Stephen Colbert vs. Angry Asian (comedy)

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; Colbert; Suey Park (Angry Asian Woman); Josh Zepps

So long as we tolerate remnants of the patriarchy and colonization, are we free? (FEMEN)

(95Colbert) Stephen Colbert responds to the controversy was epic humor, irony, and biting satire. It is the genius of wit that redeems a person not in need of redeeming.

 

The eye roll that turned the tide (Huff Post)

Suey Park has a point, more than one, but anger is no way to express it. Here she tackles the white male and the racist patriarchy in general menace by attempting to take down Josh Zepps, who was concerned enough to let her air her side of the controversy on Huff Post Live. She may have explained, but she may also have made things worse by biting the hand that holds the mic. Indeed, there is racism in  this country, and some fight it with satire. Others with anger. Which side is Park on when we could all be together? (And, privileged Josh, let guests talk).

FEMEN activists agitate for Muslims, too

Woody Allen pointed out that liberals are like fish that eat each other. There are bigger pieces of plankton to pry from the sea, Suey. So please aim it at those guys rather than worrying if all of the rest of us are PC enough to end sexism, racism, stereotyping, bias, prejudice, and inequality with you. If we join forces, each approaching the cultural inequities of the day in our own way and as a team, we can bring about a better world. If we squabble, aren't the real movers-and-shakers, the problem-makers, just loving it as they multiply and coat this baby blue watery planet in green slime?

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Support women's rights, support FEMEN

Amber Larson, Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; FEMEN.org (femenshop.com/Facebook)

FEMEN's topless demonstration over Ukraine, Crimea, and Russia makes cover of NY Times.

   

Topless protests call attention to vital causes.

One of the things that differentiates FEMEN from other groups is its financial independence. FEMEN does not need to negotiate with shareholders, sponsors, or politicians. Donations and purchases from supporters the world over are the only income source that makes protests, investments, new branches, Sextremist training programs, and the Website possible. So if readers share FEMEN's ideals, if they would like to see more actions, and if they believe in women's rights, support FEMEN right now by requesting an autographed FEMEN book, hoodie, or t-shirt: femenshop or femen.

ACTION: "Stop Putin's War" - During a protest against Putin's intervention in Crimea, French FEMEN sextremists were beaten by pro-Russian reactionaries, undercover agents (seen trying to suppress photography), and arrested by unknown agents. During the action they shout "F**K YOU, PUTIN!" and demand he step back from independent Ukraine during a Parliament gathering of bandits and marionettes deciding the fate of Crimea in Putin's renewed Union.

Contemplate Pussy Riot (Masha Gessen in L.A.)

CC Liu, Irma Quintero, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; LFLA; Johnny Whiteside (laweekly.com)

Balaclava-clad Pussy Riot portraiture (theguardian.com)

 

Pussy Rioting at Mark Taper (C.D. Sinyakov)

When rebel collective Pussy Riot took its court-banned "Punk Prayer"* into Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior two years ago, it was not a gimmicky stunt but a legitimate act of revolution.

Prompted by Pres. Vladimir Putin's cynical, ongoing, and deeply manipulative embrace of the church and its national congregation -- essentially and outrageously reducing the culture of Eastern Orthodox Christianity to a propaganda wing for his oppressive regime -- Pussy Riot was compelled to protest.

 

Nadezhda Nadia Tolokonnikova, the young mother who became the face of Pussy Riot

American Pussy Riot supporters (P.J. Richards)

Rarely have art and agitation collided so memorably. This visit from Russian-born journalist-author Masha Gessen, discussing her new book, Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot, should be a profoundly, mmm, arresting affair. The Pussy Riot phenom is far more complex and genuinely radical than the facile carnival of DayGlo balaclavas and whip-wielding Cossacks that the mainstream media gleefully serve up.

• The feminists of Pussy Riot and Femen stand up to Putin
• FEMEN: Topless protesting for attention and change!
• Defending Putin's Propagandists [on the RT media outlet]

Anti-Putin protest (blog.foreignpolicy.com)

And the outspoken, openly gay Gessen (author of 2012's scorching The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin) is the ideal voice to place the subject in its proper sociopolitical context [with the American losses in Sochi, the liberation of Ukraine, and the tug-of-war over Crimea].

Pussy Riot supporters, Germany (AFP)

Gessen is joined in conversation by St. Mary's College Professor Suzi Weissman. Expect a thorough and illuminating dissection of this ardent, fearless, and endlessly admirable gang of stink stirrers. 

 

[Remember anyone with a balaclava -- a colorful knitted ski mask -- can be a Pussy Riot activist. "Riot," according to Nadia, means an uprising, "upstart," a putsch as seen in Ukraine.]

TONIGHT: Los Angeles Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., downtown.; Wed., March 12, 2014, 7:15 p.m.; free, reservation required. (213) 228-7025, lfla.org.

*PUNK PRAYER: Saint Maria, Virg Yin, drive away Putin/Drive away! Drive away Putin!//Black robe, golden epaulets/All parishioners are crawling and bowing/The ghost of freedom is in heaven/Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains//The head of the KGB is their chief saint/Leads protesters to prison under escort/In order not to offend the Holy/Women have to give birth and to love//Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!/Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!//Saint Maria, Virgin, become a feminist/Become a feminist, Become a feminist//Church praises the rotten dictators/The cross-bearer procession of black limousines/In school you are going to meet with a teacher-preacher/Go to class -- bring him money!//Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin/Bitch, you better believe in God/Belt of the Virgin is no substitute for mass-meetings/In protest of our Ever-Virgin Mary!//Saint Maria, Virgin, drive away Putin!

 

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Putin: "Crimea [river, cry me a sea!]" (video)

Amber Larson, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Sergei L. Loiko (LAT); Amy Goodman (DN!); FEMEN

Femen sexstremists spur Ukrainian Revolution with Tymoshenko braids (femen.org)

Authoritarian Russian KGB/President Vlad Putin faces off with young, topless FEMEN demonstrator as European leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel, shrink and cower.

 

Who is provoking unrest in Ukraine? Role of USA (CIA) and Russia

 

Russia is vowing to keep its troops in the Ukrainian region of Crimea in what has become Moscow’s biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. Ukraine’s new prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said Pres. Putin had effectively declared war on his country. Concern is growing that more of eastern Ukraine could soon fall to the Russians. Earlier today, Russian troops seized a Ukraine coast guard base in the Crimean city of Balaklava.

 

On Sunday, the new head of Ukraine’s navy defected to Russia. To talk more about the crisis in Ukraine, Democracy Now! spoke to Yale history professor Timothy Snyder. His latest article for The New York Review of Books is "Ukraine: The Haze of Propaganda." DN also spoke to retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern. He focused on Russian foreign policy for the first decade of his 27-year career with the agency and recently wrote an article titled "Ukraine: One 'Regime Change' Too Many?" More

Russians invading Crimea, Ukraine

Anti-Putin protests, EU consulate (FEMEN)

BAKHCHISARAI, Ukraine - The tense military standoff in Crimea continued today as Ukraine’s army and naval forces were blockaded by invading Russian troops and supporters, at some sites demanding that the Ukrainian units surrender their bases and swear allegiance to the Kremlin and Russia’s armed forces.

The demand represented an alarming sign that the fresh Russian forces had come here to stay, some analysts said.

Stop Putin. Ukraine must be free! (FEMEN)

“The fact that Russians openly demand that Ukrainian officers and soldiers in the Crimea take a military oath to Russia may mean one thing: The Kremlin intends to keep them here for a long time, if not for good,” said Kost Bondarenko, head of the Ukrainian Policy Institute, a think-tank based in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

“It means that Ukraine is steadily losing the Crimea to Russia, and it will be extremely difficult to get it back as the Ukrainian army is incapable of opposing Russia," he said. More

VENEZUELA: Tens of thousands march in anti-government protests

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Protests rage in Venezuela

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; BBC.co.uk

Mr. Lopez's wife is calling for the release of her husband at marches attended by thousands.

 

Venezuela country profile (BBC)

Anti-government protesters in Venezuela have erected barricades in the capital, Caracas. They placed burning rubbish and furniture on main roads in an attempt to bar access to the city.

 

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles had earlier asked his supporters not to follow a call for a "national blockade" circulated on social media.

 

Nat'l hero led independence from Spain (AFP)

The blockades are the latest in a series of opposition protests in which 13 people have died. There have been reports of similar blockades in the cities of Maracaibo and Valencia.

Protesters also banged pots and pans in the early hours of the morning to show their opposition to the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

They say they will continue with their wave of protests, which started more than two weeks ago, until Mr. Maduro resigns. More than 130 people have been injured and an opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, has been arrested on charges of inciting violence. More

 

Anti-government protesters erect barricades in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas (AFP).

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Pussy Riot to be freed early

Wisdom Quarterly; Freepussyriot.org

Pussy Riot supporters everywhere don balaclava masks (msnbcmedia.msn.com)

  

Nadya was previous missing (Guardian)

Pussy Riot is an anonymous Russian feminist performance art group formed in October 2011. 

Through peaceful public performances that voice how basic rights are under threat in Russia today, while expressing the values and principles of gender equality, democracy (self rule), freedom from religious oppression, and freedom of expression that are contained in the Russia's Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the CEDAW Convention.

Pussy Riot supporters (scpr.org)

Members were serving a harsh sentence on charges of “hooliganism” for their one-minute performance on Feb. 21, 2012 in a priests-only section of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The investigator’s report claimed the performance was an act of "religious hatred." The intention of the performance was actually to draw attention to the special relationship between Pres. Putin and the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church. There was also a punk "prayer" to the Madonna, the Goddess or feminine divine, to drive Putin away.  

Amnesty was just announced that will free the members early -- as well as freeing the Greenpeace demonstrators arrested on false charges for a peaceful action to call attention to drilling for oil in ecologically sensitive area previously uncontaminated by the petroleum industry.

Early release

Two early release possibilities for both Masha and Nadya

RAPSI reports that the court that sentenced two Pussy Riot members to prison for committing hooliganism in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior overlooked possible grounds for mitigating...

Masha's mother heads to Nizhny Novgorod + Nadia's husband heads to Krasnoyarsk

RAPSI reports that Nadya or Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina are subject to a recently approved presidential amnesty and may be freed before the New Year, attorney Irina Khrunova told RAPSI on Wednesday....

Freepussyriot.org advocates for release along with these supporting organizations: Wisdom Quarterly, The Voice Project, The Voice Project, Amnesty International, Austrian Green Party, European Women’s Lobby, Free Muse, Human Rights Watch, Index of Censorship, PEN International, Russia’s Human Rights Council, Russie-Libertés, Riot Grrrl Berlin, Shatter Japan...

Topless REVOLUTION in Ukraine (video)

Ashley Wells, Amber Larson, Seven, CC Liu, Dev, Wisdom Quarterly; FEMEN

What is underlying the revolution in the Ukraine, an oppressed part of old Soviet Union?

Revolution goes on! Ukrainians, stay strong!

Topless protest (censored for US audience) Ukraine to EU! Revolution goes on! (femen)

 

Russia's Pussy Riot supports Femen

FEMEN (a pro-freedom, anti-patriarchy movement) supports the EuroMaidan struggle of the Ukrainian people suffering under a totalitarian government who wish to align with the EU.

FEMEN supports every single demonstrator who right now is at Independence Square (the Maidan) protesting dictatorship in the country and the undue influence of old-and-cold friend Russia -- fighting instead for a better future along European standards.

EuroMaiden demonstrations with 200,000+ protesters, ma ''Гімн України'' 200 тисяч людей на #Євромайдан #Euromaidan #Евромайдан (Dec. 14, 2013)

Police oppress demonstrators (Guardian)

FEMEN calls on everyone who is still sitting at home to get out and to join the struggle for freedom. The world has to finally hear the voice of the nation and not be drowned out by betrayers of the nation, such as Pres. Yanukovich!

John McCain (USA) in Kiev church

FEMEN joins the fight and will fight for our country, and our freedoms, and our right to be back home! The Orange Revolution was the beginning of fight; the revolution still goes on. There is no elevator on the way to freedom. We have to take the stairs! So, let's move on. Go Ukraine! Ukraine to EU!

Why is right wing Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) meeting with the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Kiev and meddling in Ukrainian affairs? (See photo at right). Along with Democratic party traitor Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) stripped protections, McCain pushed the draconian "indefinite detention" bill called the NDAA. It gives Obama and all future American presidents the authority to indefinitely imprison (disappear, erase , undo) any American citizen without trial, without charges, without telling anyone, and without a chance of anyone doing anything about it.

The military-industrial-congressional complex has incredible reach. It is not only about control of the US government. The powers that be, with the help of UN military forces, are aiming to take control of the world.

• Hi, 1984: There is a law to strip Americans of all rights
  

Visiting FEMEN's Topless Boot Camp

WARNING: Exposed breasts, topless protests! (BBC/AH 2013) A visit to boot camp: BBC Newsnight's Zoe Conway went to the Paris headquarters of FEMEN -- feminist activists whose trademark is the "topless ambush."

Ukraine: Demonstrators flood Kiev for EU deal

Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; Oksana Grytsenko in Kiev (Nov. 24), Shaun Walker and Oksana Grytsenko (theguardian.com, Dec. 15, 2013); FEMEN.org/en

The biggest demonstrations since the "Orange Revolution" are continuing in the Ukraine after Pres. Viktor Yanukovych allegedly aborted a trade deal with the European Union under Russian pressure to stick with the former USSR. 

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have flooded the streets of Kiev in the biggest anti-government protest since the 2004 Orange Revolution to demand President Viktor Yanukovych reverse a decision not to sign a key pact with the European Union. 

Ukrainian Nordic beauty, human-deva hybrids?

The rally, which may herald the most serious challenge to Yanukovych's authority since he came to power in 2010, ended with scuffles with police outside government offices.

Police [reacted] with teargas. Ukraine was to have signed a historic free trade and association deal with the EU at this week's Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. EU officials said Ukraine's abrupt U-turn came as a result of Kremlin pressure.

Riot police clash with Ukrainians near the cabinet building in Kiev (Alexey Furman/EPA)

 

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, wants Kiev to join a Moscow-led customs union. [Allegedly] an estimated 45% of Ukraine's population support closer ties with the West instead.

 

Ukraine president is unpopular

"We want to be in Europe" said 46-year-old Liudmyla Babych, a saleswoman from Kiev, holding a placard reading, "Mr. President – the Ukrainian nation will not forgive you this treason."

 

The protesters marched through the streets of Kiev as part of a nationwide day of protest chanting the slogans "Out with the gang!" and "Ukraine is Europe" and singing songs popular during the Orange revolution. Tens of thousands of people held a peaceful meeting on... More

Who rules the Ukraine, people or gov't?

Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

FEMEN stands against dictators in Ukraine

That was the headline in November. By the middle of December, the sides had grown in intensity. The police and politicians are conservatives, the people radicals for change -- greater trade and affiliation with the West. The EU versus RU (Russia, or what's left of the USSR), who will win the hearts and minds of the Ukrainians?

Oops, it's already been won by the EU. That will not stop Vlad Putin from putting inordinate pressure on its president to remain a Russian ally -- even if it means a massive and bloody police state intervention. Paramilitary police and secret forces are already on the scene beating civilians, deploying teargas, and planning for a major crackdown. People can simply not be allowed the delusion that their voice matters. When it comes to governing a modern "democracy," what matters most is what those tricky enough to rig elections decide. 

Ukraine protesters return en masse to central Kiev for pro-EU campaign

Shaun Walker and Oksana Grytsenko (theguardian.com)

Kiev, Dec. 15, 2013 (theguardian.com)

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians brave freezing weather to demand EU integration despite suspension of negotiations on the agreement due to Russian interference.
 
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians braved freezing temperatures and aggressive [paramilitary] policing to return to central Kiev on Sunday to demand political change, sending a message to authorities that the crisis over the government's failure to sign an EU integration pact is unlikely to end soon.

With the news that the EU has suspended negotiations on the agreement likely to further inflame the mood, at least 200,000 people packed into Independence Square, known as the Maidan, to hear music and speeches from the trio of Ukrainian politicians who have attempted to lead the spontaneous outpouring of anger. More