Feminist Weekly October 25
News clippings and #FeministWins curated by Contributing News Editor Annie Wu Henry, The Recount, and Good Good Good Co. From feel good news to headliners keeping you on the pulse. Here is the round up for the week!
ICYMI
Supreme Court lets Texas 6-week abortion ban stay in place and will hear oral arguments November 1
The Supreme Court agreed to review Texas’s six-week abortion ban, scheduling oral arguments for Nov. 1.
The court’s move comes in response to legal challenges by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Texas abortion providers, who have argued the restriction clearly violates the court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade and subsequent rulings.
The question the court has agreed to consider concerns the ability of courts to review the Texas law in light of its unique legislative design, which critics have likened to a "bounty" system. SB8, The harmful law in Texas bans most abortions after six weeks and allows private citizens to sue anyone they believe helped a woman obtain an abortion. After the legistlation was signed into law, a federal judge blocked its implementation. However, just days later, a United States court of appeals ruled that the Texas law should be temporarily reinstated. The Biden administration has filed an emergency motion to stop Texas from enforcing the law and a judge ordered an injunction writing that the Constitutional right to "obtain an abortion prior to fetal viability is well-established." At the same time, the judge acknowledged Texas could appeal the decision, which the state's Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly did. (Via The Hill)
Youth Activists Confront Shell CEO During Climate Panel
During the TED Countdown conference in Scotland, youth activist Lauren MacDonald confronted Shell CEO Ben van Beurden. Watch/Listen to the conversation here.
“Honestly, this is an extremely overwhelming time for me. Sitting next to such a violent, sinister person and laying the facts bare was incredibly traumatic. But that trauma will never compare to those who are already directly affected by the climate crisis.” – Lauren MacDonald wrote on their Instagram. The TED Countdown climate conference took place just before the United Nations’ annual global climate conference, COP26, which will also be hosted in Scotland this year. Activists have been working for more representation from the global south and women at COP26. Women in the global south are the most vulnerable to climate change. Learn more about the demands at this years COP26 via the activists on the front lines of climate action.
Nearly 140 countries have agreed to a global tax overhaul.
136 countries have agreed to a plan that sets a global minimum corporate tax rate at 15 percent. This set tax rate is an attempt to curb tax avoidance from multinational corporations but is not binding. It will rest on lawmakers in the individual coutnries that signed the pact to actually implement the minimum rate. The effort could certainly hit some roadblocks, including the United States. While the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is a firm supporter of the minimum, it will need to go through U.S. Congress, which could easily block the legislation through use of the filibuster. Yellen says that incorporating this rate into law will help the U.S. government pay for the expanded child tax credit, climate-change initiatives, and other policies. Although Ireland, Estonia, and Hungary had previously opposed the document, all three of the lower-tax countries came around to support the agreement. There are however still countries that have held out on signing, including Nigeria, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. (Via Wall Street Journal)
According to a studied published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers have concluded that at least 85 percent of the people in the world have been affected by extreme weather intensified by climate change. Data from more than 100,000 events that could be linked to human-induced global warming were anaylzed and scientists determined that climate cahnge had worsened weather events that have hit 80 percent of land on Earth that are home to 85 percent of the population. Events analyzed included floods, heat waves, and crop failures, as well as changes in temperature and precipitation caused by carbon emissions. "Climate change is visible and noticeable almost everywhere in the world," said lead author Max Callaghan, of Germany's Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change. (Via Washington Post)
A French report estimates that more than 216,000 children have been sexually abused by the clergy since 1950. — A new report has found that the sexual abuse that occurred within the Catholic Church in France was more extensive that previously thought. The report found that an estimated 216,000 children were abused by about 3,000 clergy members since 1950. Adding the victims of laypersons, the number of victims could reach 330,000, according to an estimate by the independent commission that compiled the report using demographic and archival analysis. The Commission president Jean-Marc Sauvé said that these numbers were "damning" evidence of "systemic" failures in the Church. Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the President of the Conference of Bishops of France, said that the leaders of the Church were "appalled" by the number of victims. "Their voices are shaking us," he said. Addressing himself to victims, he added, "I wish on that day to ask for pardon, pardon to each of you." (Via French24)
A Facebook Whistleblower testified that Facebook boosts profits with hateful and harmful content. — A Facebook whistleblower has testitfied to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection that the company's platforms harm children and spread misinformation and hate. The Facebook platforms being talked about include both of the widely popular apps Facebook and Instagram. The whistleblower, Frances Haugen said, "Facebook's products harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy." Haugen was a data scientist hired at Facebook's civil integrity unit in 2019. Haugen also specified that the reason these platforms have not been made safer is due to financial motivations. "The company's leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won't make the necessary changes because they have put their astronomical profits before people," said Haugen. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, said that Haugen's claims were misleading, and that if Facebook was privoritizing harmful content it would be "deeply illogical" fsincen it would drive away advertisers. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT.), led the hearing and saif that he would be calling for federal regulators to investigate Facebook. (Via AP)
Biden was the first U.S. President to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples' Day. Outside the White House, Indigenous activists urged him to declare climate emergency. — Last week, President Biden wrote a proclamation and became the first U.S. President to acknowledge Indigenous Peoples' Day. "We must never forget the centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror wrought upon Native communities and Tribal Nations," he wrote. The day had parades and demonstrations across the country, some marking the problematic celebratioin of Columbus Day, while others celebrated Indigenous People's Day that is set aside to honor the indigenous people subjugated by European settlers. On Indigenous Peoples' Day, Indigenous activists demonstrated outside the White House asking the President to take more drastic action against climate change. The protest launched a week of demonstrations by a coalition called Build Back Fossil Free, which wants Biden to block new fossil fuel projects and declare a national climate emergency. (Via Washington Post)
#FeministWins
The Biden administration reversed the Trump rule against abortion referrals.
The Biden administration has gotten rid of a rule that bans clinics receiving federal family-planning funds from advising people about abortions. The rule had been enacted by the Trump Administration and the new rule for the Title X family-planning program will authorize these health centers to continue receiving federal money regardless of whether they refer patients to facilities that offer abortions. The policy will go iinto effect Nov. 8. The previous Trump administration Title X policy was criticized as an "abortion gag rule" that limited conversations between health professionals and patients. This new change comes about as abortion regulations and bans have reached historic levels across the nation over the past year. (Via Washington Post)
An Italian manufacturer created the world's most sustainable denim — it's fully biodegradable and made with 75% water.
Jeans are among the most popular clothing on the planet — and one of the most environmentally taxing. Each pair requires up to 2,000 gallons of water to manufacture. And to produce Indigo blue, the dye that gives jeans their color, almost all manufacturers use benzene (a rat poison), mercury, and other toxins.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What’s worse, 80% of jeans sold nowadays are stretch denim, made with plastic — researchers have even found plastic microfibers from jeans in the Arctic.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Italian denim manufacturer Candiani wants to change the toll denim takes on the planet — and created the world's most sustainable, fully biodegradable denim called Coreva.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Coreva uses 75% less water, 65% fewer chemicals, takes 6 months to biodegrade (most jeans take hundreds of years) and "we collect and reuse 100 percent of our waste fibers for our recycled denim line,” Candiani's fourth-generation owner Alberto Candiani told Reasons to be Cheerful.⠀⠀ (Vai Good Good Good)
California becomes the first state to require ethnic studies for high school graduation.
After over five years of advocacy and criticism, California became the first state to make ethnic studies a required course for high school graduation. These classes are intended to educate students about the historic and present struggles and contributions of Black, Asian, Latino, Native/Indigenous Americans and other groups that have experienced racism and marginalization. Although California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has recieved criticism, this bill was widely supported across the California legislature and then signed into law. (Via LA Times)
3 scientists won the Nobel physics prize for work on climate change.
Three scientists — Syukuro Manabe of Princeton University, Klaus Hasselmann of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, and Giorgio Parisi of the Sapienza University of Rome — received the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on climate change. Manabe in 1967 came up with a computer model that confirmed carbon dioxide's link to warming. Hasselmann's model connected rain and other kinds of weather to long-term changes like ocean currents. Mann's work helped show how climate change influenced such events as droughts and heat waves. Thors Hans Hansson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said "the discoveries being recognized this year demonstrate that our knowledge about the climate rests on a solid scientific foundation, based on a rigorous analysis of observations." (Via New York Times)
Three Afghan women launched a school for 200 refugee children at the Fort McCoy army base in Wisconsin.
Jeans are among the most popular clothing on the planet — and one of the most environmentally taxing. Each pair requires up to 2,000 gallons of water to manufacture. And to produce Indigo blue, the dye that gives jeans their color, almost all manufacturers use benzene (a rat poison), mercury, and other toxins.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What’s worse, 80% of jeans sold nowadays are stretch denim, made with plastic — researchers have even found plastic microfibers from jeans in the Arctic.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Italian denim manufacturer Candiani wants to change the toll denim takes on the planet — and created the world's most sustainable, fully biodegradable denim called Coreva.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Coreva uses 75% less water, 65% fewer chemicals, takes 6 months to biodegrade (most jeans take hundreds of years) and "we collect and reuse 100 percent of our waste fibers for our recycled denim line,” Candiani's fourth-generation owner Alberto Candiani told Reasons to be Cheerful.⠀⠀ (Vai Good Good Good)
The Bachelor franchise had its first Black couple to get engaged in franchise history.
The popular reality television show Bachelor In Paradise returned to small screens after a two-year-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show brings together of the contestants from recent seasons of the reality tv shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to find love on a secluded beach in Mexico. With the racial reckoning in 2020 brought to prominence after the murder of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the long-time reality show host Chris Harrison was fired after making racist statements in an interview with Rachel Lindsay, who was the show's first ever Black Bachelorette in 2017. Paradise's cast this season was the most diverse in the show's history and singles Riley Christian and Maurissa Gunn quickly fell in love on the beach, ending the season with a proposal. While the show and franchise is supposed to highlight love stories (and obvious reality show drama), this relationship development was historic and represented a love story that the franchise hasn't been able to highlight before. Riley and Maurissa's engagement is the first time in almost 20 years of The Bachelor franchise (that consists of multiple spin-offs and specials) that two Black people have ended up together on the show. (Via Refinery29)
The WHO just approved and recommends the use of the 1st malaria vaccine.
The World Health Organization just approved the world's first-ever vaccine to prevent malaria. Malaria kills about 500,000 people each year — almost all of them in sub-Saharan Arica, and more than half of them children under 5 years old.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In clinical trials, the vaccine had about a 50% efficacy against severe malaria in the first year. While the trials didn't measure the vaccine's impact on preventing death, severe malaria makes up about half of malaria deaths, so experts expect that preventing severe malaria will lead to fewer deaths.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ A study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, estimated that if the vaccine rolled out to countries with the most malaria cases, it could prevent 5.4 million cases and 23,000 deaths in children under 5 every year.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Scientists have been working on a vaccine for malaria — a parasite, more complex to treat than viruses or bacteria — for 100 years. It can infect people over and over, and even in parts of sub-Saharan Africa where most people sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets, children get malaria 6 times a year on average, according to a study published by the National Library of Medicine. And even if the case isn't fatal, it leaves them weak and vulnerable to other diseases.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ (Vai Good Good Good)
Indigenous activists at the Standing Rock Reservation are protecting U.S. water and water systems.
At the Standing Rock Reservation between North and South Dakota, this community of Indigenous activists is working to protect water and water systems across the U.S.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The launch of the Dakota Access Pipeline was what first brought significant public attention to these Indigenous activists.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The pipeline called for a system that would “connect the North Dakota shale oil fields with the eastern pipeline networks in Illinois,” which would subsequently lead to unclean drinking water and damaged farmland.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After hearing about the news of the DAPL, a tribe of Water Protectors joined with thousands of other Indigenous nations to speak out against it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As @natgeo put it, their activism became "an international call to protect Indigenous people’s rights, and their land.” ⠀⠀⠀ (Vai Good Good Good)
California became the first state in the United States to pass a law that will require large retail stores to provide gender neutral toy sections. This requirement came about through a bill that was introduced by Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) and eventually. signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Low said that the bill was inspired by one of his staff members was asked by his daughter why she had to go to the "boys" section to find find specific toys. In 2015, the retail store Target got stopped having specified boys' and girls' toy sections and other retailers have since moved away from gender-specific labels. (Via LA Times)
ON THE PANDEMIC FRONT…
The White House will be buying $1 billion worth of rapid COVID tests. — The White House has announced that it will purchased $1 billion worth of rapid, at-home coronavirus tests. This has the potential to quadruple the number of tests available to the public by December. "This is a big deal," said Scott Becker, chief executive officer of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. "The White House is beginning to take testing as seriously as they've taken vaccinations." According to Becker, shortages of rapid testing has made it difficult to track and manage the surge in COVID-19 cases that have been driven by the Delta variant. The Biden administration also plans to double President Biden's commitment to expand the number of pharmacies participating in the federal government's free testing program. (Via Washington Post)
A Colorado hospital system has halted transplants on those who are unvaccinated. — A Colorado hospital system said that it would not perform transplant surgery on unvaccinated patients because these patients face an elevated risk of fatal COVID-19. "For transplant patients who contract COVID-19, the mortality rate ranges from about 20 percent to more than 30 percent," UCHealth said in a statement to CBS Denver. "This shows the extreme risk that COVID-19 poses to transplant recipients after their surgeries." (Via CBS News)
Brazil becomes the 2nd country to surpass 600,000 COVID-19 deaths. — According to data from John Hopkins University, Brazil became the second country after the United States to surpass 600,000 COVID-19 deaths. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has refused to get vaccinated and continually downplayed the risk of the virus. Despite the leader's misinformation, the country has a growing vaccination rate, with more than 70 percent of Brazilians having received at least their first dose of a shot. Cases are also down 80 percent from their peak in April. (Via Reuters)
A new poll finds that most Republicans want candidates who support vaccines but oppose mandates. — A new poll from CBS News/YouGov found that 64 percent of Republican voters support GOP candidates who actively encourage people to get COVID-19 vaccinations. However, an even greater number — 75 percent — also want their candidate to also oppose vaccine mandates. Basically, according to the poll results, most Republican voters believe that getting vaccinated is a smart, but should be an individual decision. On the reverse, 90 percent of Democrats would rather have a candidates who encourage vaccinations, and almost equally support pro-mandate candidates with 86 percent of voters expressing their preference for that stance. The CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted between October 6-8 among 2,054 American adult residents with a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points. (Via CBS News)
The Texas governor has ordered businesses NOT to mandate vaccinations. — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has issued an executive order that prohibits any entity in the state, including private businesses, from mandating coronavirus vaccinations for employees or customers. In August, the governor ordered Texas government bodies and agencies not to require vaccinations, but said he did not plan to tell executives and entrepreneurs how to run their private businesses. However he has flipflopped on this position after facing pressure from GOP primary opponents and others on the right who adamantly oppose President Biden's decision to require all companies with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines for workers or test them weekly for coronavirus infections. "The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, & our best defense against the virus, but should always remain voluntary & never forced," Abbott tweeted after he announced his new mandate to not madate. (Via Texas Tribune)
Annie Wu Henry is a journalist, social media expert and politics + pop culture junkie. On the cusp of being a gen-z and millennial she understands the power and privilege that social media holds and chooses to use her platform to utilize these tools for good. Through sharing news in digestible, entertaining and easy to understand content, Annie seeks to promote the message that anyone can be an activist and make an impact. She believes people are important and thrives on building meaningful connections with others through sharing our stories and perspectives. As a proud adopted Asian-American, her work focuses on equality, mental health, intersectionality and education.
