their glamorous female alter egos. You can check out all of the images and make a donation to this non-commercial project at Bobbé’s website. ”

This is a great gallery. I’d love it if there was some day an accompanying drag king series as well.

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From Neatorama:
Penis Snake
“Biologist Juliano Tupan discovered a rare species of wee animal in the Amazon that looks quite happy to see him.

It’s an exciting discovery for science … and an arousing news for the Interweb who couldn’t stop giggling because the animal, named Atretochoana eiselti, looks just like a … ehm, penis.”

And it does look like a penis. Funny.

“All these gay guys in suits are here with their hags.” Awesome! Seriously, more activists need to get jobs at Chick-fil-A and do this. That would be epic.

From Out.com:
Meet Chaz the Intolerant Chick-fil-A Chicken
“Oh, Conan. How do we love you? Let us count the ways. Always ready to introduce some bizarre idea into a sketch on his show, the TV host has now introduced Chaz, the Intolerant Chick-fil-A Chicken as a response to all the hullabaloo over the faith-based fast food chain’s open intolerance toward marriage equality and homosexuality; and the Jim Henson Company’s decision to take its Muppet characters out of its kids’ meals.

As Coco explains in jest: “This has not stopped Chick-fil-A. They have just come out with a new puppet to spread the word about their delicious chicken sandwiches—and homophobia.”"

As a huge Muppet fan I couldn’t be happier about the Henson company ending it’s business relationship with Chick-fil-A. I like how the Conan show made the chicken look very Muppet like. The “eat up you godless sodomites” was my favorite line.

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From CBS:
Running mate revealed: Green Party running mate, that is
“On the day before the Green Party’s presidential nominating convention, presidential candidate Jill Stein revealed her running mate to CBS News exclusively: homeless activist Cheri Honkala.

“She leads one of the country’s largest multiracial, intergenerational movements led by people in poverty, fighting poverty, homelessness and foreclosures,” Stein told CBS news. Honkala, a mother of two, and the national coordinator for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, spent some of her days homeless. She ran for sheriff of Philadelphia on the Green Party line in 2011 and based her campaign on a platform of halting evictions.”

I had planned to vote Green last presidential election but once McCain picked Palin I decided to vote for Obama. With Obama signing the NDAA into law I’m not voting for him again. I’ve decided to vote third party and am thinking of going Green this year. Two female candidates…wouldn’t that be amazing if they actually won? A girl can dream.

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From Common Dreams:
Unrest in Anaheim Continues: Riot Police Arrest Protesters Outside of Disneyland
“Protesters continued to express outrage in Anaheim, Calif. on Sunday in the ninth consecutive day of protests following two fatal police shootings last week. Police once again exhibited a heavy handed response to the protests, arriving in paramilitary riot gear and blocking protesters outside the gates of Anaheim’s Disneyland Resort, leading to nine arrests.

Unrest in Orange County’s largest city erupted last week following the killing of unarmed Manuel Diaz, 25, on July 21, and the killing of Joel Acevedo, 21, the following night, both by Anaheim police.”

The pics and video coming out of Anaheim are intense. It looks more like a war zone than a community right now. Signs of the impending police state? Eek.

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And finally here’s some conspiracy theories on the Colorado Batman shooter. Now I hesitated to post about it at first because not everything has a sinister conspiracy behind it. But two interesting facts really make me suspect all is not as it seems in the Holmes case.

First up is the eyewitness testimony contradicts the official story. You can watch that account here. And second Holmes’ father is a senior citizen at FICO and is supposed set to testify at the LIBOR banking scandal hearings. Isn’t that interesting? You can watch more about that here. Of course Alex Jones has a lot to say about this. You can watch a video of him talking about it here.

From the Wild Hunt:
I Have No Plans to Kidnap Your Man
“The Epping Forest Guardian reports that someone has been stuffing leaflets in local homes accusing Pagans of wanting “to abduct a male member of the public for use as part of their rituals” this Lammas. Pagan Federation representative Mani Navasothy is not amused by this local smear campaign.”

Part of me just laughs off this kind of news. Really? People believe that I’m on a manhunt and will kidnap some hunk to use for my heathen rituals? And for Lammas? Of all the Pagan holidays they’re choosing Lammas for this rubbish? At least pick May Day where some Pagans celebrate the holiday sexually. (having sex in the May field for example) But what would I do with a kidnapped man for a harvest ceremony? Make him cut the turkey? Or set the table? Oh the inhumanity!

But then the other part of me thinks about how some people take this seriously. I remember wearing my pentacle in the Midwest. It felt like an act of rebellion back then. I would have to be on guard when wearing it because often I’d get offensive questions thrown my way. I’d have to debunk tiresome stereotypes-no I’m not a Satanist, no I don’t sacrifice children, etc. The scariest encounter I had happened in college. I was walking across campus and a campus preacher came up to me screaming. He stood in front of me, inches in front of my face, and screamed that I was going to burn in hell. I want to say I held my ground and stood up to him. But I was young and naive and it scared me shitless. I said nothing and ran off as soon as I could get away.

Slowly but surely we’re breaking down these stereotypes. I am still amazed at what crazy things people think we Pagans do. Like the Pagan Federation spokesman said, “If anything we just go for walks in the wood.” Yeah that may sound boring but it’s pretty spot on. My most spiritually enlightening moments often occur while I’m taking a solo walk in the woods while meditating. The bad stereotypes about Pagans are way more over the top than the reality.

From this gallery. I always like it when the models look like they’re having fun. Another pic in the gallery has her throwing devil horns which was funny.

From NPR:
Supreme Court Has A Term To Remember
“The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have fled Washington, leaving in their wake a storm of historic headlines. In the last 10 days alone, the high court upheld the Obama health care law, struck down much of the Arizona immigration law and ruled unconstitutional mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles convicted of murder.

Chief Justice John Roberts is in Malta, a place that, as he pointed out, is “an impregnable island fortress.” He puckishly observed that it “seemed like a good idea” to go there after the tumultuous end of the Supreme Court term.”

There’s been a lot of Supreme Court news. This NPR article gives a nice roundup.

From the EFF:
Time For Members of Congress to Pledge to Uphold Internet Freedom
“Today, EFF joins a broad, international coalition of civil society groups calling on elected officials to sign the new Declaration of Internet Freedom and uphold basic rights in the digital world. The Declaration is simple; it offers five core principles that should guide any policy relating to the Internet: stand up for online free expression, openness, access, innovation and privacy. Sign it here.

For too long in the US, Congress has attempted to legislate the Internet in favor of big corporations and heavy-handed law enforcement at the expense of its users’ basic Constitutional rights. Netizens’ strong desire to keep the Internet open and free has been brushed aside as naïve and inconsequential, in favor of lobbyists and special interest groups. Well, no longer.

(snip)

But right now, we are asking for your help in getting Congress to respect digital civil liberties and work for the Internet rather than against it. Sign the Declaration of Internet Freedom so we all can build a movement for a censorship-free, open, and innovative Internet. You can also join the conversation on Reddit and propose your own changes. But most importantly, at the next 2012 election campaign stop in your hometown, hand it to candidates running for office and ask them to sign it.

Tell your member of Congress: Pledge to uphold the Declaration of Internet Freedom. In the digital age, their election may depend on it.”

This is one of the many many reasons to love the EFF. I’ve signed it and you can too here.

I’ve had several emails asking me to review 50 Shades of Grey. I looked into it and wow does it look bad. But I had no idea how bad until I stumbled upon Bizzybiz Blog’s hilarious review. She is reviewing a handful of chapters at a time. Not only does she rip the Grey book a new one she throws in hilarious comments on top of it. Here’s a few fun ones:
“”CHRISTIAN GREY: MASTER PIANIST. He is probably also secretly the Pope, the head of the IMF…no scratch that. He’s Jesus. Sexy Jesus.”

“So here is what Christian Grey comes to the hardware store to buy: cable ties, masking tape, rope. It’s a goddamn BDSM shopping list. STOP FORESHADOWING EVERYTHING. STOP IT. STOP.”

“I AM GOING TO STAB THIS BOOK UNTIL IT’S SO DEAD IT NEVER EXISTED.”

You can find all the 50 Shades posts here. I’m really hoping she reviews the entire trilogy because I’m having a blast reading her so far.

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From the Santa Fe New Mexican:
Governor: New Mexico anti-prostitution laws need updating
“New Mexico state laws aimed at fighting prostitution are outdated and need to be fixed to help authorities go after online sites that promote prostitution, Gov. Susan Martinez said Monday.

Martinez told The Associated Press that she will ask state lawmakers during the next session to pass new legislation making online sites linked to prostitution illegal.”

When I first saw this headline I thought-yeah I agree, the laws do need updating. That’s as far as Gov. Marinez and I agree. She of course wants tougher laws to make more things illegal. I of course want prostitution decriminalized. The SWC case makes a handy example to justify more laws against the sex trade.

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Found via Tits and Sass:
Hey Ho! Backpage Protesters Hit Village Voice on the Hottest Day of the Year
“Backpage.com, owned by the Village Voice, is one of the more controversial web enterprises: according to some reports, it hosts 70 percent of the web’s sex ads. On Wednesday night, there were two protests outside the Voice’s offices in Cooper Square. One was led by radical feminists and evangelical Christians who compare Backpage to a pimp, hoping to shut it down the way Craigslist’s “adult services section” was shut down. The other protest was led by Backpage users: escorts, dommes, and rent boys, who say shutting down the site will run them out of business or onto the streets.

(snip)

One of those Attorneys General, Rob McKenna of Washington state, is the architect of policy that threatens not just Backpage, but free speech online. In an amendment to Washington State Senate Bill 6251, Mr. McKenna aimed to make Backpage illegal by criminalizing any individual or company who “knowingly publishes, disseminates, or displays, or causes directly or indirectly, to be published, disseminated, or displayed, any advertisement for a commercial sex act, which is to take place in the state of Washington and that includes the depiction of a minor.””

Melissa Gira gives a nice account of the protest and then makes an excellent transition to the bigger picture. I also like her comment-”It wouldn’t be a protest without a drum circle”. I totally agree.